Poppyseed Dressing is tangy, sweet, and freshly flavored with all natural ingredients. The perfect amount of poppyseeds provide the most amazing delicate crunch in this smooth salad dressing. It’s perfect for summertime!
Poppyseed Dressing
I love making salad dressing at home! You can control the ingredients in it and make sure there are no artificial flavors or unnecessary additives. This easy poppyseed dressing recipe features bold, natural ingredients like lemon juice, freshly grated onion, poppyseeds and more. It’s got the very best balance of flavors – it’s a little tangy, a little sweet and completely addictive. Perfect on our amazing Berry Pasta Salad! While I LOVE this dressing all over my favorite Berry Pasta Salad, it’s also really amazing when tossed with some leafy greens like arugula or spinach. There’s no bad way to enjoy a summery salad dressing that’s this good!
Once you start making salad dressing at home, you’ll never go back to the store-bought stuff again! Check out my easy recipes for Ranch Dressing and Caesar Dressing.
What is poppyseed dressing made of?
Olive oil and white wine vinegar serve as the base of this dressing. There’s a touch of sweetness from granulated sugar, fresh tangy flavor from lemon juice, just enough grated white onion to compliment the sweetness and Dijon mustard to tie it all together. Feel free to add salt to taste. Oh, and of course don’t forget about the star of the show – the poppyseeds!
How to Make Poppyseed Dressing
- Blend. Add all ingredients (except for the poppyseeds) to a jar. I like to use an immersion blender to combine it all, but you can pour the mixture into a blender if that’s easier for you. Blend until smooth.
- Add the poppyseeds. Once the dressing is silky smooth, mix in the poppyseeds. You can either use it immediately or store it for later.
Storing Poppyseed Dressing
Homemade poppyseed dressing will stay fresh for up to 10 days in the refrigerator! It’s a wonderful make-ahead recipe. Just make sure to store it in an airtight container (like a glass jar with a tight lid). And when you need to scoop some out, either pour it straight from the jar or use a clean utensil. Any new bacteria that’s introduced to the dressing will cause it to spoil. I do not recommend freezing poppy seed dressing.
Ingredient Notes
- Olive Oil – Feel free to swap this with avocado oil if preferred.
- White Wine Vinegar – Try not to swap this vinegar with any other kind! It’s got just the right flavor profile to compliment all of the other ingredients here.
- Sugar – Plain white granulated sugar is all you need to add just the right amount of sweetness to the dressing. Of course, you can always add more or less according to your tastes.
- Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is the key to success. You can use bottled lemon juice, but it will not lend the same fresh flavor or acidity that this dressing really needs to shine!
- Onion – Just 1 tablespoon of grated white onion adds a pleasant touch of sweetness to the dressing that’s SO good. Try to grate it as finely as possible so you don’t have huge chunks of onions.
- Dijon Mustard – Don’t swap this out with any other type of mustard.
- Salt – Add more or less as desired. Also, I prefer using kosher (coarse) salt or flaky sea salt over iodized. I find that they tend to help enhance the other flavors rather than make everything taste salty.
- Poppyseeds – Use your leftover poppy seeds to make the very BEST Creamy Berry Salad! It’s oh so summery in all the best ways.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Poppyseed Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Olive Oil
- 1/2 Cup White Wine Vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Grated White Onion
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1/2-1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Poppyseeds
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients except the poppy seeds to a medium jar.
- Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth, or blend in a blender.
- Stir in the poppyseeds then serve or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.
