Green Goddess Dressing (and Dip)
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Cool, creamy, and flecked with fresh herbs, green goddess dressing is wonderful on salads or served as a dip.
Green goddess dressing is a creamy salad dressing (or dip) typically containing mayonnaise, sour cream, an abundance of fresh herbs, anchovy, garlic, and lemon juice. The dressing was supposedly created by a chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the early 1920s to honor the actor George Arliss and his hit play, The Green Goddess. It’s a variation of sauce verte (green sauce), a French mayonnaise-based sauce made with chopped fresh herbs.
Green goddess not only makes a delicious salad dressing and crudité dip, but it’s also is wonderful on seafood, especially slow-roasted salmon or roasted salmon and quinoa bowls, or simple grilled chicken. If you’re using the dressing for a salad, it should be room temperature so that it’s a drizzleable consistency. If you’re serving it as a dip, chill it in the refrigerator for a few hours until thickened.
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“Delicious! I’ve been searching for a perfect green goddess dressing and I found it…This has a great balance of herbs, creamy goodness, and brightness from the lemon. YUM!”
What You’ll Need To Make Green Goddess Dressing
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a food processor, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, parsley, basil, chives, tarragon, anchovy paste, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Process until the sauce is smooth and the herbs are very finely chopped, about 30 seconds.
Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately if you’d like the dressing to be a drizzleable consistency, or chill for a few hours until thickened to use a dip. (To bring the dressing back to a drizzleable consistency after chilling, allow it to sit out at room temperature for about an hour and stir well before using.)
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Green Goddess Dressing (and Dip)
Cool, creamy, and flecked with fresh herbs, green goddess dressing is wonderful on salads or served as a dip.
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup roughly chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh chives
- 1½ tablespoons roughly chopped fresh tarragon
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (or two mashed anchovies)
- 1 small clove garlic, roughly chopped
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the sauce is smooth and the herbs are very finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately if you'd like the dressing to be a drizzleable consistency, or chill for a few hours until thickened to use a dip. (To bring the dressing back to a drizzleable consistency after chilling, allow it to sit out at room temperature for about an hour and stir well before using.) The dressing will keep well in a covered container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Serving size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 108
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Omg I just looked at my question and I’m not sure what the translation was for my question about tarragon substitution for thyme but I apologize. I have no idea what it meant by nursing LOL. Talk to text… It’s really important to proofread.
😂
I couldn’t find fresh tarragon in the store to make this nursing tonight. Can you substitute fresh thyme instead? I realize they don’t have the same flavour profile but it did cross my mind. Other than that I would leave it out. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hi Judy, It’s fine to replace the tarragon with thyme. Enjoy!
Just a question, is there anyway to make this dressing without sour cream?
Hi Gkb, You could substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream. Hope you enjoy!
Sounds so yummy. How long will this last in the refrigerator?
Hi Pauline, I’d guess it would keep nicely in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jen,
Might you develop a recipe for kefir? I ferment my own given my lactose intolerance as well as an immune deficiency which lead to lots of antibiotic use for years–trying to repopulate my gut! Anyway, a salad dressing with plain kefir–or any other recipe you might concoct would be greatly appreciated! (I regularly bake bread using the kefir but have struggled to find other good recipes using it)
Hi Kathryn, Sorry to hear you struggle with gut issues! While a kefir recipe is not something I’ve ever considered creating, I will add it to my list of recipes to potentially develop. 🙂
Anytime sour cream is called for you can use kefir cheese (just kefir strained for 24 hrs). That’s what I do.
How long will this keep in the fridge? I think I’ll always want to have this on hand
Hi Tom, I’d say it keeps well for 4 to 5 days. Glad you enjoyed!
Can you substitute Greek yogurt for the mayo? Trying to keep it on the healthier side.
Hi Sophia, It won’t have quite the same rich flavor, but it will work. I would cut back on the lemon juice because of the tartness of the yogurt.
Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe. I just made it with dry herbs except I had fresh chives out of my garden. It is so delicious I will definitely keep this in my fridge. Thanks again for your fabulous recipe I love it.
Bonniebela715@hotmail.com it’s🤗
Hi! Can you substitute yogurt instead of mayo?
Hi Valerie, I think you could sub yogurt for the sour cream but not for the mayo. Sorry!
I’ve subbed sour cream with fat free greek yogurt (I like Fage, thick and not super tangy). I’ve also used low fat mayo to lighten it up.
non-dairy substitute for sour cream? Recipe sounds so so good!
Thanks.
Hi James, You can replace the sour cream with more mayo and add a bit more lemon juice.
Hi Jennifer,
If you do not add in the anchovies paste will it make a big difference? Or can you suggest a substitute.
Thank you,
Peggy
Hi Peggy, I don’t think it will make a big difference, but you could add a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce.
Planning on making this with the salmon quinoa bowls this weekend. Can I sub a teaspoon of capers for the anchovy paste?
Sure, Cassie, that should be fine!