Vegan Green Goddess Dressing

Say goodbye to your boring, old salad routine! You can make this creamy Vegan Green Goddess Dressing at home in just five minutes. It will instantly upgrade any salad, wrap, or veggie dish.

Prepping your own salad dressing is the easiest way to step up your salad game. Especially when it's with flavorful fresh herbs and the most delicious, creamy texture like Green Goddess.

A lot of the bottled Green Goddess Dressings you'll find in the store have dairy. This plant-based version is made with a yogurt alternative instead, so it's naturally vegan and dairy-free. (But still super creamy!)

Homemade Green Goddess Dressing is so easy (and a great option for meal prep). Just blend yogurt alternative, fresh herbs, and a few more simple ingredients in a blender or food processor.

Creamy, herby, salad dressing perfection in five minutes flat. Sign me up.

This salad dressing is delicious any time of the year, but it works especially well with spring recipes.

Spring is a time of year when there are lots of fresh herbs in season. Since the weather is warming up, I know I'm going to be craving more salads and anything fresh and green!

Jump to:

• Tasting Notes
• Pairing
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Preparation
• Storage
• Top tip
• Frequently Asked Questions
• 📖 Recipe
• Food safety
• Meal Prep Ideas

Tasting Notes

With big bunches of green herbs, the primary flavors in Green Goddess Dressing are refreshing and herbaceous.

You'll also get some bright, citrusy flavor from the lemon and a little heat from the garlic.

The yogurt alternative gives the dressing an ultra creamy texture that'll have you craving fresh salads daily. (Really!)

Pairing

Use this Vegan Green Goddess Dressing with basically any salad or wrap. It's especially delicious in this Green Goddess Crunchy Tofu Wrap!

You could also swap out the tahini dressing for Green Goddess in this Spring Farro Salad or use it on my Meal Prep Salad recipe.

It also works great on top of roasted vegetables, like these Smashed Potatoes, for example.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this at home:

• Plain dairy-free yogurt alternative
• Parsley
• Basil
• Chives 
• Mint
• Dill
• Lemon
• Extra virgin olive oil 
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

As far as prep work goes, this dressing is super simple.

There's no need to finely chop all of the fresh herbs. You're going to blend it all up in a food processor or blender anyway.

Just tear off the herb leaves from their stems. If you have really large basil leaves, you can tear those into smaller pieces. Then, give the chives and garlic a few chops so they blend into the dressing more easily.

Next, add all of your ingredients to your blender or food processor container.

Add yogurt alternative, parsley, basil, chives, mint, dill, grated lemon peel (aka zest), lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Then, just cover and blend for about two minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

You want to make sure there aren't any large pieces of herbs or garlic. It should be smooth and uniform.

Hint: Pause to scrape down the sides of the food processor or blender with a spatula if needed.

If the dressing is too thick, gradually add water (one tablespoon at a time) until you reach the consistency you want. Whether or not you need water will depend on how thick your yogurt alternative is.

Substitutions

This recipe is naturally vegan and dairy-free. It's also gluten-free (just double check that the yogurt alternative you use doesn't contain any gluten).

Here are a few substitutions you can make if needed to better fit your preferences and/or diet:

• Herbs - instead of the exact proportions of parsley, basil, chives, mint, and dill in this recipe, you can use any mix of fresh green herbs that you like. In addition to the herbs used in this recipe, tarragon or cilantro would also work well. You can use fresh spinach as a replacement for some of the herbs, if preferred.
• Yogurt - feel free to use a dairy-based yogurt if you don't need the recipe to be vegan or dairy-free. Just make sure the yogurt is plain (unflavored) and unsweetened.
• Nut-free - a soy- or coconut-based plain yogurt alternative will make this recipe nut-free. Always double-check the ingredient list for potential allergens.
• Soy-free - use a nut-based plain yogurt alternative. Double-check the ingredient list to make sure it doesn't contain any soy.

Variations

Add your own creative spin to this Vegan Green Goddess Dressing! Here are a few ideas:

• Spicy - add crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or a chopped jalapeño pepper.
• Cheesy - add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast.
• Mild - omit the garlic.
• Briney - add capers to give this dressing more salty, briney flavor. (This is a good way to mimic the anchovies in some Green Goddess Dressing recipes.)

Equipment

I use a small food processor to make this recipe. You can also use a blender.

There are only a couple of things to keep in mind when preparing this dressing in a blender or food processor.

1. If the herbs are sticking to the sides of your blender or food processor container, pause to scrape down the sides with a spatula.
2. Gradually add water (one tablespoon at a time) if the ingredients are getting stuck and not blending well.

If you don't have a blender or food processor, you could also make this dressing by hand. Mince (finely chop) the herbs and garlic and stir together all of the ingredients in a bowl.

Note that if you mix this by hand, the final color and texture will be a little different than the blender/food processor version.

Preparation

You can prep Green Goddess Dressing up to four days ahead of time. Perfect for a quick and easy meal prep recipe!

Storage

Store the prepared dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Note: this dressing tends to thicken in the fridge. Gradually stir in water (one tablespoon at a time) until you reach the consistency you like before serving.

Yogurt-based dressings don't stand up well to freezing. Only make as much as you can use within four days.

Top tip

There are a few different types of dairy-free yogurt alternatives.

I prefer almond, cashew, or soy-based yogurt alternatives for this recipe, since they have relatively neutral flavors.

Choose a soy-based yogurt alternative if you want the dressing to be higher in protein.

There are also coconut yogurt alternatives on the market. Just note that the finished dressing will have some coconut flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions

📖 Recipe

Food safety

• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours
• Use homemade dressing within 4 days.

See more food safety guidelines at USDA.gov.

Meal Prep Ideas

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