If you love chopped salads, you’re going to love this green goddess salad.
This salad has been all over my Tiktok. Green goddess salad isn’t anything new, but this version does it with a twist and it’s pretty amazing. If you have any resolutions this year to eat healthier or go vegan-lite or full on vegan, this salad should be in your back pocket.
I have this thing where I love eating salad with a spoon. Weird, I know, but chopped salads will forever and always be number one in my heart. So when I saw Baked by Melissa (link) dicing up cabbage and cucumbers and mixing them with sliced green onions, I was sold. She serves it up with a creamy vegan green dressing and scoops it up with tortilla chips, pure magic!
What is green goddess salad?
Any salad that’s tossed with green goddess dressing is a green goddess salad. There are hundreds of takes and variations which is nice because it’s perfectly customizable.
Green goddess salad dressing
Its pretty green tint is what inspired the name “green goddess.” Invented in San Francisco, the original recipe calls for anchovies, green onions, parsley, tarragon, mayo, sour cream, and chives all blended into a creamy tangy dressing. The green goddess salad dressing we’re making today doesn’t have much in common with the classic aside from the chives and green onions. There’s no anchovies, mayo, or sour cream, making it completely vegan. The dressing is a riff off vegan pesto and is herby, fresh, bright, and slightly tangy. It also has an addictive cheesiness to it because of the nutritional yeast.
Green goddess salad ingredients
The salad itself is simply cabbage, cucumbers, green onions, and chives, all cut into a very fine dice, similar to a finely chopped coleslaw. The dressing is Melissa’s green goddess dressing, which is a take on a vegan pesto with walnuts and nutritional yeast instead of pine nuts and parmesan.
How to make green goddess dressing
For the dressing you’ll need:
- lemons – the juice of two lemons adds freshness and acidity
- olive oil – extra virgin olive oil for the good fats
- rice vinegar – a bit of extra tang and hint of sweetness
- shallot – a sweeter onion flavor
- garlic – because garlic
- basil – for that herby freshness found in pesto
- spinach – for a bit of extra green
- nutritional yeast – adds cheesy savoriness and B12 vitamins
- walnuts – a hint of a nutty base
- salt – to meld all the flavors and highlight the highs
Place the ingredients into a blender, with the liquid ingredients first, then blend until smooth and creamy.
Storage and make ahead
The salad keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge, either dressed or undressed. If you want to make it ahead of time just to have around, it’s better to dress it beforehand. The acid in the dressing keeps it fresh and cabbage is very hearty, it’ll taste great!
What is nutritional yeast?
Nutritional yeast is cheesy, nutty, and full of flavor. Think of it like powdered cheese, but vegan and shelf stable. It’s a flaky, golden powder that’s made from a species of yeast grown specifically for food, then harvested. When harvested, heat deactivates the yeast, then it’s washed, dried, and crumbled. The result is a cheesy, nutty, savory ingredient that is used to make vegan cheese sauces, vegan dips, in soups, scrambles, stews, and more. Like its name implies, it’s super nutritious, full of protein, B vitamins, and antioxidants. This recipe works best with large flake nutritional yeast, which you should be able to find anywhere that carries bob’s red mill, or online.
Green Goddess FAQ
- Can I make this in advance? Yes! Cabbage is super hearty and you can make this in advance, it will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, just make sure to give it a good stir before serving.
- I don’t like cabbage what can I use instead? If you don’t want your salad base to be cabbage, use shredded kale or chopped lettuce. Any somewhat hearty leafy green will work.
- How long will the dressing keep in the fridge? The dressing should last up to 3 days in the fridge, covered. Make sure to stir it before using.
- Does this salad taste good the day after? This is the kind of salad that tastes amazing the day after because the cabbage will soak up the dressing. It’s similar to how coleslaw tastes perfectly fine a couple of days after you make it.
- What other nuts can I use instead of walnuts? If you’re allergic to walnuts or just plain don’t like them, you can substitute in any other nut or just leave it out entirely. Some nuts to try: pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, cashews, pine nuts, pistachios, or even sunflower seeds.
- Can I use another kind of vinegar? Rice vinegar is super delicious, but if you only have another kind of vinegar at home you can feel free to substitute. Some good substitutes would be: white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
- How many servings does this make? Really it can be as many or as little servings as you like but for our nutritional info, this salad serves 4.
Variations
This particular salad is vegan but if you don’t have nutritional yeast at home and aren’t vegan you can substitute in parmesan for the nutritional yeast.
