If you have ever had the green goddess bowl at Cafe Zupas, you already know the dressing is the whole point. The greens are lovely and the grilled chicken is great, but that thick, herby, impossibly green dressing is the reason we keep going back. So we spent a few tries in our own kitchens working out how to make it at home.

This copycat Zupas green goddess dressing takes about five minutes in a blender. It is Greek yogurt based instead of mayo based, so it is creamy and thick while still being light enough to pour over a whole bowl of vegetables. It keeps for five days in the fridge, which we have found is exactly long enough to put it on almost everything you own.

Copycat Zupas green goddess salad with chicken, avocado, edamame, and parmesan in a takeout bowl

Copycat Zupas Green Goddess Dressing

A creamy, herb packed copycat of the Cafe Zupas green goddess dressing, made with Greek yogurt instead of mayo. It blends up in five minutes and keeps for five days.

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Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
1 cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, lightly packed
1 cup mixed soft herbs dill, mint, and basil
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons capers drained
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Method

Add the Greek yogurt, parsley, soft herbs, chives, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, capers, garlic, salt, and pepper to a blender or food processor.
Blend until completely smooth and bright green, about 45 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides once so no herb leaves get stranded at the top.
Taste and adjust. Add more lemon juice if you want it brighter, a pinch more salt if it tastes flat, and a tablespoon of water at a time if you want it thinner. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

The capers are what make this taste like the Cafe Zupas version. Most copycat recipes skip them, and that briny, salty edge is exactly what goes missing. The dressing thickens in the fridge, so stir in a splash of water or lemon juice before serving.

What Is Green Goddess Dressing?

The original green goddess dressing was created at a San Francisco hotel in the 1920s, and the classic version leans on mayonnaise, sour cream, anchovies, and a big handful of soft herbs. The Cafe Zupas version is lighter and tangier. It swaps the mayo base for Greek yogurt and lets the herbs and lemon do the talking, which is why it tastes fresh instead of heavy.

Zupas Green Goddess Dressing Ingredients

There are eleven ingredients and every one of them is doing a job. Here is what goes in and why it matters.

Whole milk Greek yogurt. The base. Use whole milk, not nonfat. Nonfat turns thin and a little sour once you add the lemon.
Fresh parsley. The bulk of the green color and a clean, grassy backbone.
Dill, mint, and basil. A full cup of soft herbs between the three. This is not the place to be shy, and it is the difference between green dressing and green goddess dressing.
Chives. A mild onion note without the bite of raw onion.
Lemon juice and zest. The juice brightens, the zest gives it perfume. Do not skip the zest.
Olive oil. Smooths everything out and helps it cling to the greens.
Capers. The secret. More on these in a minute.
Garlic. One clove is plenty. Two takes over by day three in the fridge.
Sea salt and cracked black pepper. Salt to taste, and taste it more than once.

How to Make It

It is genuinely a dump and blend situation. Add everything to a blender or food processor, run it for about 45 seconds until it is smooth and bright green, and scrape down the sides once so no herb leaves get stranded up top. Then taste it and adjust before you call it done.

The Capers Are the Secret

If you have tried a copycat green goddess before and it came out tasting close but not quite right, this is almost certainly why. The Cafe Zupas dressing has a salty, briny edge underneath all the herbs, and capers are where it comes from. Nearly every copycat recipe online leaves them out. Two teaspoons is all it takes.

Let us be real, capers are not sitting in most of our fridges on a normal Tuesday. Buy the small jar, use two teaspoons here, and then put the rest on eggs and pasta and roasted potatoes for the next month. They keep for ages.

Getting the Consistency Right

Straight out of the blender this is a pourable dressing. It will thicken noticeably after a night in the fridge, which is not a problem, it is just yogurt doing what yogurt does. Stir in water or lemon juice a tablespoon at a time to loosen it back up. If you want it thick enough to be a dip, chill it for a few hours and leave it alone.

Substitutions That Actually Work

No dill? Use more parsley and basil. Skipping dill entirely changes the flavor more than any other swap on this list, so try to keep at least a little.
No fresh mint? Leave it out rather than using dried. Dried mint tastes like tea in this.
Dairy free. A thick unsweetened coconut or cashew yogurt works. Add an extra pinch of salt.
Sour cream instead of yogurt. Delicious, richer, and no longer especially light. We do this when it is going on a sandwich.
No capers at all. A quarter teaspoon of anchovy paste or a few chopped green olives gets you closer than nothing.

How to Store It

Keep it in a jar in the fridge for up to five days. The color is brightest on day one and slowly deepens, which is normal and does not mean it has gone off. We would not freeze it. Yogurt separates when it thaws and you end up with a grainy, watery version of something that used to be lovely.

Ways to Use It Besides the Salad

As a dip for sugar snap peas, cucumbers, and carrots on a snack tray
Spread on a turkey sandwich or a wrap instead of mayo
Drizzled over roasted potatoes or crispy chickpeas
Spooned over salmon or grilled chicken
Thinned with a little water and tossed through cold pasta salad
As the sauce on a grain bowl with rice, edamame, and avocado

Troubleshooting

It tastes bitter. Usually too much parsley stem, or a blender that ran too long and heated the herbs. Use mostly leaves and blend in shorter bursts.
It is not green enough. You need more herbs, not more blending. A full cup of soft herbs plus a full cup of parsley is the target.
It tastes flat. Salt first, then lemon. Nine times out of ten it is salt.
It is too garlicky the next day. Raw garlic strengthens overnight. Use one small clove, or grate it so it disperses evenly.

Zupas Green Goddess Dressing FAQ

What is in the Zupas green goddess dressing?

Greek yogurt, parsley, dill, mint, basil, chives, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, capers, garlic, salt, and pepper. It is yogurt based rather than mayo based, which is what makes it lighter than a classic green goddess.

Is Zupas green goddess dressing healthy?

It is Greek yogurt based with no mayonnaise, so it is higher in protein and lighter than most creamy dressings. The olive oil and herbs are doing good work too. As always it depends how generously you pour, and we pour generously.

How long does it last?

Five days in an airtight jar in the fridge. Give it a stir before each use.

Can I make it without a blender?

Yes, but finely chop all the herbs, the capers, and the garlic first, then whisk everything into the yogurt. It will be more flecked than smooth and honestly we like how it looks.

Does it work as a dip?

It does, and it is one of our favorite ways to use it. Chill it for a few hours first so it firms up.

This is the recipe that finally got us to stop paying for the bowl twice a week, and now there is almost always a jar of it in one of our fridges. If you make it, come tell us what you ended up putting it on. We are always looking for one more idea.

Want the whole bowl? Here is our Copycat Zupas Green Goddess Bowl with the grilled chicken, rice, and everything else that goes in it.

Copycat Zupas Green Goddess Dressing