Green Goddess Ranch

This creamy green goddess ranch dressing is loaded with fresh dill, parsley, and herbs: a copycat of Sweetgreen’s fan-favorite sauce that’s ready in 5 minutes! Drizzle it on bowls, salads, or use it as a dip for roasted vegetables.

Here’s a green sauce that’s about to become your new favorite: I know, because it’s mine! In the past few years I’ve become obsessed with the Green Goddess Ranch sauce at the popular bowl-meal restaurant Sweetgreen. After eating it recently, I decided: this sauce is too good not to figure out how to make a version myself!

After recipe testing, I found the secret: generous handfuls of fresh dill, parsley, and dried tarragon, blended right into a Greek yogurt and mayo base. After one spoonful, I declared it my new favorite green sauce: it’s creamy, herby, and each bite tastes irresistible. It’s great for dipping vegetables or drizzling on salads or bowl meals through the week!

Why I Think You’ll Love This Green Goddess Ranch

My classic Green Goddess dressing recipe is based on herbs like tarragon and chives, and my classic homemade ranch dressing is buttermilk-based. My popular ranch dip has a Greek yogurt base.

This recipe is like a combination of the three: it’s creamy like ranch, herby like green goddess. The Greek yogurt lightens it quite a bit, and the mayo brings in a ranch-like richness. It truly is a sauce that works on everything!

Ingredients You’ll Need

In my research, I actually found Sweetgreen’s recipe for their Green Goddess ranch. It uses a load of mayonnaise, but I’m the queen of balancing mayo with Greek yogurt (I do this in many of my sauce and healthy dip recipes). So I added some of that and voila: this sauce was born. Here’s what you’ll need:

Fresh dill: This is the key ingredient that gives the sauce its distinctive flavor: do not skip it!
Fresh parsley: Use the leaves and tender stems: tear off a few handfuls and add to a measuring cup. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
Dried tarragon: This seasoning adds a delicious complexity: it’s also worth seeking out (and is a nod to a traditional Green Goddess dressing).
Greek yogurt: Full-fat yogurt gives the creamiest result, and adds a lightness and tang to the dressing.
Mayonnaise: This adds richness and helps the dressing stick to vegetables: it’s also required! A sauce with all Greek yogurt is more watery and less of a dressing.
Shallot + garlic: A small amount of each is key for adding savory flavor.
White wine vinegar: This adds a brightness to the flavor.

Tips for Making Green Goddess Ranch Dressing

Here are a few things to keep in mind for this dressing:

Use a food processor. A food processor is easiest for blending and you can throw in the shallot and garlic and chop them up first. You can also use a small blender, but I would mince the garlic and shallot by hand first. It will not work in a large blender because the quantity is not large enough.
Resist the urge to over blend. The sauce should turn a gorgeous pale green and have some nice herb chunks in it. Over-blending is more risky if you’re using a small blender, where the sauce can become runny if you blend too long.
Adjust seasoning as desired. Add another pinch of salt if necessary to bring out the flavor.

Ways to Use This Dressing

Once you have a jar of this in the fridge, you’re set for meal prep! Here are my favorite ways to use this sauce:

Drizzle over grain bowls. I love building a bowl with a protein, rice, roasted sweet potatoes, mixed greens, pickled red onions, and sliced avocado. Try my Chicken Rice Bowl or swap in baked tofu for vegan variation.
Dip for roasted vegetables. Roasted broccoli or carrot fries dipped into this sauce are fantastic.
Salad dressing. Toss it with a simple green salad, or use it as the dressing in a power bowl.
Sandwich spread. Slather it on a veggie wrap or even Caprese sandwich.
Raw veggie dip. It’s thick enough to work as a dip too: just add carrots, celery and bell pepper slices!

Build a Bowl Around It

Here are a few bowl concepts that would work well with this dressing:

Storage Instructions

This dressing stores well refrigerated airtight for up to 1 week. Give it a stir before using: it may thicken slightly as it sits, which is normal.

Dietary Notes

This Green Goddess ranch is vegetarian and gluten-free. For dairy-free or vegan, substitute vegan mayonnaise and a plain vegan coconut yogurt (I like the brand Cocojune).