Green Goddess Salad Recipe

The TikTok Cabbage Dip Everyone is Obsessed With

By
Laurel Randolph
Photo of Laurel Randolph
Laurel Randolph
A fervid lover of the culinary arts and all things Instant Pot, Laurel has been writing about food for 10 years. One of her cookbooks was the #2 cookbook of 2017.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 06/29/23
Tested by
Bahareh Niati
Bahareh Niati
Tested by Bahareh Niati
Bahareh Niati is a professional food photographer and recipe developer. Baking and sweet treats are her favorites, and she shares her creations and love for baking on her blog Baking is Therapy.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Green goddess salad

The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings

If you're one of the many food lovers on Tiktok, you may have noticed a bright green, super crunchy salad popping up all over your FYP. Baked by Melissa founder Melissa Ben-Ishay posted the original green goddess cabbage salad on the mini cupcake brand's account, then later shared the recipe on her blog.

Soon, it joined baked feta pasta and Million Dollar Spaghetti in the TikTok food hall of fame as seemingly everyone recreated it. Adding to the intrigue of the recipe is the way Ben-Ishay enjoy it—not as a salad, but as a dip scooped up and eaten with tortilla chips.

What's In a Green Goddess Salad?

The backbone of this recipe is a big pile of chopped green veggies. You can mix and match all you want, but green cabbage is a must. Our version includes cucumber, celery, and green bell pepper for tons of crunch.

Baked by Melissa's cabbage salad features a vegan take on green goddess dressing, and uses nuts to achieve a creamy texture. This one leans more in the Caesar direction, using tahini to add a creamy, savory nuttiness. Bonus: you don't need a high-power blender for this dressing—any old blender will do.

This quick and easy dish is incredibly versatile. It takes just minutes to whip up and can be served as a side salad, with chips as a cabbage dip, or as a filling for sandwiches and wraps.

It's packed with nutritious veggies with a flavorful vegan dressing that sits right on the line between green goddess and Caesar. Use whatever crispy, crunchy produce you have lying around and turn them into this memorable dish.

Nutritional Yeast: A Vegetarian Flavor Powerhouse

One of the key ingredients that give this dressing its umami flavor is nutritional yeast. This inactivated form of the organism that helps bread rise is popular in vegetarian cooking because it adds a salty, cheese-like flavor, minus the cheese. Here, it takes the place of the anchovies that are typically found in Caesar dressing.

Tips for Making the Green Goddess Salad of Your Dreams

  • This green goddess cabbage salad can be served a number of ways. Serve it simply as an appetizer or side salad, or serve it along with tortilla chips or pita chips as an unconventional but delicious cabbage dip. Add it to sandwiches and wraps in place of lettuce for some flavorful crunch.
  • This recipe is easy to halve for a smaller serving size.

“This is the ultimate salad! It’s refreshing, crunchy, filling and it stores beautifully in the refrigerator! To make the preparation easier, chop celery and green cabbage by pulsing them a few times in a food processor. I tried this salad on its own and on a falafel wrap and they were both great!”—Bahareh Niati

Green Goddess Salad Recipe/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Green Goddess Caesar Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup tahini, stirred

  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • 3 tablespoons warm water, more as needed

  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

  • 1 teaspoon agave or maple syrup

  • 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves, packed

  • 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed

  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped chives, or dark green parts of green onions

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, more for garnish, optional

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad:

  • 1 small head or 1/2 large head green cabbage

  • 3 large stalks celery

  • 1 medium hothouse cucumber

  • 1/2 green bell pepper

  • 4 medium green onions

  • 1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds, more for garnish, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make green goddess dressing

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  2. To make the dressing, add the tahini, lemon juice, warm water, red wine vinegar, oil, mustard, agave, spinach, basil, chives, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper to a blender.

    Salad dressing ingredients in a blender

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  3. Blend until very smooth and creamy. If too thick, add 1 teaspoon warm water at a time as needed to reach desired consistency.

    Blended salad dressing

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  4. To make the salad, slice the cabbage into quarters. Remove the tough stem using a sharp knife and then dice. Place in a large bowl.

    Diced cabbage in a large bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  5. Dice the celery, cucumber, and pepper. Thinly slice the green onions. Add to the bowl with the cabbage.

    Diced celery, cucumbers, peppers, and green onions added to the cabbage

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  6. Pour the dressing over the vegetables, then add the sunflower seeds. Toss to coat. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnish with additional roasted sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast, if desired.

    Green goddess salad topped with dressing and sunflower seeds

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

Recipe Variations

  • To turn this salad into a main dish, add a little protein like a can of drained chickpeas, chunks of tuna fish, cubed and seared tofu, or grilled, chopped chicken.
  • If you're not vegan, try adding crumbed feta cheese for a bit of salty creaminess.
  • Add chopped fresh or pickled jalapeños for a little heat.
  • Put your own spin on the dressing. Swap the tahini for vegan mayonnaise to take the dish closer to coleslaw territory, or swap for one ripe avocado to venture into guacamole territory. Note that the salad won't keep longer than a day if you use avocado.
  • Mix and match the veggies to suit your tastes. Go for crunchy veggies like snap peas, carrots, and radishes.

How to Store

  • Store any leftover green goddess cabbage salad in an airtight container in the fridge. You can make it up to a few hours ahead without any noticeable difference.
  • The salad will keep for a few days, but after several hours the vegetables will start to release moisture, watering down the dressing. Give it a good toss before enjoying.
  • We don't recommend freezing this cabbage salad, since it will ruin the vegetables' signature crunchiness.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
226 Calories
15g Fat
20g Carbs
9g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 226
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 19%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 490mg 21%
Total Carbohydrate 20g 7%
Dietary Fiber 7g 25%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 81mg 407%
Calcium 176mg 14%
Iron 3mg 16%
Potassium 768mg 16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)