Green Goddess Salad with Basil-Tahini Dressing
This vibrant, refreshing salad makes a great lunch or light dinner, but the dressing is real the star here. Creamy basil-tahini dressing takes less than 5-minutes to blend together and is tangy, garlicky and absolutely delicious!
This hearty Green Goddess Salad is the perfect way to showcase vibrant spring produce. It’s made up of tender baby lettuces, creamy ripe avocado, snap peas, cucumber, garlic croutons, and of Basil-Tahini Dressing! The whole thing is a delight to eat!
Tahini is a Middle Eastern condiment made from ground, toasted sesame seeds. It’s a pantry staple in my kitchen, I highly recommend keeping some on hand. It makes a luscious, creamy base for salad dressings and sauces like Creamy Tahini Caesar Dressing or Miso Tahini Soba Noodles. Mix it with labneh, garlic and lemon juice for a delicious creamy Labneh Dip. Search “tahini” in the search bar to find more ways to use this special ingredient!
This salad is great on it’s own or topped with extra protein like crispy chicken thighs, or grilled skirt steak for a more filling meal.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Here’s everything you need to make this salad. Dressing: tahini, basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Croutons: a few slices of day-old bread, olive oil and garlic. Salad: a small head of lettuce or a few hand fulls of mixed greens, avocado, snap peas, cucumber and fresh, leafy herbs like basil, mint, tarragon, dill, chives or watercress.
Check out the notes section of the recipe card below for ingredient information and substitutions!
Recipe Step by Step:
Step 1. Make the Croutons
Toasted, garlicky croutons are my favorite addition to any salad. Once you learn how easy it is to make them you’ll never reach for store-bought again. Tear a few slices of day-old bread into bite-sized pieces then toast them in pan with olive oil and garlic until golden brown, season with salt and toss them into you’re salad. It’s as simple as that!
Step 2. Blend the Dressing
Blend all of the dressing ingredients together in a blender or food processor until creamy. Note: tahini tends to seize up and get a bit thick when blended with lemon juice. If that happens just add more water until the dressing is smooth and pourable.
Step 3. Toss and Serve
Pour a few tablespoons of dressing into a large bowl, you may not need all of it. Add the salad ingredients right on top, followed by the croutons. Toss everything together until evenly combined, season with salt and pepper. Serve right away!
FAQs and Expert Tips:
Tahini is Middle Eastern condiment made by grinding sesame seeds into a smooth and creamy consistency like peanut butter. Tahini is one of the main ingredients in hummus. You can purchase tahini paste in most supermarkets in the same area as nut butters or order it online.
Check Out More Salad Recipes:
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Green Goddess Salad with Basil-Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
Croutons
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 2 thick slices day-old bread - torn into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cloves garlic - whole, smashed
- salt
Basil-Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 c tahini
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 c lightly packed basil leaves
- 1/4 c water
- salt and pepper
Salad
- 1-2 small heads lettuce - little gems, bibb lettuce or a few handfuls of mixed greens
- 1/2 English cucumber - thinly sliced
- 1 c sugar snap peas - roughly chopped
- 1 avocado - thinly sliced
- 1 c fresh herbs - watercress, basil, dill, mint, parsley or chives
Instructions
Croutons
- Heat a saute pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, once it's hot add in the torn bread and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring frequently until the croutons are golden brown and crispy. Transfer the croutons to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb the excess oil. Season with salt.
Basil-Tahini Dressing
- Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor. Season well with salt and pepper. Note: if the dressing is at all bitter, add more salt to mellow it out.
Assembling the Salad
- Give the lettuce a good wash then dry it in a salad spinner. Tear any large leaves into smaller bite-sized portions.
- In a large bowl toss together all of the salad ingredients with the toasted bread and basil-tahini dressing. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve right away!
Notes
- Lettuce: You can really use any lettuce you like for this recipe. I like a combination of bibb lettuce and little gems. You could also use mixed greens or arugula.
- Herbs: Feel free to play around with different leafy green herbs. Watercress, basil, dill, mint, parsley or chives would all be suitable.
- Tahini: Tahini is a paste made by grinding sesame seeds into a smooth and creamy consistency like peanut butter. Tahini is one of the main ingredients in hummus. You can purchase tahini paste in most supermarkets in the same area as nut butters or order it online.
- Leftover tahini-basil dressing will stay fresh covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Made the green goddess salad yesterday and it was yummy! The dressing was incredibly good as were the home made croutons. The only thing I would have changed is to take out the avocado. I normally love avocado, but I didn’t feel that it added to thus recipe. Still delicious though!