Greek Goddess Salad
Published Dec 01, 2022•Updated Apr 06, 2024
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With all of the color and flavor of a classic Greek salad plus a creamy, herby Green Goddess Salad Dressing, Greek Goddess Salad is great as a green salad to serve as a side or as a light main dish. Warm roasted chickpeas add crispy plant-based protein.
There’s something irresistible about the classic Greek salad combination of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, briny olives, and savory feta cheese. And if you love those flavors, you are really going to love that combination served as a fresh green salad and topped with homemade green goddess dressing. The creamy dressing is a great way to top this fresh salad, but you’ll love using any leftover dressing for dipping pita chips and vegetables or using as a spread for sandwiches.
The final, not-to-miss topping for those gorgeous greens and veggies is warm roasted chickpeas. These are officially one of my favorite ways to top salads. Roasted chickpeas are packed with flavor, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, and a great source of plant-based protein. Those chickpeas can be found elsewhere on this site served as crispy chickpeas on their own or on top of another of my favorite recipes, Fattoush.
Jump down to the recipe card to get started, or see below for everything you need to make this salad:
Salad Ingredients
- Crispy Chickpeas – Toss the chickpeas with a mixture of olive oil, paprika, dried oregano, salt and pepper and roast them until crisp and tender.
- Lettuce – Any lettuce will work, but I love something light and crisp like green leaf lettuce or romaine hearts. Baby spinach or baby arugula also work well. Or you can use any combination of them.
- Tomatoes, Cucumber, Kalamata Olives, Red Onion – These are the must-haves for a classic Greek salad. If you prefer another type of olive over kalamata, feel free to substitute. Black olives or green olives work well.
- Feta Cheese – Crumbled salty feta cheese adds great tangy flavor to the salad, but if you’re okay with straying from the traditional Greek combination, any other type of cheese would be great.
- Green Goddess Dressing – See below for details on this delicious, creamy dressing!
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How to Make Green Goddess Dressing
There are as many ways to make Green Goddess Dressing as there are food blogs on the internet, but it is always a creamy dressing that includes fresh lemon juice or lime juice and fresh herbs. In vegan recipes that use this dressing, avocado can be used to make the dressing creamy and nutritional yeast or vegan pesto can be added to give it savory flavor. Non-vegan versions use yogurt, mayonnaise, or sour cream for creaminess.
The version of the dressing used to top this salad includes mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, fresh basil leaves, olive oil, fresh herbs (chives, parsley, or green onions), lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and garlic powder.
Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor or blend with an immersion blender until very smooth.
You will likely have some leftover dressing after making the recipe below, but you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I guarantee you’ll find a great way to use it! See below.
How to Use Leftover Dressing
Leftover green goddess dressing is great served as:
- Dip for vegetables
- Dip for pita or tortilla chips
- A spread for sandwiches or wraps
- A marinade for chicken
- Dressing for potato salad
Variations
- Mix up the veggies – Add any other vegetables you’d like. Bell peppers are great or any green veggies would make a great addition.
- Use different salad greens – Feel free to use your favorite salad greens. I often swap out half the lettuce for baby spinach or baby arugula.
- Make it Gluten-Free – This salad is naturally gluten-free, just be sure that your Worcestershire sauce is gluten-free or use gluten-free Tamari as a substitute.
- Add chips or pita bread – For some extra crunch serve the salad with crumbled tortilla chips or pita chips. Or add some soft warm pita bread on the side.
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Greek Goddess Salad
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Half Sheet Pan
- Blender
Ingredients
Green Goddess Dressing:
- 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup Plain or Greek Yogurt
- 1/4 cup packed Fresh Basil Leaves
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons chopped Fresh Chives, Parsley, or Green Onions
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce (see note)
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Salad:
- 1 15 ounce can Chickpeas / Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 8 cups Chopped or Torn Green Leaf Lettuce
- 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 Cucumber, chopped
- 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata Olives, sliced in half
- 1 cup crumbled or cubed Feta
- 1/4 cup Diced or Thinly Sliced Red Onion
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F / 218°C.
- In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and then with the paprika, dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
- Spread chickpeas on a sheet pan and roast in the oven, shaking the pan a few times during cooking, until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- Next, blend together all of the dressing ingredients until very smooth. Taste the dressing and season with some more salt, if needed.
- Assemble the salads by making a bed of lettuce in serving bowls. Top the lettuce with tomatoes, cucumber, olives, crumbled feta, and red onions. Scatter the warm chickpeas over top.
- Add dressing until the salad is dressed to your liking. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This has become a staple for me. I like to add cucumber, candied bacon bits and pickled red onions in addition to feta and the smokey, baked chickpeas. I also add a bit more basil and parsley from my garden in the dressing. EVERYONE that has tried this is in love with it. I like to eat it with dark greens, spinach and broccoli sprouts to get my bitter greens down.
Oh I’m so glad you like it! And those variations sound amazing!!