Green Goddess Salad
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Green Goddess Salad is the one you probably saw all over your feed before you ever made it: the bowl of finely chopped cabbage that people scoop up with a tortilla chip like a dip. That is how I eat it too, and it’s one of the few salads I finish to the bottom of the bowl instead of forgetting in the fridge.
What you get is a bowl of cabbage, cucumber, and green onion under a thick, herby blender dressing, fresh and green enough that the salad is the part of lunch you look forward to. That’s the taste people mean when they talk about green goddess, and because the base is cabbage, it holds its crunch for days rather than wilting by dinner.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The dressing does all the work, and it comes together in one blender jar. Basil, baby spinach, cashews, garlic, lemon, and rice vinegar go in together and blend into a thick, vivid green that clings to every scrap of cabbage. There’s no whisking and no separate steps, so it comes together faster than a green goddess salad built around a hand-whisked dressing.
- Cabbage is the reason this salad survives being made ahead. Unlike lettuce, it doesn’t collapse overnight. The acid in the dressing also softens it just slightly so it holds its crunch into the next day; it’s the same quality I count on in my Waldorf salad and my celery salad.
- It’s two dishes in one. Served in a bowl, it’s a light lunch; set out with homemade tortilla chips or pita chips, the same salad becomes a chunky, herby dip for grazing. It’s just as happy next to a warm bowl of pasta primavera when I want something cooked alongside.
- The whole thing takes about ten minutes of chopping and blending, with no cooking and no heat, which is what I want when it’s warm out and I don’t feel like standing over the stove.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.
- Green cabbage. This is the backbone, and it needs to be chopped small, almost to confetti. I take my time here, because the size of the chop decides whether the dressing coats every bite or slides to the bottom of the bowl. A sharp knife matters more than any tool.
- Fresh basil and baby spinach. These give the dressing its color and its herby punch, and dried herbs won’t stand in. There’s nothing to hide behind, so buy them fresh and use them the same week. Chives, parsley, cilantro, or dill all fold in if you want to push the flavor around.
- Cashews. They blend into the dressing and give it a creamy body without any dairy doing that job, and they bring the fat that makes a bowl of this filling enough for lunch. If you’re out, walnuts blend just as smoothly, and sunflower seeds keep it nut-free, though the result is a touch earthier and less rich.
- Grated Parmesan. The Parmesan adds a salty, savory note. The classic green goddess dressing gets that savoriness from anchovy, so use a vegetarian Parmesan made without animal rennet to keep this fully meat-free, or swap in a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast for a dairy-free bowl.
- Olive oil. A quarter cup loosens the dressing to a pourable consistency. The card calls for plain olive oil, so there’s no need for anything fancy; the herbs, lemon, and Parmesan carry the flavor.
- Rice vinegar. Easy to skip, and you shouldn’t. It brightens the whole dressing, keeps the lemon from being the only acid, and helps the tossed salad stay fresh in the fridge.
How to Make Green Goddess Salad
A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Prep the vegetables
Add the chopped green cabbage, Persian cucumbers, and sliced green onions to a large bowl. Chop everything small and roughly the same size, so each forkful gets a bit of all three.
Blend the dressing
Put the spinach, basil, garlic, red onion, lemon juice, olive oil, cashews, Parmesan, rice vinegar, and salt in a blender or food processor.
Run it until completely smooth and creamy, aiming for a thick but pourable texture and a bright green color. If the blender struggles, that’s usually a sign the liquids need to be nearer the blades, so scrape down and go again before you add any water.
Toss it together
Pour the dressing over the chopped vegetables and toss until every piece is coated. A big spoon and a couple of minutes of patience beat a quick stir here.
Spoon it into bowls and serve with tortilla chips for scooping; pita chips work too, and so does a spoon when the chips run out.
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Chop smaller than feels necessary. The character of this salad lives in the fine chop. If the pieces are too big, the dressing pools at the bottom of the bowl instead of clinging, and you lose that quality where every bite has everything that makes the knife work worth it.
- Salt the dressing in the blender and taste it before it meets the veg. All the seasoning happens in the dressing, so adjust it while it’s still in the jar. Getting the salt right, plus a splash more lemon or vinegar at this stage, is what sharpens the flavor most, and a little black pepper is a good optional addition. Once it’s tossed through the cabbage, it’s much harder to fix.
- Give it ten or fifteen minutes in the fridge if you can. You can serve it right away, but a short rest lets the dressing settle into the finely chopped cabbage. That’s the difference between a good bowl and one you keep going back to.
