Creamy poppy seed dressing made with yogurt instead of mayonnaise — you’ll love the flavor of this light and easy to make dressing! 

Front view of small glass jar with dressing, yellow spoon inserted, on decorative wooden board, with white bowl of arugula in. background.
Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

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.

Front view of small glass jar with dressing and yellow spoon, with bowl of greens in background.

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.

Front close up of small glass jar containing dressing and yellow spoon.

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:

Small glass jar with dressing, spoonful along side with dressing running onto wooden cutting board.

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!

More Homemade Dressings

Recipe

Poppy Seed Dressing (Healthy!)

4.34 from 295 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Creamy poppy seed dressing made with yogurt instead of mayonnaise — you’ll love the flavor of this light and easy to make dressing!
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

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.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoons, Calories: 59kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 270mg, Sugar: 5g

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!
Free email series

5 Time & Stress Saving Cooking Secrets

Free email series of my best tips!

FREE BONUS!

4.34 from 295 votes (289 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




The maximum upload file size: 1 MB. You can upload: image. Drop files here

79 Comments

  1. Sara says:

    5 stars
    This is my go to recipe! Love it and SO much healthier without sacrificing taste.

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      So glad you like it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, it means a lot to me!

  2. Chelsea says:

    Could I use avocado oil instead of olive? Or would the flavor be off? Thanks!

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      That will definitely work!

  3. Lacey says:

    Terrific recipe!  I added fresh squeezed lemon to make it a lemon poppyseed dressing.  Better than the store bought! So good! 

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Love that twist! Thanks for leaving a comment!

  4. Meg Domz says:

    Great dressing! Used it on a strawberry spinach salad for a party and it was a big hit. Many compliments

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

  5. Jaime Cadegan says:

    Can you revise for dairy sensitive people? I can’t eat yogurt except the one made with cashews. Thanks.

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      I would probably just use your favorite non-dairy yogurt, as long as it’s plain (not flavored).

  6. courtney says:

    Is this White distilled vinegar used? Or white whine vinegar? Does it matter?

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      I use distilled vinegar, but either would work for this recipe!

    2. Rachel Gurk says:

      I clarified it in the recipe, thanks for mentioning it.

    3. Racha says:

      5 stars
      I used rice vinegar and it turned out amazing! A keeper. Thanks for the recipe

      1. Rachel Gurk says:

        Glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

  7. Rachel says:

    I googled to try to find clean, sweet poppyseed dressing recipes and yours came up. :) I do have a question–could I use balsamic vinegar as that’s what I have on hand–instead of the white vinegar??

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      It will change the flavor quite a bit. I’d opt for apple cider vinegar or white wine instead, if you have one of those?

  8. Cassandra says:

    The first time I made per recipe. And it was delicious! I got a little cocky and thought I could reduce calories with stevia. It was a mistake! The fake-sweetness of stevia was obvious. I think because it’s such a simple recipe with good ingredients it couldn’t be disguised. On my 3rd attempt I reduced honey slightly and added fresh puréed raspberries. It turned out to be pretty and tasty! Thank you for the recipe! 

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Oh I bet it was delicious with raspberries! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

  9. Wendi says:

    I made this tonight and it was fantastic!  I like how I can make it less sweet than the dressing that comes with the Sweet Kale salad kit – thank you!

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      I’m so glad you liked it, Wendi! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

  10. Lou Cohen says:

    This was really delicious but it made me fart nonstop! My wife says she won’t make it again, thanks to me.

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Oh boy! That’s not ideal. Are you lactose intolerant?