My favorite green goddess dressing is made with two cups of fresh herbs and has an unbelievably creamy texture. It’s absolutely delicious on salads, roasted veggies, fish, grilled meats, and doubles as a veggie dip.
When I have fresh herbs in the house, I jump at the chance to make this super creamy green goddess dressing. It’s incredible for salads, dips, and even sauces for grilled veggies and seafood.
If you know our recipes, you know we love using fresh herbs. Some more recipes featuring fresh herbs are this lemon herb potato salad, my chopped cucumber tomato salad, and this carrot recipe with parsley butter.
Key Ingredients
- Fresh Herbs: I use roughly 2 cups of fresh herbs, almost half of which is parsley. We love the combo of parsley, basil, chives, and a smaller amount of tarragon (it’s stronger!), but feel free to add cilantro, mint, dill, or scallions, too.
- Mayonnaise and Sour Cream: Mayonnaise forms the base of our dressing, but I mix in some sour cream to lighten it up a bit (I do the same when making ranch dressing). If you don’t have sour cream, Greek yogurt or buttermilk work well. (For vegan dressing, try my homemade vegan mayo, cashew cream, or this homemade tahini, and skip the sour cream.)
- Anchovies: Anchovies add a salty kick that salt alone can’t match! If you don’t eat fish, substitute with chopped capers.
- Lemon and Vinegar: Fresh lemon juice adds brightness, and a splash of rice wine vinegar really makes this green goddess dressing pop (optional, but yummy!).
Ways to Use Green Goddess Dressing
Green goddess dressing is a wonderful addition to salads, but it can be used in many other ways! I love keeping a jar in the fridge to drizzle over leftovers and add freshness to simple meals.
Try it as a dressing for potato salad to add an extra layer of flavor, and dip fresh-cut veggies like cucumbers, carrots, or snap peas for a healthy snack. It’s also delicious as a sauce for baked salmon, grilled steak, and these baked chicken thighs. You should also drizzle it over roasted vegetables like roasted broccoli, crispy roasted potatoes, or this lemon roasted cauliflower.
Perfect Green Goddess Dressing
- PREP
- TOTAL
Green goddess dressing is a delicious creamy dressing made with lots of fresh green herbs. It’s wonderful tossed into salads, spooned over roasted veggies, fish, or meats and even doubled as a vegetable dip.
*You can make this recipe vegan. See our tips section and substitutions for guidance.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1/2 cup mayonnaise, see our homemade mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream, Greek yogurt, or buttermilk
2 to 3 anchovy fillets or substitute 1 tablespoon capers
3/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves and tender stems
1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1/4 cup chopped chives cut into 1-inch pieces or substitute scallions
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, optional, adds extra tanginess
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Add mayonnaise, sour cream, 2 anchovy fillets, parsley, basil, tarragon, chives, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper to the bowl of a food processor or blender.
2Process, stopping and scraping down the sides a few times until the dressing is well blended.
3Taste the dressing. If it needs a bit more pop, add the last anchovy and an extra squeeze of lemon juice. If the dressing is too thick, thin it out with a little water, milk or buttermilk.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Vegan green goddess dressing: Use 1 ⅓ cups vegan mayonnaise or cashew cream instead of the regular mayonnaise and sour cream, and then use 1 tablespoon of capers instead of the anchovy fillets. You may need to play around with a little more lemon juice or herbs to get the flavors just right.
- Avocado green goddess dressing: Avocado adds a creamy element to the dressing. Add the flesh from one medium avocado.
- To make this by hand: Finely chop all the herbs and anchovies, then stir into the rest of the ingredients.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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This dressing is INSANE-ly delicious! I find that dried tarragon takes awhile to soften in food before it’s pleasant to eat, so I added it to the mayo the night before I made the dressing, and it mixed beautifully. I even decided to keep 1/2 cup of mayo mixed with 2 tsp of dried tarragon in the fridge so I can make this dressing any time I want to!
Great tip for the dried tarragon, Monique! I’ll try that next time.