Introduction
This isn’t just a salad—it’s a phenomenon! I first saw this finely-chopped “salad” all over social media and was intrigued. It’s eaten more like a dip with chips than a traditional salad. After making it once, I was hooked. It’s vibrant, fresh, and feels healthy but tastes incredibly addictive.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Addictively Delicious: The creamy, tangy, and savory dressing is unlike anything else.
- A Great Way to Eat Greens: It’s packed with cabbage, cucumbers, chives, and spinach.
- Versatile: Eat it with a fork, scoop it with tortilla or pita chips, or use it as a topping for chicken.
- Naturally Vegan & Healthy: The “cheesy” flavor comes from nutritional yeast.
- Vibrant and Fresh: It just looks and tastes healthy.
Ingredients
- For the Salad Base:
- 1 small head of green cabbage, very finely diced
- 2 English cucumbers, very finely diced
- 1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 small bunch of chives, finely minced
- For the Dressing:
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup nuts (cashews, walnuts, or pine nuts)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small shallot, peeled
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prepare the Salad Base: This is the most important step. You must chop all the base ingredients (cabbage, cucumbers, green onions, chives) as finely as possible. A uniform, tiny dice is key. Place all chopped ingredients into a very large bowl.
- Make the Dressing: Add all the dressing ingredients (basil, spinach, olive oil, nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic, shallot, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and salt) to a high-speed blender.
- Blend on high for 1-2 minutes, until the dressing is completely smooth, creamy, and bright green.
- Combine: Pour the green goddess dressing over the chopped salad base.
- Mix thoroughly with a large spoon or spatula until every single piece of the salad is coated in the dressing.
- Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Tips
The fine dice is what makes this recipe work. If you have a food processor with a chopping attachment, it can make this step much faster. This salad is famously served with tortilla chips for scooping.