TikTok Green Goddess Salad (Baked by Melissa)
This viral TikTok green goddess salad from Baked by Melissa is a crunchy, herb-packed chopped salad tossed in an incredible creamy green dressing that you’ll want to put on everything! It’s fresh, healthy, and perfect as a side salad, dip, or taco topping.
Featured Comment…
“This is the best!! This green salad won everyone’s heart in my house and it’s on the rotation from now on!”
– GUNJAN
What makes this green goddess salad special?
Healthy, tons of flavor, flexible and forgiving! Sounds like recipe perfection, right?? It also doubles as a salad AND as a healthy tortilla-chip dipping snack!
WHAT IS THE TIKTOK VIRAL GREEN GODDESS SALAD?
This vegan green goddess salad was made famous in late 2021 by NYC baker Melissa Ben-Ishay, founder of Baked by Melissa. Besides baking, Melissa also says she loves trying new vegan recipes. One day she posted a video on TikTok of her making this salad it went absolutely VIRAL!!!
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this amazing Baked by Melissa green goddess salad:
INGREDIENT NOTES & SUBSTITUTIONS
Melissa herself says that this salad is super flexible and forgiving. You can add and omit things as you like. As Melissa says “It’s totally fine! Don’t stress!” Here are some notes for easy substitutions:
Nutritional Yeast: This is a flakey, yellow powder that is used for a “cheesy” taste in some vegan recipes. It’s packed with flavor and rich with vitamins and minerals such as B-12 and folic acid.
You can buy nutritional yeast in most chain grocery stores (Bragg’s is a popular brand) and on Amazon, of course. If you aren’t making this vegan, you can use grated Parmesan cheese.
Greens: More or less of the spinach or basil in the dressing is totally fine! You can also use iceberg lettuce in place of the cabbage. It’s all flexible!
Nuts: Melissa suggests cashews or walnuts, but use your favorite! You can also leave them out, or substitute pumpkin seeds (pepitas).
HOW TO MAKE THE TIKTOK GREEN GODDESS SALAD RECIPE: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
CASEY’S NOTES
- Chop everything finely: The magic of this salad is in the texture. A super-fine chop (a sharp knife really helps!), ensures every bite is packed with flavor and crunch.
- Add liquid first: If you are making the green goddess dressing in a blender, add liquids first to ensure everything gets properly blended.
- Taste and adjust: Add more lemon juice, garlic, or salt to make the dressing pop. Don’t be afraid to tweak! Remember, this recipe is flexible and forgiving!
- Storage: Store leftover salad in an air tight container in the fridge for about 2 days. Any longer than that and it gets a bit soggy due to the high water content in the veggies.
How to cut the cabbage: Cut cabbage head in half. Then, cut the halves into thin slices. Last, turn the slices the opposite way and finely chop. I always discard the very center part of the cabbage.
Related…
If you love delicious, healthy salads, you CANNOT miss my honey mustard chicken salad (no mayo!!) and this orzo salad with roasted tomatoes! Both recipes that we make on repeat in our house, especially in the summer!
How to Serve
- Healthy “dip” for tortilla chips: It might seem like a salad or slaw, but Melissa says she always eats hers with chips or crackers as a “dip!” It’s delicious both ways, I assure you!
- Salad or slaw: If you choose to eat it as a slaw or side salad, it goes so well with grilled or air fried chicken, fish, or a grilled steak, or this slow cooker BBQ chicken!
- Topping: Another great way to enjoy this salad is a healthy topping for tacos or burgers.
Did you try this recipe?
Let us know your thoughts TikTok green goddess salad from Baked by Melissa by leaving a star rating below or sharing it on Instagram!
Thank you! ~ Casey
TikTok Green Goddess Salad (Baked by Melissa)
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 1 small head of cabbage, finely chopped about 6-8 cups chopped, see notes below on how to get the best chop!
- 3-4 baby cucumbers or 1 large English cucumber, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
- 1 bundle green onions/scallions, finely chopped about 6-8
Green Goddess Salad Dressing
- juice of two lemons about 1/3 of a cup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar any white vinegar works
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves, packed
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small shallot, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast See Note 1
- 1 tsp. sea salt or Himalayan pink salt more to taste
- 1/4 cup nuts of choice or pumpkin seeds (pepitas) optional
Instructions
- Chop and combine: Chop veggies for the salad (cabbage, cucumbers, chives, and green onions) and combine salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Make the dressing: In a food processor or large blender combine all dressing ingredients. If using a blender, add liquid ingredients first (lemon juice, olive oil, and vinegar) to make sure everything gets properly blended. Blend for 30-45 seconds until dressing is creamy and well blended. Set aside.
