🌿 The Best Creamy Vegan Green Goddess Dressing (Easy Recipe!)
🌿 The Ultimate Creamy Vegan Green Goddess Dressing (A Blender Recipe!) 🌿
Green Goddess dressing is a timeless classic. It is cool, creamy, tangy, and packed with a fresh, herbaceous flavor. It is the perfect dressing to make any salad feel like an indulgent treat. However, the traditional recipe is loaded with dairy and even fish, making it a definite no-go for a vegan diet.
The fantastic news is that you can create a vegan green goddess dressing that is just as rich, creamy, and flavorful. It is surprisingly easy to make at home. With a few smart, plant-based ingredients, you can whip up a dressing that will impress everyone, vegan or not. It's a burst of fresh, green flavor that is perfect for any season. ✅
🤔 Why Isn't Traditional Green Goddess Vegan?
The traditional recipe gets its creamy base from mayonnaise and/or sour cream (which contain eggs and dairy). Even more surprising for many, its signature savory, umami flavor often comes from anchovies. This makes the classic recipe not even vegetarian. Our vegan version uses smart swaps to replicate these flavors perfectly.
- What Is the Secret to a Creamy, Dairy-Free Version?
To create a convincing vegan green goddess dressing, we need to replicate two things: the creamy texture and the tangy, savory flavor. A few powerhouse plant-based ingredients do the job perfectly.
For the Creamy Base: The secret to the rich, creamy texture is soaked raw cashews. When you soak cashews and blend them, they create an incredibly smooth and neutral-flavored cream. This is the perfect replacement for the mayo and sour cream.
For the Flavor: The fresh herbs are the star. For the tangy, umami kick, we use a combination of lemon juice, capers, and nutritional yeast.
🥣 How Do You Make the Best Vegan Green Goddess Dressing?
This simple blender recipe comes together in minutes (after the cashews have soaked). It is rich, creamy, and packed with fresh flavor.
What Ingredients Do You Need?
- 1 cup of raw cashews
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 large handful of fresh parsley
- 1 large handful of fresh chives (or green onions)
- 1 handful of fresh basil or tarragon
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of capers (for that savory kick)
- 1-2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast (for a cheesy, umami flavor)
- 1 clove of garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
What Are the Instructions?
1. Soak the Cashews: This is the most crucial step. Place the raw cashews in a bowl. Cover them with very hot water. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes to an hour to soften them. (If you have time, soaking them in cold water for 4+ hours is even better).
2. Drain the Cashews: Drain the cashews well and discard the soaking water.
3. Blend Everything: Place the soaked cashews in a high-speed blender. Add the water, olive oil, all the fresh herbs, lemon juice, capers, nutritional yeast, and garlic. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture is completely silky smooth and creamy.
4. Season and Chill: Taste the dressing and season generously with salt and pepper. If it is too thick, you can thin it out with another tablespoon of water. Transfer to a jar and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld.