Pickle lovers, this dip is for you! It’s creamy, tangy, and fresh. It tastes like an easy, grown-up alternative to fried pickles with ranch dressing. If you’re looking for the perfect dip for game days, look no further.

To make it, you’ll need sour cream or Greek yogurt, dill pickles plus some pickle brine, fresh dill and chives. That’s it! It’s so simple to stir together on a moment’s notice and tastes even better the next day.

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Bored by your dinner plans? This green goddess tahini will liven up any basic meal! I’m always so happy to have it in the refrigerator to serve as an appetizer or snack.

A dollop or two brings together random leftovers and simple meals made with veggies, greens, whole grains or beans. You can also spread it onto your sandwiches or wraps. Green goddess tahini is here to save the day. You’ll find many more serving suggestions below.

This recipe was inspired by a similar dip that I grabbed at Whole Foods before hosting girls’ night (Falafel King brand). A couple of my friends follow dairy-free diets, so I’m always looking for fun options that satisfy our requirements. As the night went on, we all fell in love with this vegan dip—it’s creamy, rich yet fresh, and satisfying. It’s irresistible.

So, I combined my Best Tahini Sauce (truly the best) with the herbs from my Easy Green Goddess Dressing, and here you have it. You can make this recipe with any combination of cilantro, parsley, basil, dill and/or mint. Add a small handful of fresh tarragon if you can find it for that characteristic green goddess flavor. This dip (or sauce) is lovely in any season. I hope you fall in love with it!

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This Mediterranean bean salad is one of my all-time favorite salads and sides. Bold claim, I know, but I can back it up. I’ve been loving this recipe for ten years running now!

This salad is crisp and satisfying, fresh and full of bright Mediterranean flavors. The recipe features hearty kidney beans and chickpeas, which balance crisp cucumber, celery and red onion. The remaining simple ingredients—lemon and olive oil, garlic and lots of fresh leafy herbs—yield truly irresistible results.

This Mediterranean-style salad is perfect for spring picnics, summer potlucks and cozy fall get-togethers. It’s a crowd-pleasing salad or side dish that suits most special diets, too. The recipe is vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

With how quickly this salad comes together, it’s an easy addition to your weekend menu! It’s a simple chop, whisk and stir situation that’s ready in about 20 minutes. I hope this dish becomes one of your standby recipes, too.

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Add this fresh tortellini salad recipe to your weekend menu, stat! It features cheesy spinach tortellini tossed in my all-time favorite green goddess dressing, layered with lemony fresh greens and seasoned spring or summer vegetables.

This pasta dish manages to be light yet hearty at the same time, which is a real feat. It’s quick to make, but looks impressive. It’s versatile, too—you’ll see quite a few vegetable options below. Choose raw vegetables for the simplest preparation, as I did for these photos, or incorporate some quickly blanched vegetables, like asparagus, to expand your options.

My healthy homemade green goddess dressing comes together quickly in the blender or food processor. I suggest doubling the ingredients so you can serve the extra as a veggie dip or refrigerate it for upcoming green salads. It’s really delightful to have on hand.

Choose spinach tortellini over basic cheese tortellini to incorporate even more greens. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. This vegetarian pasta salad is a real crowd pleaser!

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I love ranch dressing. There, I said it. As a kid, I adored Hidden Valley, but as an adult, I only get excited about made-from-scratch, real-deal ranch salad dressing. This recipe is exactly that, and it’s so much better than store-bought.

The secret to making the best ranch dressing is to use fresh herbs, real buttermilk, and a creamy sour cream base. You only need a dollop of mayonnaise to carry the flavors.

Earlier this year, as I navigated my first trimester, I found myself craving my favorite comfort foods. Naturally, I made my own ranch dressing and happily drizzled it over my salads, pizzas, and even my quesadillas (why not?). It’s a great dip for fresh vegetables, French fries and crispy potato wedges, too.

This ranch dressing recipe is the result of my extensive experimentation. It tastes gourmet, and it’s certainly not too heavy. I hope you love it as much as I do!

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When it’s blazing hot outside, this cucumber tomato salad is exactly what I want to eat. This recipe is crisp and refreshing, light yet satisfying. It’s the perfect side dish to make with a surplus of cucumbers and tomatoes from your garden or farmers’ market.

This simple veggie salad features fresh cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, not-too-much red onion, fresh herbs and optional feta cheese. Once tossed in zippy Greek dressing, this basic combination is further proof that summertime produce doesn’t need much help to taste spectacular.

Cucumber Tomato Salad Ingredients

Cucumber

Use one English cucumber or two Persian cucumbers. I prefer these varieties to standard garden cucumbers because their skin isn’t bitter and they are extra crisp. You can use a regular cucumber if that’s what you have—taste it first, and peel off half or all of the skin if it tastes bitter.

Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes are perfect for this salad because they’re small, flavorful, and more fleshy than watery. Cut them in half if they’re small-to-medium in size, and quarter any larger tomatoes.

Red Onion

Red onion can be overpowering, so we’ll tame its intensity by soaking it in ice water before using. Simply slice the onion and place it in a bowl of ice water while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Soaking also makes the onion extra crisp, which is lovely.

Optional Feta Cheese

You’ll enjoy this salad either way. Feta offers little bursts of creamy, salty flavor. Without it, this salad tastes extra light and refreshing, like a spa salad!

Fresh Basil or Dill

This salad is not complete without fresh herbs. Use a combination of the two or all basil, whichever you prefer.

Greek Dressing

Finally, we’ll bring this salad to life when we toss it with Greek salad dressing, which is simply the best dressing for cucumber tomato salad! It’s made with extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh garlic, honey, dried oregano, salt and pepper.

Sometimes salads of this nature are swimming in oil, but not this one. This dressing is bold, so you can get by with less.

You can cut the salad dressing ingredients in half for the perfect amount for this salad, or better yet, make the full batch to enjoy on green salads throughout the week.

Watch How to Make Cucumber Tomato Salad

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What took me so long to make classic pickles? As it turns out, homemade dill pickles are simple, easy and delicious. They’re the perfect little summertime project, if you even want to call it that. These pickles are ready after a short chill in the refrigerator (as little as one hour), and they keep for several weeks.

These pickles are tangy and refreshing, nice and crisp, and offer garden-fresh flavor. They remind me of Claussen or Grillo’s pickles—but they’re even better. In short, I’m in love with this refrigerator pickle recipe and I think you will be, too.

These pickles are made with simple ingredients. You’ll need vinegar (I prefer rice vinegar’s mild flavor), fresh dill (technically optional, but delicious), a couple cloves of garlic, and a few basic seasonings.

I added a touch of sweetener, too—just enough to cut the bite of vinegar. These pickles are decidedly tangy, and nowhere near “bread and butter” territory. However, the sweetness level is entirely up to you.

These pickles aren’t overwhelmingly salty, either, yet they’re fully seasoned. They are irresistibly just right—perfect for burgers, for snacking, and more.

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Some of my recipes start off with a strong concept or challenge, while others are designed to satisfy a craving. This lentil salad falls into the latter camp. It’s exactly what I’ve been craving lately.

This salad is tangy, crisp-tender, a little spicy, and quite satisfying. The earthy lentils and carrots ground the more bold flavors, so they’re not too overwhelming.

Dill, tahini and pepperoncini peppers aren’t everyone’s favorite ingredients, I know. I love them—the more, the better. If you’re not a fan, you’ll find some options to change up the recipe in the notes.

Better yet, try my classic lentil salad, Greek lentil salad with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, or my lemony lentil and chickpea salad with mint. Those are all safer bets!

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Would you look at those colors?! This roasted beet side dish is the prettiest recipe I’ve made in a long time, and the leftovers look like an abstract Easter basket.

This recipe comes from a new cookbook called Eat What You Want by Gaby Dalkin. You may know Gaby from her blog, What’s Gaby Cooking. I love Gaby’s fresh, California-style cooking and boundless enthusiasm for all things food-related!

The funny thing is that I’ve never met Gaby in person, but I feel like I know her after watching her on Instagram over the years. We share an affinity for fresh herbs and flaky sea salt, and I turn to her blog and cookbook for inspiration often. When she offered to send me a copy of her cookbook, I said yes, of course.

Her newest book features “125 recipes for real life” and I had a hard time choosing just one to share with you. I’ve been on a beet kick lately, so beets won the draw. This recipe also gave me an excuse to make Gaby’s go-to basil vinaigrette, which I’ve been meaning to try for ages.

This dish features roasted beets over thick yogurt (I used Siggi’s “skyr” instead of labneh), with fresh basil vinaigrette, avocado wedges, and a heavy sprinkling of fresh herbs. Even my husband, who’s not a fan of beets, went back for more.

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This green goddess dressing is exactly what we need right now. It’s creamy, tangy, and fully loaded with fresh, herbal flavor. I’ve savored it by the spoonful while imagining sunny days ahead.

The Green Goddess is going to carry us through to spring. We’re going to make it. I can feel it.

I put some soup recipe development on hold when I finalized this dressing. I’ll figure it out soon enough (hint: it’s also green). I’m too busy drizzling this versatile dressing over anything and everything.

The funny thing about this green goddess dressing recipe is that it’s so very simple. I tried adding lemon juice and olive oil, and they only distracted from the beautiful combination of good Greek yogurt and fresh herbs.

In fact, you can use any combination of fresh herbs for this recipe. That leftover parsley and cilantro in the fridge? Let’s use ’em up.

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