Avocado Green Goddess Dressing

Why you’ll love this creamy salad dressing

This avocado green goddess dressing is a delicious and nutritious way to dress up any salad.

But here are even more reasons to love it:

• It’s quick and easy: All you need is a food processor, avocado and some fresh herbs and you’ll have a delicious dressing ready in less than 5 minutes.
• It’s appropriate for a wide variety of diets: This dressing is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and whole30 compliant.
• It’s versatile: You can use it as a dressing, dip or sandwich spread.
• It’s delicious: The combination of creamy avocado, fresh herbs, garlic and zesty lemon creates a flavourful and luscious dressing.

Luckily, the recipe is very flexible and there are many easy ways to substitute if you’ve run out:

• Avocado: Use a medium-sized ripe avocado that yields roughly one cup of avocado flesh. You can also make this dressing from frozen mashed avocado as I do when avo season is over. Learn how to freeze guacamole (or mashed avocados).
• Fresh herbs: I love fresh basil as the base with whatever other leafy herbs I have in the garden or the fridge. Try fresh parsley, dill fronds, coriander (cilantro) or mint.
• Green onion: Spring onion, green onion, or shallot will work well in this dressing. Chives are also a great substitute.
• Olive oil: I love that luscious texture boost and the hint of peppery extra-virgin olive oil in the taste. But you can also go traditional and use mayonnaise, sour cream or greek yoghurt. Or completely omit it for an oil-free vegan avocado green goddess dressing. It will still have a beautiful creamy texture.
• Lemon: I use a fresh lemon that I squeeze for two to three tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and about a teaspoon of zest. Fresh lime juice and zest also work well, especially when you add cilantro to the mix (like saucy guacamole). You can also use apple cider vinegar.
• Garlic: With raw garlic for salad dressings, fresh garlic cloves are always best. But you can substitute the clove of garlic with half a teaspoon of garlic powder if you find raw garlic too pungent.
• Capers: Use capers preserved in brine or salt. Classic green goddess sauce has anchovies for that salty umami kick. You can certainly substitute the capers with a few roughly chopped anchovy filets. Or add a quarter cup of grated parmesan cheese.
• Salt: I used sea salt, but you can also add kosher salt to taste.
• Black pepper: I love freshly ground black pepper. But you can also try this dressing with a pinch of ground white pepper. Or go all out spicy and add a small jalapeño.

Step 1: Gather your ingredients

Place the roughly chopped leafy herbs, spring onion, and garlic clove in the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender.

Add the citrus juice and zest, capers, and olive oil.

Step 2: Prep your ripe avocados

Rinse the avocado to remove any contaminants on the skin.

Then, cut it in half and scoop the avocado flesh into the food processor bowl.

Step 3: Process

Pulse the food processor until you have a vibrant green sauce with a creamy texture. Scrape down the sides every now and then.

The texture will be luscious and thick, perfect for a party dip. For an avocado salad dressing, add cold water, a little bit at a time, until you reach the desired consistency to drizzle over a salad.

Taste, and add more salt, lemon juice and black pepper if needed.

Drizzle it generously over salads:

Use this creamy avocado dressing as you would any homemade salad dressing. Replace a classic Caesar dressing with the avocado goddess for a healthy twist. Or drizzle the vibrant green sauce over a simple chopped salad.

Replace the mayo in cold salads:

The creamy dressing makes an excellent substitute for mayonnaise in classic cold salads, like slaw, egg salad, tuna salad, or potato salad.

Or drizzle it over a no-mayo potato salad.

Spoon it over grain bowls:

Top your favourite cooked grain with veggies, like dark leafy greens, roasted sweet potato, butternut squash or aubergine wedges, and slices of heirloom tomatoes or cucumber. Generously spoon dollops of avocado green goddess sauce over the composed grain bowl. And finish off with toasted nuts or seeds.

I love a barley salad (see how to cook barley in an instant pot or stovetop). But you can also try the avocado salad with quinoa kale chickpea salad or bulgur wheat salad.

Serve it as a dipping sauce:

You can’t often serve your paleo, whole30 and vegan friends the same party dip. But, this is one of those rare occasions.

Serve the avocado green goddess dip with raw veggies or crunchy tortilla chips, or as part of a falafel platter.

Spread on sandwiches: This homemade dressing is thick and creamy. It makes the perfect sandwich spread. Slather it on a slice of toasted sourdough. Top it with tomato slices or fresh, chunky salsa, an extra drizzle of olive oil and some Maldon salt flakes.

Or scoop it into a falafel pita sandwich.