You may have seen the viral green goddess salad that’s been making the rounds lately. This salad (and dressing) has roots in the 1920s, but a century later this dish has been all over social media. The reason this salad had been pleasing palettes for 100 years is simple- it’s both creamy and very fresh at the same time.
If you love salad and you want a tasty appetizer this green goddess chicken dip might be just the thing for you. As a finger food salads don’t fare very well, but this dip incorporates some of the best things about the green goddess salad and turns it into a dip-able, scoop-able treat- perfect for serving with pita chips or crackers.
The secret to this trendy-again flavor profile is a mix of aromatic ingredients like basil and parsley mixed with creamy ingredients like avocado and and sour cream. When these two types of flavors interact they make an incredibly tasty dressing. Or, in this case, they make a tasty base for our dip.
This recipe relies on a whole rotisserie chicken’s worth of meat, removed from the bone of course. The easiest way to do this is just to buy a whole, cooked chicken from the grocery. But, this recipe also works great if you just want to use up some leftover chicken as well.
There’s also a hefty amount of fresh greens in this dip, but they don’t take up a lot of space since we’re using a food processor and stick blender to blend this together into a smoother consistency.
This dip is great with wheat crackers or chips, but you can take it up a notch by cutting a baguette into slices and toasting them for a sophisticated take on a classic “dipper”.
Any way you serve this dip you can count on the flavor, rich and savory and herbed at the same time with a creamy base. It will make you go in for another dip, and another…
Green Goddess Chicken Dip
Diet: Gluten-Free
For the dip base:
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 red onion, minced
- zest and juice of 1 lime
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 cups spinach
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, de-stemmed
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 avocado, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the salad:
- 4 cups shredded cabbage
- 3 cups shredded chicken (from 1 whole rotisserie chicken)
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1 cucumber, chopped
Preparation
- Use a stick blender or food processor to combine all dip base ingredients until smooth. Remove half of dressing to another container.
- Combine half of dip base with 3 cups cabbage and 1 cup cucumber. Use food processor or stock blender to puree.
- Toss this mixture with remaining cabbage, remaining dip base, remaining cucumber, green onions, and chicken. Mix until smooth, using stick blender if needed to get a dip consistency.
- Chill until ready to eat. Serve with chips, crackers, or sliced baguette.
Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.