When it comes to creating a delicious salad, it’s all about the dressing.
And I could eat this one with a spoon!
As I understand it, the original Green Goddess dressing was created in the 1920′s by chef Phillip Roemer at the Palace Hotel in San Fransisco, in honor of actor George Arliss, who played the lead in William Archer’s play “The Green Goddess.”
I was surprised to find that the original recipe calls for anchovies and mayonnaise, as I’ve only tasted the popular bottled version made by Annie’s, which is tahini-based. Since I’m intimidated by working with anchovies, the tahini-version was the obvious choice when deciding to try my hand at a homemade version.
Using the ingredients listed on Annie’s bottled dressing as my guide, the resulting dressing is downright addictive, and much healthier than the original!
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Oil-Free Green Goddess Dressing (Vegan)
makes 1 1/2 cups
Inspired by Annie’s Natural Goddess Dressing
Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw tahini
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoons green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 cloves garlic (or 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)
1 teaspoon Nama Shoyu or Tamari
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth and creamy.
Adjust seasoning to taste, and add more water, if necessary, until desired texture is achieved.
Note: For those who must avoid vinegar, feel free to substitute extra lemon juice, instead. Choose tamari (wheat-free soy sauce) if you’re gluten-sensitive.
Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for up to 4 days in a sealed container.
This dressing will thicken up when chilled, making a nice veggie dip or creamy sauce for spiralized noodles, too!
- ½ cup raw tahini
- ½ cup water
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons green onions, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 cloves garlic (or 1½ tsp. garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon Nama Shoyu or Tamari
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons raw Apple Cider Vinegar
- Combine all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Adjust seasoning to taste, and add more water, if necessary, until desired texture is achieved.
- Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for up to 4 days in a sealed container. This dressing will thicken up when chilled, making a nice veggie dip or creamy sauce for spiralized noodles, too!
Hope you enjoy!
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Reader Feedback: Are you a fan of Green Goddess dressing? If so, are you more familiar with the anchovy- or tahini-based variation?
This looks delicious! Ever since you posted your salad for the last WIAW, I have been waiting for you to post the dressing recipe. I also have to tell you that I tried your ‘cheesecake’ recipe and, while I was skeptical of the zucchini addition, it turned out delicious!
Just had to come back and say how delicious this is! I used regular tahini, upped the parsley a bit, and added black pepper. It needs no sweetener, which surprised and delighted me! Thank you so much! I will make this often!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know!
Can I ask why raw tahini? I know everything is raw these days, but I sometimes wonder if we’re doing ourselves a disservice by getting away from traditional food preparations.
For example, I just read that spinach and kale, almonds, etc. should not be eaten raw because of oxalic acid. (This article brought it to my attention. http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/think-raw-veggies-are-best-think-again/)
I’m just tired of all of the conflicting information… it’s confusing and frustrating! What do you think?
Yes, it’s all confusing and frustrating! I agree with the article you posted, and usually cook most of my cruciferous veggies– I think it is better for our thyroid to avoid eating them raw, for the most part. (I do still add kale to my juices sometimes, but not as much as I used to.)
When it comes to nuts and seeds, I’ve always heard that cooking or roasting nuts may cause their natural oils to go rancid, and may even create trans-fatty acids. Raw nuts are also more resistant to oxidation, meaning they won’t go rancid as quickly as cooked nuts when stored. Rancid fats can be carcinogenic in the body, so we want to avoid them as much as possible. Of course, there’s still a debate about ALL of this, so who knows for sure. Frustrating, indeed!
However, since I enjoy my fair share of baked almond-flour goodies, I figure sticking to raw nut and seed butters the rest of the time is a good balance. Hope that helps!
Awesome! I can’t wait to try it!
I bought a bottle of green goddess for the first time and hated it… I guess I’ve grown a little tired of tahini flavor, but yeah, I was kind of disappointed since all the bloggers seem to like it.
I actually don’t care for the bottled version at all, which is why I wanted to try making it myself. This one tastes much better, in my opinion.
this looks great, but we have a severe sesame seed allergy in our family, so the tahini is not an option. any substitute you could think of? i would really like to give this a try!
I’ve heard that you can use peanut butter as a substitute for tahini, though it will definitely alter the flavor! The same would apply to almond or cashew butter, too– they will all work for replacing the texture, but the flavor will be different. However, I’m sure it will still be tasty, regardless!
I love Green Goddess dressing but never eat it because of the high fat and calorie count. I’ll be making this tomorrow!
Hi Megan, I am so happy i came across your website. I made this dressing last night and it was great. I eat salad almost every day and this dressing made it so much better. Can’t wait to try it with raw zucchini spirals. I just ordered the machine from amazon. Looking forward to enjoying more of your recipes!!!
I had salads with green goddess dressing before, and it tasted sooo good. Expecting it to be healthy, I looked at the nutrition facts and immediately thought: this is not green (healthy) and not for goddesses (health conscious holistic babes). I looked at homemade recipes and all involved mayo and sour cream. I’m so glad to have found your oil free recipe! I don’t have tahini, though. Do you have a possible substitution? If not, I guess I can try and find it in the grocery store. Thanks a bunch!
I made this dressing this evening. YUM! I was licking my fingers. I am looking forward to using it as a dip for carrots in tomorrows lunch. I don’t know how it compares to regular Green Goddess dressing as I don’t remember the last time I had any. I stumbled across this website following a link from another recipe on pintrest. I am so glad I found it. Lots of yummy things here.
Hey – looks like a great recipe, but you should be clear about the fact that tahini… is OIL. This is not an “oil-free” dressing. Those looking to eliminate oil from their diets, following the Esselstyn or Engine 2 diet, would not be able to eat this.
I consider oil to be something that is extracted from a whole food– such as olive oil or sesame seed oil. Raw tahini is made of ONLY ground sesame seeds, with no added salt or oil. In my opinion, that makes tahini a whole food, not an oil. I’ve read the Engine 2 Diet, and I don’t recall nuts or seeds being off limits, so I believe this dressing would be perfectly fine for someone following that plan.
This recipe is perfect! I’ve always loved Annie’s Green Goddess dressing and this is a healthier home-made alternative that tastes just like it! Amazing!
Regarding the comments directly above… I agree that raw tahini is not the same as extracted oils, but it all comes down to the purpose for following the Esselstyn or McDougall diet. If one is following the diet to reverse heart disease, then they’d want to avoid ALL overt fats – including tahini and nut butters – but for those of us not trying to reverse heart disease, who just want to eat a whole foods plant-based diet, this is a great alternative to the bottled Green Goddess dressing.
Thank you for the recipe, Megan!
Wow! Came across this website looking for a honey dijon dressing. Everything sounds and looks so good! I am trying to eat a little healthier and to make more homemade dressings and other dishes from scratch. If this works…I’ll be back again and again and …..LOL Gail
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[...] are some good dressings I’ve tried: oil-free green goddess dressing, miso ginger dressing, citrus miso dressing (pictured below), and basic salad dressing [...]