Poppy Seed Dressing

This homemade Poppy Seed Dressing recipe is easy to make with simple ingredients, tastes better than store-bought, and is perfect for salads!

It’s surprisingly easy to make your own salad dressing, sauces, and condiments to top your favorite salads or to use as a dip for veggies, fruit, tortilla chips, and chicken tenders.

Strawberry Spinach Salad is one of the most popular salads and features poppy seed dressing. We love this homemade dressing recipe and use it all year long.

Ingredients Needed and Substitutions

One of the best things about this poppyseed dressing is that it uses simple, widely available ingredients.

• Mayonnaise: The mayonnaise makes the dressing creamy and helps bring it all together. We used Hellman’s mayonnaise. Although you can substitute it with Miracle Whip, keep in mind that it will alter the flavor.
• Sour cream: We also added sour cream for extra creaminess and tanginess.
• Half-n-half: The half-n-half helps thin the dressing while maintaining the creaminess. Feel free to use whole milk if you prefer.
• Sweetener: We sweetened this dressing with granulated sugar. You can also use brown sugar for a different flavor profile or a sugar alternative to make a sugar-free version.
• Acids: This recipe uses freshly squeezed lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. For the best results, you’ll want to use freshly squeezed lemon juice to make this vinaigrette. But in a pinch, you can substitute with bottled lemon juice.
• Poppy Seeds: Of course, the dressing needs poppy seeds which add color, flavor, and texture!
• Seasoning: We seasoned the dressing with onion powder, garlic powder, and ground mustard.

How To Make Poppy Seed Dressing

Since this dressing is so easy to make, you can prepare it at a moment’s notice. You can scale the recipe up or down depending on how many servings you need.

• Put all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until combined.
• Transfer the dressing to a small pitcher for serving and pouring. Store it in the refrigerator and stir before serving.
• If you want a thicker dressing to use as a fruit or veggie dip, place it in the refrigerator to thicken. You can also stir in a tablespoon of powdered ranch dressing mix to thicken it even more!

Storage

Store homemade poppy seed dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Since it only lasts a couple of days, you can cut the recipe in half or fourth if you only want to make enough for one or two salads.

Ways To Use

You can use this dressing for strawberry spinach salad, of course, but it can also be used as a dip. Both fruit and veggies are delicious when dipped in poppy seed dressing. Additionally, it is a great dressing for fruit salad or mango salsa.

Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe

Want more dressing recipes? Try these next

• Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette tastes like the salad dressing you get from upscale restaurants! It’s easy to make and so delicious!
• Homemade Ranch Dressing is easy to make and better than store-bought! We love using it as a salad dressing and as a veggie dip.
• This yummy Peanut Sauce recipe is perfect for dipping veggies or drizzling on salads and wraps.
• Our Chipotle Ranch Dressing recipe is so good on both salads and wraps! We also use it as a dip for chicken tenders and french fries.