Sweet and delicious homemade honey poppy seed dressing pairs so well with kale salad, spinach salad, and so many summer salad combinations. Made with 7 simple fresh ingredients, it’s better tasting, and better for you than store dressings.
Honey poppy seed dressing
This simple homemade dressing was made to make eating salad greens easier. It’s such a tasty dressing and is super kid-approved!
It’s sweet from the honey and has the perfect balance to make it a tangy honey poppy seed dressing.
I love homemade dressings because I know everything that goes into it, and they typically use just a handful of ingredients.
You’ll love it (I hope!) because it tastes delicious and comes together quickly!
What does this poppyseed dressing go well with?
Homemade poppy seed dressing is my favorite to keep on hand for easy side salads. It’s a family favorite and goes so well with many different salad options.
Here’s a list of our favorites!
- Strawberry kale salad
- Kale pomegranate salad
- Kale crunch salad
- Cranberry hazelnut kale salad
- Kale, feta, pear, and walnut salad
- Healthy deli turkey salad
- Fresh fruit salad
- Spinach strawberry salad
- Fresh greens with chicken breast
Ingredients in honey poppy seed salad dressing
- honey
- apple cider vinegar
- green onion
- ground dry mustard
- poppy seeds
- sea salt
- extra virgin olive oil
- water
How to make this sweet flavor dressing
Scroll down to view the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions.
Add all the ingredients into the blender, except for the water. Blend until smooth.
To thin the dressing, add the water and blend for 10 seconds.
Store in an airtight container, or a mason jar. Any extra can be stored in the fridge.
Watch how to make this salad dressing
Watch the video below to see how easy this homemade poppy seed dressing is to make. You can also watch it on my YouTube channel.
Best way to store leftover honey poppy seed dressing
Prepping homemade salad dressing in advance makes eating salads easier!
The best way to store leftover dressing is in a glass jar, like a mason jar. Store in the fridge.
When you are ready to use with your kale salad or green salads, take it out of the fridge 10-15 minutes early. Give the dressing a good shake, and you’re ready to go!
Substitutions
Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in this honey poppy seed dressing recipe.
If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!
Honey – An alternative to honey would be maple syrup.
Apple cider vinegar – For a light flavor and color, use white balsamic vinegar, champagne vinegar, or white wine vinegar. Lemon juice is another great substitute.
Green onion – Chives are a great alternative. Red onion works as well but will give a stronger onion flavor to the creamy dressing. Alternatively, use 1 tsp of onion powder instead of fresh onion.
Poppy seed – It wouldn’t be a poppy seed dressing without poppy seeds! If you can’t find them, omit and you’ll still have a delicious dressing.
Extra virgin olive oil – Light olive oil, or avocado oil are good substitutes.
More salad dressings you’ll love
Honey Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/8 cup green onion chopped
- 3 tsp ground dry mustard
- 2 tsp poppy seeds
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients into the blender, except for the water. Blend until smooth.
- To thin the dressing, add the water and blend for 10 seconds.
- Store in an airtight container, or a mason jar. Any extra can be stored in the fridge.
Nutrition
If you try this honey poppy seed dressing recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!
XO
Heather
Originally published July 2014. Updated June 2022.
4 comments
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On my goodness, so amazing! I was looking for a recipe to replace a store bought brand that was out of stock and this was even better. So easy and never going back. I did accidentally add the water at the beginning which made it really thin, but it still tasted marvelous!
I’m so glad you found this recipe and loved it, Amy! I really appreciate you coming here and sharing 🙂