Looking for a way to use up the herbs in your fridge? Make this green goddess dressing recipe! It's creamy, bright, and brimming with fresh flavor.
At this time of year, I make this green goddess dressing recipe almost every week. Jack and I have just planted our little garden on our back deck, and we have loads of fresh herbs. Straight off the plant, they’re fragrant and tender, ready to add a punch of fresh flavor to almost any dish. I often grab a handful of parsley for a weeknight pasta, a sprig of mint to finish a salad, or a bunch of basil to sprinkle over pizza. Chances are, I end up picking extra, so little by little, the fridge fills up with leafy herbs. That’s where this green goddess dressing comes in.
Cool, creamy, and so darn easy to make, it’s the perfect way to use up an abundance of herbs. You can make it with almost any ones you like – I start with parsley and chives and top it off with whatever else I have on hand. Cilantro, mint, and dill are all fantastic, but I especially recommend using tarragon. Its mild licorice flavor makes this green goddess dressing really complex and unique. Trust me, you’re going to love it!
Green Goddess Dressing Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this green goddess salad dressing:
- Greek yogurt – Classic green goddess dressing is made with mayo and sometimes sour cream, but I skip them both in favor of Greek yogurt. It makes this recipe a tad healthier, and it adds a delicious tangy flavor.
- Fresh herbs – I always make this recipe with parsley and chives. Then, I toss in whatever other leafy herbs I have in my kitchen! Try using dill, mint, and/or cilantro, and don’t skip the tarragon if you can help it.
- Lemon juice and zest – Who doesn’t love lemon + herbs? The zest and juice add an amazing bright flavor to this creamy dip.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – It adds extra richness and thins the creamy sauce.
- Capers – Did you know that most green goddess salad dressing is made with anchovies? No joke! To keep this recipe vegetarian, I swap in capers to add savory, briny flavor.
- Garlic, salt, and pepper – They add depth of flavor and tie everything together!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Once you prep your ingredients, making this recipe couldn’t be easier. Just add them all to a food processor, and pulse to combine!
Oh, and by the way, this dressing is just as good when you swap cashew cream for the yogurt. When I make this vegan, dairy-free variation, I use a blender instead of a food processor to get the dressing really smooth. Find the instructions for how to make it in the recipe notes below!
Green Goddess Dressing Serving Suggestions
You might have guessed by now this this green goddess dressing is a great salad dressing (try it on my Spring Salad, Caesar Salad, Kale Salad, or Radish Salad!), but you can use it for so much more. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Serve it as a dip! Make it the center of a crudité platter with fresh veggies and pita for dipping.
- Or use it as a dipping sauce for air fryer French fries or baked sweet potato fries.
- Drizzle it over roasted veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, or butternut squash.
- Top it onto any grain bowl! Try it on my Buddha Bowl or Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl, or make your own bowl with brown rice, quinoa, or farro.
- Spoon it into a baked sweet potato. Add some crispy roasted chickpeas to make it a full meal!
How do you like to use green goddess dressing? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Dressings and Sauces
If you love this green goddess dressing recipe, try one of these flavorful sauces or dressings next:
- Tahini Sauce (4 ways!)
- Tzatziki Sauce
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Lemon Vinaigrette
- Classic Basil Pesto or Vegan Pesto
- Chimichurri Sauce
- Homemade Caesar Dressing
Green Goddess Dressing
Equipment
- Food Processor (I swear by my Cuisinart one for an even consistency)
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt*
- 1 cup fresh parsley
- 1 cup mixed soft leafy herbs, dill, mint, tarragon and/or cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus ½ teaspoon zest
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons capers
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the yogurt, parsley, mixed herbs, chives, lemon juice, zest, olive oil, capers, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse until well combined. Season to taste.
- Serve as a dip or toss with salad greens. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
This will be a staple now. Thank you so much for the recipe!
First try with this recipe and I hit it out of the ball park. I embellished this delicious dressing on top of a mixed green salad w/rice and mango chicken. My husband loved it!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is so delicious. One recipe has been enough for dipping potato chips, topping a Beyond burger, topping roasted chicken with beans and rice, and as a sauce for pasta and chickpeas. This sauce is so versatile and flavorful and seems to go great with anything! It does take a lot of herbs so I’ll be nursing my herb plants back to plenty so I can make it again!
My mom always used this dressing in her potato salad. It was great! I guess this was instead of Mayo.
that sounds delicious!
Just made yesterday but used zero fat plain Greek yogurt and whatever herbs I had in stock. Thankfully I did have dried tarragon. It was delicious! Didn’t miss the fat in the yogurt at all that makes it nicer on the waistline.
what could i use instead of capers if i dont have any ??
Hi Lola, you could skip them and just increase the salt, to taste.
Thank you thank you for including the vegan option. This was so good! Plus I always need to use up herbs when another recipe calls for just a tiny amount and I have tons left over.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Easy and excellent. I had it on a chef salad with seared salmon
Went great with the fish too. No more bottled dressing.
Than you very much. Love your recipes.
I’ve noticed that for the past months your recipes have been more vegan friendly. Some describe me as a “hardcore preachy vegan” and it means a lot you’re the ONLY non-vegan blog or YouTuber I follow or subscribe to. You are an amazing cook and very much in tune w/ the plant kingdom or “Plantae” , the name of the vegan restaurant I owned Upstate NY. Your recipes are the ones I save on Pintrest, sometimes under “recipes to veganize”. With so many great alternatives to dairy and eggs coming to the market I wouldn’t be surprised if you, slowly, eventually, became vegan. Much Peace and Love from Upstate NY
Easy peasy yummy squeezy!
Love your site!!! Great recipes. Quick question, where do you purchase your glass containers (that look like 1930s Cream bottles) as shown above….
Hi Georfe, they’re Weck Jars – you can find them on amazon and many other places.
Love Green Goddess dressing! We poach a salmon. We serve Green Goddess as a sauce on the side of the cold poached salmon. adding more tarragon makes it really good.
Hi,
Can you tell me what food processor you used? Mine didn’t seem to be able to chop/process the herbs as finely as your photos show.
Thank you,
Lisa
Hi Lisa, it’s a Cuisinart 7-cup.
Thank you for adding so many ways you can use the dressing!!! Assuming there’s leftovers, how long will this dressing last?
Hi Leah, I keep it for about 5 days.
This looks so good! Is there a go-to brand of cashew cream that you’d use to sub the yogurt? Or instruction for how to make cashew cream at home? Thank you… love your work!
We put this on top of Salmon. It’s delicious. I used fresh mint, basil, dill and cilantro. Tonight we are having it on the avocado/garbanzo sandwiches with your roasted pepper recipe and more basil and cilantro on sourdough bread.
I’m so glad you loved this and the broccoli salad as well!
a great dressing for so many things, thank you, I’ve had it before but never really knew what was in it!
I love the sound of this dressing, I am going to the shops tomorrow so will look out for the ingredients to have a bash at making it, hope it turns out as good as yours! All the best, Jay – thesewingwren
So delicious! Ironically I didn’t have any Greek yogurt so I used a combo of homemade mayo and sour cream, chopped dill pickles instead of capers, and a mix of dill, cilantro, basil and mint (with the parsley and chives). So refreshing! Dipping some cukes in it for a snack and it’s getting more flavorful by the minute!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!