Super-Green Green Goddess Salad

This veggie-packed green goddess salad is vibrant, flavorful, and so dang good for you. Featuring crisp cucumber and celery, creamy avocado and delicious edamame beans, this salad is both full of texture and flavor. 

What Makes Up Green Goddess Salad?

ZK’s version of green goddess salad is green-on-green-on-green. Featuring creamy avocado, crisp cucumber and celery, toothsome edamame, and tender Bibb lettuce.

The beautiful thing—ALL of this is adaptable and can be substituted with what you have on hand or prefer. We love this combo of ingredients because of the variety in flavors and textures, but feel free to switch things up.

• Bibb Lettuce: the soft, tender leaves of Bibb lettuce (aka butter lettuce) are ideal in this salad. Romaine, baby kale, or green leaf lettuce are also great options.
• English Cucumber: we recommend using English cucumbers, not regular pole cucumbers which have large seeds and thick, waxy skins.
• Celery: adds a super-crisp crunch. 
• Edamame: the texture of edamame just can’t be beat. You can also use chickpeas if needed or preferred. 
• Avocado: creamy slices of avocado pair nicely with the crisp celery. 
• Green Goddess Salad Dressing: we’ll chat about its origin and how it’s made in a second. But what you need to know about green goddess dressing is that it’s vibrant, herby and super savory.

What is Green Goddess Dressing?

Green goddess dressing is thought to have originated in the 1920s by a chef working at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. The dressing was created honor of actor George Arliss who was starring in a local play called “Green Goddess.”

Classically, green goddess dressing is made with mayonnaise, tarragon vinegar, parsley, chives, tarragon, garlic, scallions and anchovies. Since we’re in the business for taking classics and making them healthy-ish, I stuck pretty close to the traditional ingredient list and made a few smart ingredient swaps.

Ingredients in Green Goddess Dressing?

• Avocado oil mayonnaise: this recipe uses avocado oil mayonnaise because avocado oil is much healthier than canola, vegetable or safflower oil. You can also use olive oil mayonnaise.
• Fresh herbs: I prefer the combination of basil and parsley. If you have dill, cilantro, chives and/or tarragon on hand, throw some in!
• Buttermilk: lightens up the dressing and adds a nice tang.
• Scallions: also called green onions, scallions are important for adding a mild onion flavor. You can also use chives but I don’t recommend using onions or shallots as they’re too strong in flavor.
• Fresh lemon juice: adds a bright zip!
• Anchovy fillet: you can also use anchovy paste if you have that on hand.
• Garlic: one small garlic clove adds just enough garlic flavor. Any more and the flavor takes over.

Panera’s Green Goddess Salad

Love Panera’s Green Goddess Salad? It’s pretty simple to make at home, though you will need a few more ingredients than this recipe calls for. You’ll need pickled red onions (our fave), sliced grilled chicken (though our pan-seared chicken is easier), crispy bacon, avocado, grape tomatoes, and hard-boiled eggs. 

Variations on This Salad

• Add chewy croutons to the mix (these craggy sourdough croutons are delicious).
• Toss in some marcona almonds or toasted and chopped/slivered almonds. 
• Add sunflower seeds or pepitas (pumpkin seeds). 
• Add pickled red onions for some tang.
• Make it a BLT-stlye green goddess by adding crispy bites of bacon and yellow cherry tomatoes.

Make it a Meal, Top This Salad With:

• Pan-Seared Scallops
• Sautéed Shrimp
• Pan-Seared Chicken Breast
• Smoked Trout or oil-packed tuna
• Pan-Seared Salmon
• Crispy Tofu
• Baked Tempeh
• Hard Boiled Eggs

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