This Recipe for Poppy Seed Dressing is a healthy and flavourful dressing that’ll brighten up any salad! It’s quick and easy to make with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.
T’is the season for Summer salads! If you know anything about me by now, it’s that I just looooove my salads! I eat ’em all year round, I feed them to my grown a** boyfriend for dinner with zero complaints and I love changing the ingredients up time after time to suit the season. You know, there’s just nothing that beats this Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts Salad in the Fall or this Kale Caesar Salad in the Winter. And in the Summer? I’m all about this Spinach Salad with Strawberries. With a good salad, IMHO, comes a good dressing. And when you can make a good dressing yourself at home from scratch, it just hits different. Am I right?!
Dressings, sauces and marinades were amongst one of the first things I ever felt confident enough to start making from scratch in my own kitchen. I mean, as you’re probably aware by now, I’m a gal that just lovvvves her sauces. You feel me? Whether it be on chicken wings or as a dip for my pizza, ya gal’s just gotta have some sort of sauce thrown into the mix. But the problem with that is always that the store bought stuff usually contains a whole lotta garbage that I just ain’t down to put into my system. Hence why sauces, dressings and marinades became the experiment of all experiments when back when. And there really is no limit on ones you can recreate when you start to learn to make them yourself at home!
Fear not, though! If this is your first time even having the mere thought of making a salad dressing or vinaigrette yourself from scratch, this recipe for Poppy Seed Dressing is the perfect place to get started. Not only is it super simple to make (anyone can do it!) but it’s ready in just 10 minutes and will change up the way you eat salads FOREVER. And it just might be the easy recipe you needed to realize that making salad dressings (sauces or marinades) from scratch yourself at home is your new favourite task in the kitchen!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE FOR POPPY SEED DRESSING
You don’t need many ingredients to make this recipe for Poppy Seed Dressing. Because of that, make sure to use fresh and good quality ones as you’ll really be able to taste all the flavours shining through. The best part? I’m willing to bet you already have most of these simple ingredients on hand! Let’s talk about them in a little bit more detail down below:
- Olive Oil: Adds flavour to the base and bulk of the dressing. As always, good quality, extra virgin works best in this recipe.
- Lemon Juice: Adds the perfect citrusy notes and acidity to the base and bulk of the dressing. Like these Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, there’s no denying the irresistible combination of lemon and poppy seeds. Freshly squeezed lemon juice works best in this recipe as we also use the zest.
- Lemon Zest: Adds a sweet, citrusy flavour to this recipe for poppy seed dressing.
- Dijon Mustard: Adds a nice tang to balance out the rest of the flavours. However, if you don’t have any on hand, whole mustard or honey mustard are great substitutions. But I would stay away from yellow mustard for this recipe for poppy seed dressing.
- Poppy Seeds: The star of the show! Adds the perfect crunch and texture to this easy to make salad dressing.
- Garlic: Adds flavour and texture to this lemon poppy seed dressing. Therefore, fresh minced garlic works best in this recipe. However, if all you have on hand is garlic powder, use a 1/4 of a teaspoon instead of the 1 fresh clove.
- Onion: Adds flavour and texture to this lemon poppy seed dressing. White or red onion work best in this recipe.
- Salt/Pepper: Balances out the flavours of the rest of the ingredients and makes this recipe for poppy seed dressing pop.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON POPPY SEED DRESSING (KEY TIPS)
You can find full instructions for how to make this recipe for poppy seed dressing in the recipe card down below, but here are a few quick tips to keep in mind for this recipe:
- Use good quality, fresh ingredients. Since there aren’t many, you’ll really be able to taste the flavours of each shining through. Therefore, using the freshest ingredients of good quality will really make a difference.
- Make sure you FINELY mince both the onions and the garlic. And I mean finnnnely. The last thing you want is for either of these ingredients to overpower the taste of the entire dressing.
- Mix the ingredients extremely well to ensure that all of the flavours are evenly distributed. EXTRA TIP: Put the ingredients directly into a jar with a tight fitting lid. That way, you can not only shake it up directly in the jar but you can store it in there, too! Yay for less dishes!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why, yes, yes it is! This recipe in particular is made with few, simple and wholesome ingredients! The base is a mixture of freshly squeezed lemon juice and olive oil which is full of healthy fats, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. There is no added sugar and the poppy seeds provide a healthy amount of good-for-you vitamins such as Zinc and Iron. Additionally, since you’re making it yourself, you know exactly what’s in it and you can be sure there are no unwanted additives or preservatives that you’re likely to find in store bought versions.
This recipe for Poppy Seed Dressing will last about 2 weeks in the fridge if stored in an airtight jar or container. Simply give it a good shake before every use. PRO TIP: Make the dressing directly in the jar you’re going to store it in to save on time and dishes!
The most obvious answer here is salads! Salads of any kind! This Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing is a match made in Heaven for this Spinach Strawberry Salad. It’s also a great pairing for this Garden Tomato Salad, this Cucumber Salad with Dill, this easy Coleslaw Recipe or this Tuna Arugula Pasta Salad.
Besides salads, this Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing is great for basting onto grilled chicken, broiled cod or pork skewers.
RECIPE FOR POPPY SEED DRESSING
This Recipe for Poppy Seed Dressing is a healthy and flavourful dressing that'll brighten up any salad! It's quick and easy to make with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Lemon Juice (Juice from ~3 Lemons)
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Lemon Zest
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tbsp Poppy Seeds
- 1 tbsp White Onion, finely minced
- 1 Clove Garlic, finely minced
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Juice the lemons into a bowl either by hand or by using a juicer or citrus press to help you. Alternatively, to save on time and dishes, do this directly into the jar you plan to store the dressing in.
- Add the remaining ingredients and whisk or shake vigorously to combine. Taste and adjust with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
Notes
This recipe for Poppy Seed Dressing will last ~2 weeks in the fridge if stored in an airtight jar or container (preferrably glass).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1046Total Fat: 112gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 94gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 736mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g
MORE FLAVOURFUL HOMEMADE DRESSINGS AND SAUCES FOR YOU TO TRY
RESTAURANT STYLE CHIPOTLE MAYONNAISE
JAPANESE STYLE ROASTED SESAME DRESSING
EASY GREEK YOGURT RANCH DRESSING
AUTHENTIC GREEK TZATZIKI SAUCE