- Finish: Pour dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or serve right away.
Notes
Casey’s Notes
-
- Chop everything finely: The magic of this salad is in the texture. A super-fine chop (a sharp knife really helps!), ensures every bite is packed with flavor and crunch.
- How to cut the cabbage: Cut cabbage head in half. Then, cut the halves into thin slices. Last, turn the slices the opposite way and finely chop. I always discard the very center part of the cabbage.
-
- Add liquid first: If you are making the green goddess dressing in a blender, add liquids first to ensure everything gets properly blended.
-
- Taste and adjust: Add more lemon juice, garlic, or salt to make the dressing pop. Don’t be afraid to tweak! Remember, this recipe is flexible and forgiving!
-
- Storage: Store leftover salad in an air tight container in the fridge for about 2 days. Any longer than that and it gets a bit soggy due to the high water content in the veggies.
This salad is the perfect summertime snack–I know it’s not super healthy but I can’t stop eating it with tortilla chips! I know you ‘ll love it! XO~ Casey
Oh wow! I didn’t expect something as simple as a green salad to be so flavorful! I was pleasantly surprised!
I loved your recreation of green goddess salad. I remember this recipe going viral on Tiktok and so glad you posted in your blog. It was easy to follow and so flavorful.
Can’t wait to get into salads again and this dressing is so good and I really love the addition of nuts too.
Such a tasty side salad. I served it with jacket potatoes. Great recipe.
This salad looks delicious, perfect for spring!
There are so many incredible, healthy flavors in this awesome salad!
This is tasty– but it was missing some “zing” for us. I had to add more nutritional yeast, vinegar, and a little Dijon mustard to it to get it there. I also found it to be complex and messy to make– there are a lot of ingredients that could probably be simplified– like the 3 different versions of onion flavor via the shallots/green onion/chives. I thought I would be blown away based on the hype this got. Definitely tasty, but I’m not sure if it is worth the effort. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Casey,
This comment is more for your blogging resources than this recipe.
Thank you for all the information you have put out to help new bloggers like me who are still learning about the blogging world.
Your content is insightful with lots of tips to get going from the start.
Thanks for all that you do!
Of course, Seema! Glad to be of help 🙂 Reach out if you need anything! XO Casey
This is so delicious! Such a fun way to get some greens in. It went well with our sweet potato tacos!
Every bite does indeed look amazing! All of the flavors are incredible. And I love these vibrant colors.
The name really fits this recipe! It is so perfect and amazing!
This green goddess salad is calling my name. I love all the flavors and that there is no mayonnaise in it. Can’t wait to try it.
why dont u like mayonise? *
This is the best. This green salad won everyone’s heart in my house and its on rotation from on.
Thank you so much! The flavors are perfect and I can’t wait to try this recipe!
So yummy! I eat this a couple times a week.
Isn’t it soooo delish?! Perfect for spring! 🙂 XO ~ Casey
I’m sure this is tasty, but it’s not green goddess dressing. This is pesto plus vinegar. GG uses not only the mayo and sour cream you list but also chives, tarragon, anchovies, pretty much everything in GG is not in this recipe. Again I’m sure it’s delicious, but none of this is a green goddess salad. Thanks tik tok.
LOL! Yes, it’s definitely not “traditional” but that is what makes food fun–everyone’s different takes on classic recipes! Makes eating fun, too! HA! XO ~ Casey
Thanks for sharing this amazing salad recipe. It’s so fresh and full of crunch and the green goddess dressing is amazing. I will make it again!
Great salad! We enjoyed it over Sunday brunch!
Easy to make flavorful and the family loved this and its the second time I made it great recipe!
I can definitely see why this salad went viral! I absolutely love that vibrant green color. So easy too!
Loved this recipe and dressing!! So fresh and tasty!
I love this healthy salad!! I made it for lunch today and it was light, refreshing and so easy to make!
Such a delicious salad! Definitely making it again!
Loving all of that green goodness! Definitely my kind of salad. 🙂