Green Goddess Dressing

Last Updated February 12th, 2023 at 05:21 pm by Lisa

Green Goddess Dressing bursts with fresh herbs and flavor. There are so many ways to use this classic California salad dressing. Try it with a relish tray as a veggie dip, for a fried shrimp sauce, or toss it into hot pasta.

Growing up, I remember a mayo jar tucked neatly on the glass shelf of our fridge, with this gorgeous green dressing. Today, I am sharing my Mom's Green Goddess recipe exactly the way she made it back in the day...

For years, this recipe rested in my collection of California Food Recipes.  When I finally made it, memories flooded back of weeknight dinners at home with my family around the table in the 1970s and '80s.  Oh my gosh, I almost burst into tears when I licked the spoon and got a taste!

I cherish this recipe card in her handwriting, it was one of her all-time favorite recipes...

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Green Goddess Dressing Recipe

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup sour cream
• ⅓ cup finely minced flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives and or green onions
• 3 tablespoons anchovy paste (or swap 3 anchovy fillets)
• 3 tablespoons tarragon wine vinegar (see recipe notes to make it at home)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• pinch kosher sea salt
• pinch black pepper

1. In a blender or food processor, add mayonnaise, sour cream, minced parsley, green onions (and or chives), anchovy paste, tarragon vinegar (or white wine vinegar), lemon juice, crushed garlic, kosher sea salt, and black pepper.
2. Blend on high speed until smooth about 30 seconds until it reaches a creamy texture, then chill until ready to use.

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Swaps and Variations

Anchovy Paste: You can substitute canned anchovies, use 2-3 whole anchovies for 3 tablespoons of anchovy paste. Also, you can reduce the amount of anchovy paste if you prefer as it is a strong flavor.

Tarragon Vinegar: In the last year, I could not find tarragon vinegar at my grocery store. You can make tarragon vinegar at home. Mix 1 cup white wine vinegar and put 1 teaspoon dried tarragon in a tea strainer or a tablespoon of fresh tarragon leaves. Let it steep at room temperature for a few days, and it flavors the vinegar to use in recipes. You can also place fresh tarragon in white wine vinegar, and it will flavor the vinegar.

Variations: As recipes do, they all evolve over time. There are so many green goddess versions with mint, cilantro, basil, dill, ripe avocado, cashews, lime juice, and just a few teaspoons anchovy paste. The original recipe has been turned into a vegan green goddess dressing, and most modern recipes call for avocado. But in my humble opinion that is not the original recipe from back in the day. Those variations are all up to you, but hey this is so good, why change a California classic?

What's Green Goddess Dressing?

Green Goddess Salad Dressing became very popular in the 70s and most people might think it was named for its green-tinted color, but there is a great deal of history with this recipe. It has come in and out of popularity over the decades, both as a homemade salad dressing and sold bottled in grocery stores since the 1920's.

Modern Green Goddess recipes often include ingredients like Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise, avocado, egg yolks, Dijon mustard, and tarragon leaves. Recipes do change with time, but the original is so good.

History

Food historians give credit to Executive Chef Philip Roemer of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco California, who invented Green Goddess Salad Dressing in 1923 to honor actor George Arliss, who was staying in the hotel while he starred in a play called “The Green Goddess.”

It’s believed that Chef Roemer’s Green Goddess salad dressing was created after sauce verte au pain by a French Chef to Louis XIII. Today, sauce verte has a mayonnaise base, with herbs like tarragon, parsley, and sage.

Mom's Original 1970s Green Goddess Recipe

I will never be sure how my Mom got this recipe in the 1970s, but it was very popular among her friends, many of whom were home economists. She was an amazing home cook and taught cooking classes as a high school teacher in Southern California. Our home life was filled with delicious homemade meals, entertaining guests was a weekly event and part of our family life. We were either preparing for dinner parties or cleaning up from one!

Mom had many family friends who were cookbook authors, cooking instructors, appliance demonstration experts, and food stylists. From an early age, food, cooking, and entertaining were a big part of my life.

Ways To Use Green Goddess

• Drizzle on grilled, fried, or roasted shrimp.
• Serve with steamed artichokes.
• Serve as a sauce with oysters.
• Use as a roasted vegetable sauce topping.
• Dollup on grilled or baked chicken.
• Serve as a dip with a crudité platter with carrots, radishes, and broccoli...

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