Do you love the avocado based Trader Joe's Green Goddess Dressing? You won't believe how easy it is to make green goddess dressing at home in as little as 5 minutes!
Best Avocado Green Goddess Dressing
This is the BEST Copycat Trader Joe's Avocado Green Goddess Dressing recipe! It is nutrient-packed and ready in 5 minutes! A zesty homemade green goddess dressing made with avocado, lemon, onion, basil and parsley that is fantastic on everything! Leftover parsley and avocado? Add it to this green smoothie or green machine juice!
This is my copycat Trader Joe's green goddess dressing version where I implemented the same ingredients on the label of the Trader Joe's Green Goddess Dressing, and tested and tweaked it until the flavor matched the store-bought version!
Why this copycat Trader Joe's dressing works
No preservatives here! Most store-bought salad dressings, sauces and dips have added preservatives and ingredients that our bodies can definitely live without. To be quite honest, buying dressing is so much quicker when it is already made, but this dressing literally takes about 5 minutes and is made with 100% fresh ingredients and is packed full of vegetables like basil, parsley, chives, onion and garlic!
And boy is this salad dressing recipe AWESOME! It is bursting with lemony zesty flavors that add just the right punch with bold aromas of basil and parsley. This avocado green goddess dressing is so good as a salad dressing and to serve it as a dip. Try it also on grilled chicken, tacos, shrimp, quinoa salads, and even spread on a sandwich. You could even throw a splash into this easy potato salad recipe for little extra pop of flavor!
Ingredients
- Basil
- Parsley
- Chives
- Garlic
- Lemon (and the zest)
- White and green onion
- Apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- Avocado (this makes the dressing slightly creamy without using sour cream, Greek yogurt or buttermilk)
- Water
- Olive Oil
How to make green goddess salad dressing
- Gather the freshest ingredients you can find. It is true, fresh is best and handfuls of basil and parsley with that PUNCH of lemon and apple cider vinegar really give the dressing vibrant colors and flavors. Remove the skins of the garlic and onion and slice the avocado in half to scoop out the 'meat'.
- Then blend the ingredients in the food processor or lightly in a blender until you get the right consistency. For a thicker consistency like shown in the image (with chunks of green) blend a bit less until it looks how you like it. Season to taste with garlic salt and pepper or just salt and pepper then transfer the blended ingredients in the bowl or salad dressing container you wish to serve it in!
Storing homemade dressing
Store the salad dressing it in a glass jar in the refrigerator. The lemon and olive oil act as a natural preservative to keep the green goddess dressing vibrantly green!
Health Benefits
Here's my nerdy part where I like to always talk about how good the foods here are for you! Since this avocado green goddess dressing is packed full of leafy greens from fresh herbs it nourishes your body is so many powerful ways!
Avocado and Olive Oil - avocado fruit is an excellent source of healthy fats and fiber to keep you full longer and provides beautiful skin.
Basil, Parsley, Chives - Dark leafy greens are full of calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin C and antioxidants. Both are also a natural source to help relieve bloating and acts as a natural diuretic (natural water pill/helps the increased production of urine).
Onions and Garlic - Contain anti-cancer properties and garlic aids to help fight colds.
Lemon and Apple Cider Vinegar - Are acidic but once in the digestive system it works to alkaline the blood which helps to balance PH levels within the body. When a body is alkaline and not acidic foreign objects (too much yeast for example) and diseases can not survive and continue to grow in an alkaline environment.
Homemade green goddess dressing has amazing health benefits and healing properties without any preservatives. So please join me in the kitchen and let's get started!
Frequently Asked Questions
This makes a little over 1 cup and serves about 4 people at ¼ cup each. How many ounces in a cup? It makes 8 ounces of dressing, or 16 tablespoons (4 tablespoons per serving).
Lemon juice helps to preserve the dressing, but suggest consuming it within 5-7 days for the freshest flavor.
Where to serve this salad dressing
If you make this Copycat Trader Joe's Avocado Green Goddess Dressing recipe from Delightful Mom Food I would love to see your creations and share it! Follow along with me on INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE and TWITTER to be featured and for more recipe inspiration! And don't forget to rate the recipe in the recipe area and leave a comment below!
