Poppy Seed Dressing (Creamy and Healthy!)
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Creamy poppy seed dressing made with yogurt instead of mayonnaise — you’ll love the flavor of this light and easy to make dressing!
My mom made a salad over the holidays with a poppy seed dressing that I just loved. The salad had lettuce, kale, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember. All I can remember was that it was good and it had poppy seed dressing. Oh, and the most delicious little candied sunflower seeds. So good!
Poppy seed dressing has always been one of my favorites so of course I asked her for her poppy seed dressing recipe and then I completely changed it because for some reason I can’t help myself!
I kept her original version on file and might just have to share that one in the future too, but I wanted to share this creamy version, a thicker, richer feeling dressing.
How to Make this Poppy Seed Dressing
The base of the dressing is Greek yogurt, one of my favorite ingredients. I love that you can eat Greek yogurt as is or even use it as a marinade. I use it in countless recipes (proof: check out my Greek yogurt archives) and it always has a spot in my fridge.
For this dressing, yogurt stands in for heavier ingredients such as mayonnaise or sour cream (although don’t get me wrong, those both have a place in my heart too!).
The dressing is a nice blend of tangy and sweet — my mom’s recipe called for granulated sugar but I like honey for a smooth and flavorful way to sweeten this dressing.
It’s a simple and straightforward dressing that goes great on salads with fruit toppings but could easily stand its own on a salad topped with vegetables too. This poppyseed dressing would be fantastic for spinach salad as well. Psst: Come back Monday for a salad recipe that this creamy poppy seed dressing is perfect on!).
As a bonus, it’s likely you already have all the ingredients you need in your pantry and fridge.
Try this dressing on:
- Sweet Kale Salad – like the kind you can buy at Costco!
- Kale Quinoa Salad – with Walnuts and Cranberries
PS: Like my mom, 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, lemon poppyseed pancakes, or lemon poppy seed bread.
PPS: Per my calculations (see disclosures, folks!), you can eat two tablespoons of this creamy poppyseed dressing and only add 33 calories to your beautiful salad!
Love making homemade dressings? Try:
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a jar, cover and shake well to combine. Use immediately or store covered in fridge.
Notes
- Makes 1/2 cup.
- Shelf life in fridge will vary depending on the date on your Greek yogurt container.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Carol says
Absolutely fantastic!!!, I made this last night as I was out of dressing. Absolutely the best I’ve ever had! Blew my socks off!!. You’re absolutely right no adjustments are needed. Thanks for sharing.
Rachel Gurk says
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Megan Urnbyer says
AMAZING!! Seriously so good! I cannot have mayo due to a stomach disorder, and this is just what I needed. Thank you!
Rachel Gurk says
Awesome! I’m so glad you liked the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Kim Pru says
I added orange zest and a little juice to spruce it up and holy moly it was delicious. Thanks for your recipes.
Rachel Gurk says
Oooh, delicious additions! Thanks for sharing and for taking the time to leave a comment!
Leanne Goodin says
I only have vanilla greek yogurt on hand. Do you think it would work?
Rachel Gurk says
That would drastically change the flavor of this dressing and make it overly sweet…vanilla yogurt won’t work for a salad dressing, sorry!
Cathy says
Was disappoint in the store bought brands so decided to make this one. L love it the only thing missing was the sodium in the nutritional value and for those on the DASH diet it is crucial information.
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Cathy! So glad you liked this recipe! We’re slooooowly making our way through all 1,000+ of our recipes and updating them with full nutritional info. Moving this one to the top of the list. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Mindy says
My friend mentioned how she loves poppyseed dressing and cucumbers as a snack and I wanted to try it. I googled the recipe and chose this one to try! I am hooked, this dressing is hands down the best. It’s super simple to make and it’s absolutely delicious. I highly recommend this recipe.
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad to hear you like this dressing, Mindy! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment and rating – means a lot to me!
Renee E says
This was delicious and I’m glad to have a creamy healthy delicious dressing. My 6 year old loves it too!
Patricia says
was the only difference between yours anand your mom’s recipe: Greek yogurt for mayo, and honey for white sugar? I’m curious to try both ways yo compare! thanks!
Rachel Gurk says
I wrote “I kept it on file” but your guess is as good as mine as to where that actually is! i do remember though that her recipe isn’t creamy. I think she uses vegetable oil instead of yogurt. :) And then sugar like you mentioned.
Gary Tierney says
I am a ground pepper freak and added it. My wife loves your way and I like a little pepper. We’re all good.
Rachel Gurk says
Perfect, sounds like a win-win! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment!
Carla Speyer says
I love the dressiing
please can you tell me how much water
I have to add???
Rachel Gurk says
This recipe doesn’t call for any water. Glad you like it!
sagemorrison says
your video shows water
Rachel Gurk says
Ha, it sure does! That must have slipped by me when I was reviewing it after my videographer sent it over. That should be the vinegar, not the water. Thanks for pointing that out!
Rachel Gurk says
Hi, thanks again for alerting me of this! I uploaded a corrected video. Sorry for the confusion!
Laura Richard says
Too salty for me!
Rachel Gurk says
Feel free to decrease the salt to make it right for you!
Gail R says
Really nice dressing! I used it in place of the processed dressing that came in a kale salad bag. Will definitely make this again and might try adding a little lemon juice next time.
Rachel Gurk says
Great idea! I get that salad all the time but have never thought to make this dressing to go with it ;) Genius!
Carolyn says
I love poppy seed dressing, can’t wait to try this!
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
I love this idea! I bet it would work well with a dairy-free yogurt too!
Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips says
I always love dressing that uses Greek yogurt in place of mayo. Yours is next on my list to try!
Rachel Gurk says
Me too! It’s such an easy swap! I hope you love this!
Denise says
I bet it would taste good with cider vinegar, too
Rachel Gurk says
It definitely would!