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!
I’m glad to find your recipe because this is exactly what I was looking for! But I don’t know why it came out very runny…? I doubled checked the amount of each ingredients and shook forever to mix them together. I ended up adding double the amount of Greek yogurt at the end. Did anyone else have the same problem?
It’s a thinner dressing, which I like because it coats everything well. What kind of greek yogurt did you use? Fat free is a little more watery.
Ok that might explain why it was very runny. I used 0% fat Greek yogurt. I could try using a different kind next time I sure loved the taste! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad you liked the taste!
I was looking for a sweet sauce for a sandwich and made this with apple cider vinegar instead of white, and had it on my chicken/bacon/lettuce/cheese sandwich–AMAZING!!! So, so good with the sweetness of the honey, and I love that it doesn’t have vegetable or soybean oil and corn syrup like so many store bought dressings do. Thank you!!!!
So glad you liked it! That sandwich sounds like a winner! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Hello. This recipe says it make 1/2 cup for 12 servings of 2 TBSP each serving. This would
Probably make 4 servings of 2 TBSP each. Would you please verify.
Thank you ,
Jan
You’re right, thanks for catching that, Janice! What I think happened was when we converted this recipe to our updated format, 1/2 cup turned into a 12. :) Thanks again for letting us know!
If you are looking for a good poppy seed dressing, keep looking, it isn’t here.
Very disappointed.
Hmm….what didn’t you like about it?
Can you taste and smell the yoghurt in this recipe? My husband absolutely hates yoghurt and will not eat anything that smells or tastes like it!
Yes, I think you probably can, especially if you are looking for it. Maybe try sour cream instead?
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.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
AMAZING!! Seriously so good! I cannot have mayo due to a stomach disorder, and this is just what I needed. Thank you!
Awesome! I’m so glad you liked the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
I added orange zest and a little juice to spruce it up and holy moly it was delicious. Thanks for your recipes.
Oooh, delicious additions! Thanks for sharing and for taking the time to leave a comment!
I only have vanilla greek yogurt on hand. Do you think it would work?
That would drastically change the flavor of this dressing and make it overly sweet…vanilla yogurt won’t work for a salad dressing, sorry!
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.
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!