📖 Recipe
Homemade Green Goddess Dressing Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large avocado
- 1 large handful parsley fresh
- 1 large handful basil fresh
- 1 tablespoon chives fresh
- ¼ cup onion (sweet yellow or white onion)
- 2 stalks green onion ends removed
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ cup water
- 1 lemon juice of (about ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice)
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until desired consistency is achieved. Blending less than 30 seconds will provide a chunkier dressing and blend longer for a smooth dressing.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in February 2018 and has been republished with new content but same great recipe! See the comments for how delicious it is!
Nanette says
Can't wait to try this! Do you think I can substitute balsamic vinegar for the apple cider vinegar? How about lime juice instead of lemon? Trying to use what I have on hand!
Danielle Fahrenkrug says
Yes, you can use lime juice in place of lemon. If you have, white balsamic or red wine vinegar would work best.
Katie says
Hello! If I don't have access to fresh Basil, Parsley, & Chives -- do you have any idea about how much of each dried herb I would use? I cannot wait to try this! I LOVE the TJ's version so much. Thanks for the recipe!
Danielle Fahrenkrug says
Oh no access at all? It really is the fresh herbs that make this great and add liquid and nutrients. You can try 1 tablespoon of each dry, but I have not tried that to really know exact and it will change the taste.
Ravit says
Sooooo GOOD! And so much better than the Trader’s Joe version. Finally a low calorie (and only 2 WW points) really good salad dressing. I ate it w lettuce and veggies and I ate it with carrot/white cabbage slaw and it was delish. I normally like simple dressing made w olive oil and lemon and was looking for a light dressing to change things a bit and this one is perfect.
Thank u for a great recipe!
Danielle Fahrenkrug says
You are very welcome and I am so glad you love this recipe!
Irene says
I can’t wait to try this. My teenage daughter loves GG dressing from TJ’s but they haven’t been carrying it lately. Have you tried using the Green Goddess Spice blend they now carry to make the dressing?
Danielle Fahrenkrug says
The dressing is so good! I have not tried it with their spice blend, just everything from scratch:-).
Karen says
My gf made this for a "salad bar" she hosted and OMG I can't believe how amazing it tasted. It was MUCH better than Trader Joe's!!! Thank you for the recipe.
Danielle Fahrenkrug says
Hi Karen, so glad you enjoy this dressing- thank you for the raving review!
Christine says
Have you tried freezing this? I'd love to make a larger batch and freeze some, cause its soo good!
Danielle | Delightful Mom Food says
Honestly, I have not tried freezing it, but I think it would work. You can freeze fresh herbs and I have frozen other dressings before. If you do, let me know what you think!
Audrey says
Hi, thanks for posting this!
I'm super excited to try out this recipe, I love the TJ's version!!
I noticed you mentioned that lemon and apple cider vinegar are alkaline. That is actually false. Lemon has a PH of around 2 and apple cider vinegar is between 2-3. ACV is slightly more basic (alkaline) because of alkaline ingredients it contains but is still acidic overall (because of its PH <7).
Hope this helps!
Danielle | Delightful Mom Food says
Hi Audrey, I am so glad you are excited to try this recipe! Yes, that Trader Joe's dressing is so good I just had to make it at home! Thank you for your corrections - you are so right that lemon and apple cider vinegar are acidic. I meant to word it that when it is in the body it helps to turn the body's PH levels alkaline:-). I corrected the misprint:-). Let me know how you like the dressing and thanks again!
Elliw says
Love the sound of this! I've been so into buddha / salad bowls lately and always like to spice things up by trying new dressings so will deffo give this a try. Thank you for sharing!! How long do you think it will last in the refrigerator?
Danielle | Delightful Mom Food says
I think it should last a week. I always end up using mine quicker because it is also really good as a marinade to top on meats:-)
Albert Bevia says
This dressing sounds incredible! and it´s true, fresh ingredients are best! can´t wait to try this out and pour it over just about anything!!
Danielle at Delightful Mom Food says
You will love it on EVERYTHING! Soooo good on salads, tacos and Buddha bowls!