This refreshing Georgian salad is served over creamy walnut dressing and is full of nutritious, crunchy vegetables and aromatic herbs. It’s Whole30, paleo, low-carb and vegan-friendly.
After my visit to Ukraine, I have become fascinated with Georgian cuisine. Wait, what? That’s right. Although I love Ukrainian food (try my root vegetable salad called vinegret or my borscht recipe), it was Georgian food that grabbed my attention on this trip.
I have already paleo-adapted the famous Georgian garlic chicken here and I really wanted to make my own version of the Georgian salad with walnut dressing.
Every restaurant serves this salad, which is quite similar to a Greek salad but instead of feta, oregano and olive oil dressing, it’s dressed with a garlicky, walnut dressing and topped with a generous amount of fresh herbs like coriander and parsley. It’s super simple to make (although I put a little extra effort into the dressing) and is really fresh and tasty. I hope it becomes a favourite of yours.
Notes For Making Georgian Salad
In a traditional Georgian recipe, the dressing isn’t usually blended into a creamy sauce but I wanted to add my own twist and this velvety dressing works really well.
If you don’t have a blender or a food processor, feel free to chop the walnuts and garlic finely and mix in with the rest of the dressing ingredients.
If you don’t eat walnuts, feel free to use almonds, hazelnuts or a mix of nuts. Seeds could be used for those avoiding nuts.
I used crunchy cucumbers and tomatoes with a lot of fresh herbs but you can easily bulk it up with salad leaves and add things like radishes, red peppers and carrots. Feel free to add some grilled chicken or salmon for extra protein and make it into a complete meal.
You might also like my Tomato Ricotta Salad with Parsley Lemon Gremolata
Description
This refreshing Georgian salad is served over the creamy walnut dressing and is full of nutritious, crunchy vegetables and aromatic herbs. It’s Whole30, paleo, low-carb and vegan-friendly.
For the walnut sauce/dressing
- Prepare the salad ingredients and set aside.
- Add the walnut dressing ingredients to a blender or a food processor. Puree and process unto a smooth and thick sauce (it should turn a lovely light brown/beige colour, like a hot chocolate drink).
- Now, there are two ways to serve the salad. You can layer and spread the sauce on the bottom of the bowl, which is what I did. Mix the salad ingredients and add over the sauce. This way, when you scoop the salad to serve, you will mix it with the dressing right at the table. Alternatively, mix the salad and serve the dressing on the side or/and drizzle some over the top.
- Finally, drizzle everything with a little olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with a little sea salt and pepper.
Very Incredible Basil Sauce Recipe
Punchy, salty, bright green sauce packed with fresh basil, chives, garlic, and a bit of oregano. This sauce can be poured out just about anything!
This creamy basil sauce is going on EV-ER-Y-THING in my life: sandwiches, eggs, grilled chicken and veggies, dipped with chips?! It’s so good, packed with green goodness, it’s beautifully summery, and I’m doing the most with it.
In This Post:
The main thing:
Other stuff:
How To Make This Basil Sauce
Step 1: Get All Your Ingredients Ready
You can use a blender, food processor, or a mini-chopper-type gadget. I love this mini-chopper (affiliate link). It’s not meant for sauces necessarily, but I use it all the time because it’s super compact.
Step 2: Blend Your Basil Sauce
That’s it! Just blend, taste, and adjust!
This sauce can be a bit chunky / textured, so keep it going until it has the consistency you want. I prefer something right before completely pureed – where it has just barely noticeable flecks of herbs, but it’s mostly smooth and creamy.
Step 3: Put It On All Your Yummy Things
Like so. (Here’s that recipe.)
Lindsay’s Notes
Ooh baby. Basil, chives, garlic, and a tiny hit of oregano all in a creamy, salty, bright green sauce – I love this so much.
The first time I made this, my toddler (who mostly just eats crackers) found a spatula and just sat at the counter licking the remnants of the sauce out of the blender with me. And I hear that from a lot of people – many kids seem to be very into this for unknown reasons. Sometimes it just hits right, ya know? A+ for that experience.
My favorite thing about this sauce, besides that it tastes like heaven, is that makes healthy-ish eating something I really, actually look forward to.
Baked salmon goes up about 100 notches in my book when smothered in this creamy green sauce. Same goes for shrimp, chicken, and a big fresh salad or lots of roasted veggies.
This will not be the last we see of this sauce, which is why I decided to give it its own post on POY. Welcome home, little basil sauce.
Things You Could Put It On
The possibilities! They are endless.
Description
Punchy, salty, bright green sauce packed with fresh basil, chives, garlic, and a bit of oregano. This sauce can be poured out just about anything!
- Place all your sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor. (I use this mini chopper for the vast majority of my sauces because it’s nice and compact!)
- Blend until you get your desired consistency – I usually go for an almost-completely-smooth texture that is flecked with small bits of herbs.
Notes
Taste and adjust! More lemon juice will wake it up, Parmesan adds more umami and saltiness, and if it gets too salty for you, add a bit more mayo to dilute the pungency a bit!
Keywords: basil sauce, basil dressing
Recipe Card powered byFrequently Asked Questions For Basil Sauce
What can I use instead of mayo?I’ve seen some people on Instagram say they used Greek yogurt and liked it. I haven’t made it this way and I know I wouldn’t like it with Greek yogurt because it’s so tangy and has a different flavor. BUT, if you’re okay with it being a bit different than the original, I think Greek yogurt could work!
I have an egg allergy – what can I use?Vegan mayo has no eggs and tastes great! That’s what I’d use!
How long does the basil sauce last?I usually keep it in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Can you make this vegetarian / vegan?Yes! Use vegan mayo and vegan Parmesan! If you can’t find vegan Parmesan, just throw in a bit of extra salt to compensate for the change in flavor. And if you don’t want to use vegan mayo, try using an avocado like we did in this avocado mojo sauce.
Can you freeze this basil sauce?I would not recommend freezing this.
More Of My Favorite Sauce Recipes
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Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
- Calories N/A
- Total Fat N/A
- Saturated Fat N/A
- Cholesterol N/A
- Sodium N/A
- Total Carbohydrates N/A
- Protein N/A
Hi, I'm Alex!
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