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!
More Homemade Dressings
- Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing with Cumin
- Sweet and Tangy Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
- Fresh Raspberry Vinaigrette
- Reduced Fat Ranch Dressing Recipe
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
Poppy Seed Dressing (Healthy!)
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
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!
This is my go to recipe! Love it and SO much healthier without sacrificing taste.
So glad you like it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, it means a lot to me!
Could I use avocado oil instead of olive? Or would the flavor be off? Thanks!
That will definitely work!
Terrific recipe! I added fresh squeezed lemon to make it a lemon poppyseed dressing. Better than the store bought! So good!
Love that twist! Thanks for leaving a comment!
Great dressing! Used it on a strawberry spinach salad for a party and it was a big hit. Many compliments
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Can you revise for dairy sensitive people? I can’t eat yogurt except the one made with cashews. Thanks.
I would probably just use your favorite non-dairy yogurt, as long as it’s plain (not flavored).
Is this White distilled vinegar used? Or white whine vinegar? Does it matter?
I use distilled vinegar, but either would work for this recipe!
I clarified it in the recipe, thanks for mentioning it.
I used rice vinegar and it turned out amazing! A keeper. Thanks for the recipe
Glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
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??
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?
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!
Oh I bet it was delicious with raspberries! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
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!
I’m so glad you liked it, Wendi! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
This was really delicious but it made me fart nonstop! My wife says she won’t make it again, thanks to me.
Oh boy! That’s not ideal. Are you lactose intolerant?