Recipe Variations
- Stir in a can of drained chickpeas, or spoon the salad over quinoa or farro, and a side turns into a real lunch. The cabbage base is sturdy enough to carry the extra bulk without going soft, and cherry tomatoes fold in without throwing off the balance. I make this heartier version often, so it’s a tested one.
- Shredded kale stands in for the cabbage with the same sturdy texture that holds up; chopped romaine works too, though it’s softer and best the day you make it. I’ve done the kale swap and like it, while the romaine one I’d treat as supported rather than something I make regularly.
- Push the herbs toward cilantro and lime for a taco-leaning bowl, or into dill and parsley for something fresher and more classic. Keep the total volume of herbs about the same; I’ve taken it both ways, and the dressing carries either, so call it tested.
- When the lemons are especially sharp, I balance the dressing with a small drizzle of maple syrup or honey, which softens the acidity without turning it sweet. That’s a fix I use often, so it’s tested; add it a little at a time and taste as you go, since it’s easy to overshoot.
How to Store Leftovers
Keeps about 2 days in an airtight container in the fridge, crispest on day one. Because cabbage is hearty and the dressing is acidic, it holds far better than a leafy salad would and is still good on day two. There’s no reheating; just give it a quick toss to redistribute the dressing before serving again.
To make it ahead, keep the dressing in a separate container and combine it with the vegetables right before eating, which keeps everything crunchy and stops the cabbage from softening too much. The dressing on its own keeps for about 4 to 5 days, so a jar of it in the fridge means a fast bowl later in the week.
This is a good picnic, potluck, and cookout salad, but it’s raw and needs to stay cold. Keep it in a cooler with ice until you serve, and once it’s out, don’t leave it sitting longer than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it’s above 90°F (32°C) outside. After that, throw the leftovers away rather than returning them to the fridge.
What to Serve With Green Goddess Salad
This works as a light main on its own or as a side, and it plays well with a lot of what I cook. I like it next to homemade potato gnocchi when I want something warm and soft against all that crunch.
When I’m putting it out as a dip, I set it beside pita chips, tortilla chips, or a few slices of homemade French bread for scooping. If you’d rather keep it handheld, spoon it into lettuce cups or roll it into a tortilla for a quick lunch.
FAQs
Yes, and it’s built for it. Dressed and chilled, it keeps its crunch for about 2 days because cabbage doesn’t wilt the way lettuce does. For it at its crispest, store the chopped vegetables and the dressing separately, then toss them together just before serving.
Shredded kale is the closest match if you still want it to keep for a couple of days. Softer greens like romaine or iceberg taste fine but go limp faster, so plan to eat those the same day.
Swap the cashews for raw sunflower seeds, or use a couple of tablespoons of tahini or a quarter of an avocado for the creamy texture. Each one shifts the flavor a little, but all of them blend smooth.
The salad is vegan apart from the Parmesan in the dressing. Swap that for nutritional yeast and the whole bowl is dairy-free without losing the savory note.
That almost always comes down to the herbs. Dried herbs, or tired dark spinach and basil, give you a dull dressing. Fresh, vivid herbs are what produce the color, so use them fresh and don’t blend so long that the mixture heats up and dulls.
More Salads I Come Back To
These are the salads I make most in the same corner of the site.
- Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad. When I want something sharp, light, and simple.
- Macaroni Salad. The creamy, make-ahead one for feeding a crowd at a summer potluck.
- Seven Layer Salad. It gets built the night before a gathering, since it’s meant to sit and improve.
- Southern Farmhouse Feta and Veggie Salad. What I bring when I need a bowl loaded with fresh vegetables and a little salty feta.
Ingredients
- ½ head Green cabbage chopped super small
- 2 Persian cucumbers chopped
- 1 bundle green onions
- Tortilla chips for serving
For the dressing:
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons red onions chopped
- 2 lemons juiced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup cashews
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Video
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped cabbage, cucumbers, and green onions.½ head Green cabbage, 2 Persian cucumbers, 1 bundle green onions
- In a blender or food processor, add the spinach, basil, garlic, red onion, lemon juice, olive oil, cashews, Parmesan, rice vinegar, and salt. Blend until smooth, creamy, and vibrant green.1 cup baby spinach, 1 cup fresh basil, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons red onions, 2 lemons , ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup cashews, ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt
- Pour the green goddess dressing over the chopped veggies. Toss until everything is evenly coated.
- Spoon the salad into bowls and serve with crunchy tortilla chips for scooping.Tortilla chips
Notes
Nutrition