- Add crispy bacon for protein and crunch
- Add diced chicken breast or crumbled firm tofu for lean protein
- Top it off with toasted sesame seeds for a nutty finish
- Spicy green goddess salad: add 2-3 diced jalapeños and 1 diced green pepper
- Guacamole green goddess salad: add 3 diced avocados and the juice of one lime
- Super green green goddess salad: swap the cabbage for 1 pound shredded brussels sprouts, add 1 pound chopped spinach, and 1 head shredded kale
- Taco goddess salad: swap the cabbage for lettuce and add 1 cup crumbled cojita cheese and 1/2 diced small onion
Hope you enjoy. Give scooping it up with a spoon a try, maybe you’ll be a chopped salad spoon convert too!
xoxo steph
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 small cabbage finely diced, or iceberg lettuce
- 3-4 small Persian cucumbers finely diced
- 1 bunch green onions sliced
- 1/4 cup chives finely sliced
Green Goddess Dressing
- juice of 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small shallot
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1 tsp salt
Special Equipment
- blender
Instructions
- Finely dice or chop up all of the vegetables and toss in a large bowl.
- In a blender or food processor, add the dressing ingredients, liquids first: lemon juice, olive oil, rice vinegar, shallot, basil leaves, spinach, nutritional yeast, walnuts, and salt. Blend until smooth.
- Add the dressing to the bowl with the diced vegetables and mix well. Enjoy on its own, on tacos, as a side with protein, or scooped up with tortilla chips!
Made this today and added some lettuce and granny smith apples to the salad.
It. Is. DEVINE !!!
Even my 7 and 5 year old loved it ❤️
OMG hello fellow Team Salad Spoon! They are totally perfect for chopped salads. And are you ready for me to blow your mind? I eat leafy salads like mixed green, or torn-leaf Caesar with…. wait for it…chopsticks!! They are perfect for grabbing a few leaves, and a crouton or two. Never again will I eat a salad with a fork!!
I feel so sad – why did my comment get deleted? 😢
Oh my gosh I swear the comment wasn’t there! I commented again, and then it popped up?! And I’m up to comment number 3. I’m mortified 🤦🏻♀️
😆 lol
Don’t worry about the small stuff
Will this salad last in the fridge after being tossed with the dressing?
Yes! It lasts 2-3 days in the fridge.
Toss right away then refrigerate
Any idea how long the storage life on the dressing is? I want to meal prep with this recipe and would love to have it in the fridge to just grab from!
It lasts 2-3 days in the fridge, you don’t need to keep the dressing separated.
I want to make this for a friend’s birthday lunch. Do you think it tastes better when it is freshly made, or has sat overnight?
it is really hardy so it can sit overnight. you can also prep everything and leave the dressing on the side then mix it in the day of!
What is a portion size? I calorie track and this would really help to know.
4 according to another comment.
Ok..made..almost LITERALLY ate the ENTIRE thing!! How dare this be sooo amazing?
This is DELICIOUS!! I added a quarter cup of parsley, a teaspoon of black pepper, swapped the walnuts for cashews and Parmesan for the yeast flakes, and about 1/4 cup of water to thin the dressing to blend better in my nitrobullet and voila… perfection! With tortilla chips and grapes I have a tasty dinner. I will be living off of this from now on lol
How many servings are in this? The nutrition table isn’t helpful without knowing. Soooo tasty, I can’t stop making this 😋
the nutritional info has it for 4 servings
Literally just made this, am eating it right now. I made some changes: I used carrots and no onions, used parmigian cheese instead of nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar, no walnuts, no chives. I didn’t follow exactly measurements, i just winged it. Its delicious, only a little bit too sour because of the lemon for me and I only juiced half a lemon. Would be great with some avocado, maybe in the dressing or just in the salad itself.
made it first go round. had some tweaks for me which made it solid. no shallots on hand so used some extra parsley, some parmesan becuz out of yeast flakes, and not vegan so no sweat. used half an avocado In dressing and it was amazing. even the hubby enjoyed it like crazy. chips were the bomb, organic blue. next time, less garlic as I did burp that up a few times. LOL. seriously, loved it. I didn’t use a whole head of cabbage, only two of us to eat it. but it really was great. loved it. love rice vinegar. think this will be part of the new rotation on the menu. thanks so much.
Love, love, LOVE!!! This salad. Made two times and each time they’re have a BOMB of flavour. I wonder tho…could I put the cabbage, green onions and cukes in a food processor, would it still turn out as good. I don’t have the greatest fine dicing skills.
