Green Goddess Salad Dressing

Green Goddess Salad Dressing is one of my favorite dressing recipes, and I make this every spring when French Tarragon becomes available! And for me this delicious green dressing has a flavor that’s a flash from the past!

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Have you tasted Green Goddess Salad Dressing? It was a hugely popular salad dressing when I was a kid, and for me it’s one of those blast-from-the-past things that I’ve loved for so long I don’t remember when I first tried it. There are definite similarities to Ranch Dressing, but Green Goddess is creamier and more herbal, with generous amounts of chives, tarragon, and parsley.

And lately I’ve been talking with my sister Sandee about re-creating our favorite salad dressing memory, and I finally made this delicious dressing to share with you! And as you can see, the dressing is definitely green!

What makes Green Goddess Salad Dressing distinctive is the use of fresh chives, tarragon, and parsley, plus a touch of anchovy paste in the dressing. You can vary the fresh herbs a bit depending on what you have on hand, but I recommend you don’t skip the anchovy paste which gives this a distinctive flavor.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• fresh chives or green onions
• fresh tarragon (tarragon is optional but if you like tarragon it’s really good in this dressing
• fresh parsley, I used flat-leaf Italian parsley
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• white wine vinegar
• anchovy paste (affiliate link)
• mayo
• sour cream
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Where does the name Green Goddess come from?

I read about Green Goddess dressing on Hedonia (a site that’s no longer online) and discovered that the dressing originated in San Francisco, created by a chef at the Palace Restaurant in 1923 for an actor who was starring in a play called “The Green Goddess.” You can read more here about Green Goddess Dressing. I used the Green Goddess recipe from Hedonia, which Sean adapted from the original recipe from The Palace Restaurant, and I can’t find either of those online any more so I’m glad I recorded it here.

How to make Green Goddess Salad Dressing:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. I used a food processor to finely chop the chives or scallions, parsley, and tarragon.
2. Pack the herbs into the measuring cup when you’re measuring them to go into the food processor (affiliate link). Of course, you can also chop by hand if you don’t have a food processor.
3. Then add the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and anchovy paste to the processor and pulse a few times. (Or simply stir in if you don’t have a food processor.)
4. You can use chopped anchovies, but I thought the anchovy paste was easier, and it adds so much flavor.
5. Add the mayo, sour cream, and a bit of salt and fresh ground black pepper and run the food processor for about 20-30 seconds, until all ingredients are well combined. (Or just stir together in a bowl.)
6. Let the dressing chill in the fridge for at least a few hours before serving. This will stay good in the fridge for at least a week.

How do I eat the Green Goddess Dressing?

Most of the time I simply devour the Green Goddess Dressing on a simple tossed salad, as a side dish for dinner. But one salad I love to make with this when I have Green Zebra Tomatoes is this Caprese Salad variation where I stack up a slice of Green Zebra Tomato (or any tomato you prefer) a slice of fresh Mozzarella, and another slice of tomato, then drizzle some Green Goddess Dressing over the top! I promise you will love that if you like fresh Mozzarella! You could also use Green Goddess Dressing on Grilled Zucchini Caprese Stacks if you like that salad.

More about fresh tarragon:

Of course, I love the flavor or fresh tarragon so I absolutely loved this dressing, which I’m thinking is a pretty good reason to be sure I get some tarragon into the freezer so I can make it this winter! You can use Cooking with Fresh Tarragon to see more recipes I’ve enjoyed with this distinctive flavor.

Green Goddess Ideas from Around the Web:

• Green Goddess Veggie Cups ~ The View from Great Island
• Green Goddess Veggie Burgers ~ Simply Recipes
• Green Goddess Feta Dip ~ Gimme Some Oven
• Green Goddess Quinoa Summer Salad ~ Pinch of Yum
• Green Goddess Avocado Hummus ~ Just a Taste

Continue to Content

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Yield: 2 cups

Green Goddess Dressing

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Green Goddess Dressing is one of my long-time favorite salad dressings, and every year I freeze some of my fresh tarragon so I can make this in the winter!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh chives or green onions (packed into measuring cup)
• 1/4 cup fresh tarragon (packed into measuring cup, see notes)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley (packed into measuring cup, I used flat-leaf Italian parsley)
• 1 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 T white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. anchovy paste (or more, depending on how much you like anchovies)
• 1 C mayo
• 1/2 C sour cream
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Measure 1/4 cup each of chives (or green onions), tarragon, and parsley, and add to food processor. Pulse processor until the fresh herbs are finely chopped.
2. Then add lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and anchovy paste (or canned anchovies) and pulse a few times more.
3. Add mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper and run the food processor about 20-30 seconds, or until ingredients are well combined.
4. Chill at least a few hours before serving.
5. This will keep in the fridge for at least a week, although it probably won’t stay around for that long!

Notes

Fresh Tarragon is optional but if you like tarragon it’s really good in this dressing. I would use a bit more parsley if you're not using the tarragon.

(I used a Food Processor (affiliate link) to make this, but if you don’t have one you can finely chop the herbs with a chef’s knife and then stir the ingredients together in a bowl.)

Nutritional information is based on 2 T serving size, but if you love this like I do you might want more dressing than that!

Recipe adapted slightly from Green Goddess Dressing from Hedonia, who adapted it from the original recipe from The Palace Restaurant in San Francisco.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 127Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 147mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Green Goddess Salad Dressing would be approved for low-carb diet plans and for all phases of the original South Beach Diet. If you’re strictly following South Beach, you should use low-fat mayonnaise and low-fat sour cream to make this dressing; other low-carb eating plans would prefer full-fat ingredients.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2010. It was updated with better photos in 2014 and was last updated with more information in 2023.

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