Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This creamy poppy seed dressing is sweet, tangy, and it has the best little crunch from the poppy seeds! I share two ways to make it, a traditional version with mayo and a lighter version with Greek yogurt.
How long it takes: 5 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: jar or bowl
Servings: 6
Perfect With a Summer Salad!
My mom frequently made a homemade version of poppy seed dressing, especially for one of our favorite lettuce salads that included sliced strawberries, crisp celery, and candied pecans. The sweet and tangy dressing is perfect for this popular salad, and I’m sure you’ll love it as much as we do!
What makes mine special:
- Perfectly balanced: Some poppy seed dressings can lean too sweet, but either version you try below has just the right balance of flavors: tangy and lightly sweet to complement both fruit-forward and savory salads.
- Better than store-bought: Not only does homemade poppy seed dressing avoid the cloying flavor and weird texture of store-bought, it also avoids the preservatives and fillers. It tastes super fresh, and you know exactly what’s going into your dressing.
- Quick and easy: Whether it’s healthy ranch dressing, balsamic vinaigrette or this poppy seed dressing, I always make my own salad dressings at home. It only takes a few minutes and no special equipment is necessary. I like that I don’t have several half-empty bottles of dressing cluttering up my refrigerator!
- Traditional or healthy options: Sometimes I want the richness of mayo—and other times, I’m feeling a little more virtuous. Since I make this recipe two ways at home depending on my mood, I thought I’d share both versions with you.
Ingredient Notes
- Creamy base: You can use either mayonnaise or plain Greek yogurt. If you’re looking for a poppy seed dressing that most closely mimics store-bought, I would recommend the mayonnaise recipe.
- White vinegar: The vinegar provides a bright, tangy balance to the richness and sweetness. Apple cider vinegar is another option.
- Sweetener: Poppy seed dressing leans toward the sweet side which is why it’s so popular on salads that include fruit. I use granulated sugar for the classic version, or honey for the more natural yogurt poppy seed dressing.
- Poppy seeds: The tiny black seeds add a subtle crunch and that signature flavor.
- Kosher salt: A little salt is necessary to balance the flavor. If you only have regular table salt, use less.
Ingredient Tip
Keep your poppy seeds fresh. I store my poppy seeds in the fridge so they don’t go rancid. If you are looking for more ways to use poppy seeds, try orange poppy seed cookies or lemon poppy seed bread.
How to Make Poppy Seed Dressing
Combine. Add all the ingredients to a small bowl, measuring cup, or jar.
Mix. Whisk the ingredients until the mayonnaise is completely combined with the other ingredients. I usually use a small whisk or fork. The dressing should be smooth and creamy.
Taste the dressing and, if necessary, tweak it to your preferences. If you’re accustomed to store-bought poppy seed dressing, you may want to add extra sugar because this homemade version is not as sweet.
Use or store. Your dressing is ready to use! If you want, refrigerate it to use later.
Ways to Use Poppy Seed Dressing
- Green salads with fruit. Poppy seed dressing is perfect for lettuce or spinach salads with fruit. Try sliced strawberries or another berry, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, or thinly sliced apples. Top the salad with toasted pecans, almonds, or walnuts. Add feta or blue cheese if you like. Crumbled cooked bacon will give you a savory flavor that goes well with the sweet dressing.
- Coleslaw: Mix poppy seed dressing with shredded cabbage (pick up a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw blend) or broccoli slaw to make an easy coleslaw. I like to make coleslaw an hour or so ahead of time so the cabbage softens a bit. Stir before serving.
- Fruit salads: Top any assortment of cut-up fresh fruit with a drizzle of poppy seed dressing to take your fruit salad up a notch.
- Grain bowls: The sweet/tangy flavor of poppy seed dressing adds oomph to your meal bowl. Try it with Instant Pot quinoa, chicken, and fruit.
Store poppy seed dressing in a covered container or jar for up to 5 days. Stir or shake well before using if the ingredients separate. I find that the yogurt honey version separates more quickly than the mayonnaise version.