Yes, you can either pulse or blend.
This salad is SO GOOD!!! The hype is real. Does anyone have experience or tips with freezing this salad and dressing?
Sooo delicious!! Quick q: what is the serving size?
Is this keto friendly? The carbs seem high in the nutrition facts. All ingredients seem keto approved but curious about the carb content. Thanks!
hi angela, it’s pretty keto friendly but depends on how strict you are with carbs – after you subtract the fiber it’s about 14 grams of carbs per serving, the recipe is for 4 servings. hope that helps!
One of the best salads I’ve tried in my life! I ate it 3 days in a row!!
I added an avocado and jalapeño to the dressing, it was delicious.
I just made the dressing for meal prep for lunches and I took a taste, it was amazing this is probably the best salad I have ever had
I just made the dressing for meal prep for lunches and I took a taste, it was amazing this is probably the best salad I have ever had
Very versatile and tasty! My husband and I ate it. I didn’t have the nutritional yeast or green onions so subbed Vidalia onions and cashews. Today I bought every one of the ingredients recommended and will make this again for the weekend. I like the idea of adding avocados and maybe some feta or bleu cheese. Thank you!
I used celery instead of cucumber and it was delicious!
LOVE this salad. i used savoy cabbage as easier to chop and was delicious! When the store only had regular green cabbage I found it wasn’t as tasty, cabbage too strong i guess, back to the milder savoy next time.
Where d9 the 10g of protein come from?
the nutritional yeast and a bit from the walnuts
So delicious! I did not have enough fresh basil, so I added a couple of tablespoons of pesto. I used parmesan cheese as I had no nutritional yeast. Apple cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar… I will get all the ingredients and make the original one soon! I have enough for three days, so yummy and healthy salad for lunch at work. Thanks so much!
Well worth the hype. Easy to make, super nutritious and really tasty. The texture is a delight and the taste is fresh, slightly tangy and minimally reminiscent of pesto (due to the basil-nut-yeast combo I guess)
Brought this to a girl’s night and everyone loved it! It is so clean and refreshing, but also tasty. I love spice so I added raw, diced jalapeños to my “at-home” batch.. It was amazing! Added to the crunch whilst also giving it a kick!
My taste buds are in taste bud heaven. This is now my new fav. I did mine vegan. Just trying to get more veges into me.
Can you test the cucumbers? If I don’t like cucumbers what else can I use?
you can leave them out!
Love it!! For those with a slightly sweeter tooth: try adding a tablespoon of maple syrup/agave syrup to the dressing. Heaven!
It says 285 calories per serving. What is considered a serving?
the salad serves 4, so it’s a quarter of the finished salad.
I never follow a recipe exactly, I didn’t measure, I used some different nuts and more garlic, used what I had but
I would think I got a good idea of the taste of this recipe.
IT’S GREAT.
I used sunflower seeds and cashews. A whole small pack of fresh spinach and about 1.5 tbsp of basil paste. Splash of apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice or rice vinegar.
I mixed extra sunflower seeds in after and so far I’ve eaten it in a whole wheat tortilla with avocado and smoked tofu. Very delicious!
Made this tonight. The smell was a little off-turning but the taste is great! Used pecans not walnuts.
Also made a version without the nutritional yeast for my husband (no basil in that one either!) and ended up mixing a bowl of both together and I love it!
Can the dressing be frozen?
i haven’t tried freezing it so i can’t confidently answer!
We just made this (as written in the recipe outside of some extra chives), and whoa. This salad is amazing. The dressing is so flavorful and delicious (just the right amount of salt for my taste) and the perfect complement to the cabbage, cucumbers, etc. So happy to have found this, thank you!
I’ve made this a few times now and have messed with it a little bit here and there (adding an extra shallot, adding cottage cheese to the blended dressing, adding celery to the salad) and it’s always amazing! My only thing is it’s always SO wet, especially the next day once the cabbage and cucumbers have released their water. Is there a way around this or is it just a fact of life?
hi, you can salt the cabbages and cucumbers first: sprinkle both with a bit of salt, let them sit for an hour, then squeeze out as much water as you can, then add the rest of the ingredients and dress. hope that helps!
I made this salad and what I made was great. But I wonder, how big is a small cabbage?! It’s not exactly a measurement, so all of our salad’s will turn out different.
it’s true, all cabbages are different sizes! i would say you need about 6-8 cups. add the dressing to taste!
The dressing was an ORG*SM in my MOUTH!
Would 100% make it again.