This green goddess dressing recipe is bright and tangy, cool and creamy, and packed with fresh herbs, with a little zip from some lemon and garlic. It’s delicious on salads, spooned over grilled fish, or eaten with crudités.
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“I was totally addicted to this dressing years ago. Lost my original recipe; so happy to find this one! Is it possible to overdose on this stuff? YUM! Thank you!” -Kimberly, FoodieCrush reader
The Perfect Way to Use Up Fresh Herbs
Homemade salad dressings and vinaigrettes are always things you’ll find in my fridge. My favorite Dijon vinaigrette and lemon dressing go with anything, so I always have a jar of one or the other and when my garden is popping with an abundance of fresh herbs, I can’t get enough of this green goddess dressing.
Green goddess dressing is bright (thanks to lemon juice), herbaceous (thanks to lots of fresh herbs), and creamy (thanks to mayo and sour cream). Garlic gives it a little zip. Think of it as a cousin to ranch and Caesar dressings.
This dressing was especially popular in the 70s, primarily on the West Coast, and the recipe that made it famous comes from San Francisco’s Palace Hotel, in 1923. It’s totally delicious served with crudités or dressing a simple green salad or even better, a green goddess pasta salad.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Skip the avocado. While some green goddess dressings have avocado (and I love avocado!), I prefer to leave it out in my recipe. That’s because it won’t keep as long in the fridge (the avocado will start to get funky).
Use full-fat products. Real mayo and full-fat sour cream will create the richest, creamiest green goddess salad dressing of your dreams.
Get creative with the herbs. I use parsley, basil, and chives, but you could use a green onion in place of the chives, and mint, dill, and/or tarragon.
How to Make Green Goddess Dressing in a Blender
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
Like most dressings, this one comes together super fast in a food processor or blender. Just add the following ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy—that’s it!
- Mayonnaise — This is what makes the green goddess dressing so creamy!
- Sour cream — Cuts through the rich mayo and adds a slight tanginess without impacting the creaminess.
- Fresh herbs — I used a blend of fresh parsley, basil, and chives, but you can use any combination of herbs you like.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice — Adds a zip of acidity that balances out the rich mayo and sour cream.
- Garlic — Just 1 small clove adds a subtle garlic flavor without overwhelming the herby flavor.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper — Always season your dressings to taste.
Ways to Use It
- Serve over chopped romaine or butter lettuce, some sliced avocado, cucumber, and tomato (sometimes with a little blue cheese, feta, or Boursin).
- Use as a flavor base for this green goddess pasta salad.
- Drizzle over grilled halibut or grilled salmon.
- Swap with the cream cheese in this green goddess sandwich recipe.
- Enjoy as a dip for crudités.
- Dunk garlic french fries into it.
- Use to top your favorite salmon bowls, Buddha bowls, and quinoa bowls.
- Drizzle over roasted broccoli, parmesan cauliflower, roasted asparagus, and more.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Green Goddess Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ½ cup fresh parsley
- ⅓ cup fresh basil
- 3 tablespoons chives , chopped
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 small clove garlic , optional
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
FAQs
It’s a super creamy, herb mayonnaise dressing that tastes like a cross between tzatziki, ranch, and Caesar dressing.
Absolutely! If you want a tangier dressing, you can use all or part Greek yogurt. I prefer keeping the amount of mayo the same since using all Greek yogurt can sometimes create too tangy a dressing, but feel free to play around with the ingredient ratios when making this substitution.
No, dried herbs are much more potent and lack the same fragrant, fresh flavor as fresh herbs.
Substitutions or Additions You Could Try
- Add anchovies or anchovy paste. Occasionally I add them, but usually I don’t. They do add a great umami flavor, so add 1 or 2 filets or some paste if you like. For a vegetarian alternative, use briny capers instead.
- Use different herbs. I definitely recommend using parsley and basil, but you could also add some fresh tarragon, or try basil and mint.
- Add half an avocado. Keep in mind this will make the dressing thicker, so you may need to adjust by adding more lemon juice or a bit of water.
More Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes to Try
- Greek Salad Dressing
- Blue Cheese Dressing
- Sesame Dressing
- Italian Dressing
- Vietnamese Dressing
- Hot Bacon Dressing
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Kimberly
I was totally addicted to this dressing years ago. Lost my original recipe; so happy to find this one! Is it possible to overdose on this stuff? YUM! Thank you!
Hayley
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Kimberly!