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Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise (see notes for mayo details and a yogurt-based version)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. The dressing should be smooth and creamy. I use a small whisk but a fork will work, too.½ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons poppy seeds, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Taste the dressing and, if necessary, tweak it to your preferences. If you are accustomed to store-bought dressing, you may want to add more sugar. This recipe isn't as sweet as popular brands which are heavily sweetened. If your dressing has a thinner consistency than you'd like, add another spoonful of mayonnaise (see mayonnaise note below).
- Use immediately, or store in a small jar with a lid, or a covered container (makes ¾ cup). Whisk again before serving, if the dressing has separated.
Notes
- One dressing/two recipes: Both of these poppy seed dressing recipes are excellent. If you’re looking for a poppy seed dressing that most closely mimics store-bought, I would recommend the mayonnaise recipe. If you’re interested in a dressing with more natural ingredients, try the yogurt-based recipe, which is slightly more tangy.
- Yogurt-based recipe: ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons poppy seeds, ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Whisk together until well-blended. The yogurt version tends to separate more quickly than the mayonnaise version when refrigerated, so give it a quick whisk before serving.
- Mayonnaise details: We tested this recipe with both generic store-brand mayonnaise and a more prominent name-brand mayo and the generic mayo yielded a much thinner dressing. For this recipe, we recommend a name-brand mayonnaise.
- Storing poppy seeds: You can usually find poppy seeds in the baking aisle of the grocery store in the spices section. Because they are a seed with natural oils, they tend to get rancid if stored too long. I always store mine in the refrigerator so they keep longer. If you open the container and it has a chemical smell, they are most likely rancid, and should be discarded. They should smell lightly nutty.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Where’s the Olive oil?
I was in the process of making your dressing while following the video. In comes a shot of olive oil???? I don’t see it mentioned in the recipe or listed in the ingredients. The first time I try something I like to follow the recommended portions and ingredients. No substitution’s no alterations. Soo what type of oil and how much? Or no EVOO just he yogurt
Hi JT! We’re in the process of updating this recipe. We retested it and updated the recipe card to reflect that (because it was better than the original version), but we haven’t updated the rest of the post, or the video yet. So sorry for the confusion it caused! The written recipe is correct, the video is no longer accurate.
Wow very tangy. I was hoping to find a recipe that tasted similar to store bought. I know they have sugar and this one doesn’t but most healthy recipes I find with maple and honey instead of sugar have a very similar flavor . This was way off. Kids are not going to eat this one!
You could definitely add some sugar if that fits your tastes better. :) Dressings are easy to adjust.
This was surprisingly good for how simple it is?! I didn’t have any poppyseeds, but I wanted a sweet dressing. I subbed the honey for maple syrup out of convenience and it was excellent. Will definitely be adding this to my homemade dressing rotation! Thank you!
So happy you liked it! Thank you for the review!
I was looking for a healthier dupe for the sweet kale grocery store salads. That dressing is much more sweet than this one. I couldn’t taste anything but vinegar. Even after I doubled all of the other ingredients, and added way more honey than I should have, it was still much too vinegary for me. Would be great if you love heavy vinegar-flavored dressing, I’ll have to keep looking for that dupe though.
Sorry to hear that – it is a lower calorie version so it doesn’t have the exact same taste. But I think I can help you! Try using mayonnaise instead of yogurt (yogurt is tangier than mayo and can contribute to that bright/tangy flavor) and then reduce the vinegar to 1 tablespoon and use sugar instead of honey – it will match more closely with the store-bought flavor. And then taste and add sugar as needed until you get that desired flavor. I hope that helps!
Made exactly by recipe and it is by far my new favorite.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
I liked it very much
I’m so glad to hear it!
Great dressing!
Thank you!
What do you think about apple cider vinegar?
That should work!
What are your thoughts on using raspberry vinegar?
I think that would be tasty!
I love baking my fish with store bought poppyseed dressing so I loved your momz recipe and I used honey 2 raw… it’s good over Swai fish and Cod baked… I’m marinating salmon in fridge over night will see how that taste 2ma
Oh yum, I’ll have to try that!