This poppyseed dressing recipe is incredibly easy to make and adds the perfect sweet, tangy flavor to your salads. The best part? You can make it at home with simple ingredients in just 5 minutes.
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Making your own poppyseed dressing at home may sound intimidating, but all you need to do is throw everything together and shake it up with this recipe! It’s so much better than store-bought and elevates any salad in minutes!
Love the idea of making your own salad dressing? My great-grandma’s oil and vinegar dressing has always been a big hit! Or go for my family-favorite spinach salad dressing or celery seed dressing.
If it’s on an index card, it’s from my grandma’s recipe box. She kept such a great collection of classic recipes and this recipe is no different. Making your own salad dressing is so easy and I’m so glad I have these little treasures to uncover to dress my salads and share with you.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Effortlessly Easy: This dressing is a snap to make. Just combine all the ingredients and shake them in a jar. It’s that simple!
- Classic Flavors: The combination of sweet and tangy in this dressing is a classic that never goes out of style.
- Family Favorite: This recipe has been a hit with my family for years. I’m sure it will be a hit with yours too!
- Versatile: While this dressing is perfect on a salad, it’s also great as a marinade for chicken or drizzled over steamed veggies. It’s a real multi-tasker in the kitchen!
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Key Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar: This is going to add a sweet touch to the dressing, balancing out the tanginess of the vinegar.
- Salt: A pinch of salt will enhance the overall flavors of the dressing, making them more vibrant.
- Dry Mustard: It will add a bit of a kick and also help emulsify the dressing.
- Distilled Vinegar: This is the acidic component that will give the dressing its tangy flavor and also help preserve it.
- Onion Juice: It’s not a very common ingredient, but it will give the dressing a subtle oniony flavor without the texture of real onions.
- Vegetable/Canola Oil: This will be the base of the dressing, giving it a smooth and creamy texture.
- Poppyseed: They will add a bit of crunch and a pop of color to the dressing. Plus, they have a pleasant, nutty flavor.
Equipment
- Mason Jar – You’ll need a jar to combine all the ingredients and shake them together. This will help to emulsify the dressing and ensure it has the right consistency. The original recipe called for a pint jar but a quart mason jar worked better for me since it allowed me to mix the ingredients in the jar simultaneously.
- Measuring Cups and Spoons – These are essential to measure the ingredients accurately. It’s important to get the right balance of flavors in the dressing.
- Small Bowl – You can use this to mix the dry ingredients before adding them to the jar with the other wet ingredients.
How to Make Poppyseed Dressing Recipe
Preparation
Gather all your ingredients. Make sure that your poppy seeds are fresh and not expired for the best flavor.
Step 1 – Combine the Ingredients
In a jar, add all the ingredients together. This includes vegetable oil, white vinegar, sugar, ground mustard, and salt, as well as poppy seeds.
Step 2 – Shake Well
Once all the ingredients are in the jar, it’s time to shake it up! Make sure the lid is on tight, and then shake the jar vigorously. This will help to combine all the ingredients and emulsify the oil and vinegar.
Expert Tip
To really let the flavors of the poppyseed dressing come together, make sure to let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. This gives the sugar time to dissolve and the flavors to meld, resulting in a much more delicious dressing.
Recipe Variations
- Lemony: Add a fresh and zesty flavor to your poppyseed dressing by replacing the vinegar with fresh lemon juice. This variation is perfect for drizzling over a summer salad.
- Creamy: For a creamy version of this dressing, add a 1/2 cup of mayonnaise to the ingredients. This variation is great for coleslaw or as a dip for fresh vegetables.
- Honey Dijon: Add a tablespoon of Dijon mustard and replace the sugar with honey for a more savory option. This will give your dressing a rich, sweet flavor that pairs well with hearty greens like kale or spinach.
What to Serve With
- This versatile poppyseed dressing is perfect for a variety of salads. Try it with a classic spinach salad or any of your family’s favorite salad recipes!
- For a light and refreshing summer dish, use this poppyseed dressing to dress a fruit salad. It goes well with a mix of fresh berries, pineapple, and kiwi.
- If you’re a fan of coleslaw, you’ll love this dressing on a crunchy cabbage salad. It’s also great with shredded carrots and red cabbage
- This dressing is also great as a marinade for chicken or pork. Simply coat the meat in the dressing and let it marinate for a few hours before grilling or baking. The result is juicy, flavorful meat with a hint of sweetness from the dressing.
Recipe FAQs
For this poppyseed dressing, I recommend using distilled white vinegar. It has a mild flavor that won’t overpower the other ingredients. However, you can also use apple cider vinegar if you prefer.
Yes, you can. The recipe calls for vegetable oil, but you can also use canola oil. Both work well to give the dressing a smooth and light consistency.
For this recipe, no. That’s the beauty of making your own! You know exactly what is in it!
By my calculations, this dressing has 52 calories per serving which is one tablespoon. I like to think that, back then when my great-grandma wrote this recipe, calories were not something they had to think about when working on the farm. The good thing for us is, it’s going on a salad.
Storing and Reheating
- Storing: Store any leftover poppyseed dressing in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
- Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this dressing because the emulsification of the oil and vinegar may break when thaw.
More Salad and Dressing Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Serving Size
- What to Expect: This poppyseed dressing recipe yields about 2 cups of dressing (one pint), enough to generously coat a large salad for 32 servings.
- How to Scale: If you’re planning to serve more people or just want to have extra dressing on hand, you can easily double the recipe. Just make sure to use a bigger mason jar to accommodate all the ingredients so they can be mixed properly for the best flavor.
Poppyseed Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1/3 Cup Vinegar distilled
- 1 TB onion juice
- 1 Cup vegetable oil can also use Canola
- 1 TB + 1 tsp poppyseed
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a mason jar.
- Shake ingredients until incorporated. Serve over your favorite salads.
I make the most delicious salad that I love to use poppyseed dressing on. It uses spinach, blueberries, strawberries, apples, pecans and Gorgonzola cheese. I can’t wait to make this for Mother’s Day!
Love this! Handwritten recipes from moms, grandmas and great-grandmas are the most special! Whenever I pull out one of my mother’s handwritten recipes, I feel as though I’m cooking with her. I love a good poppy seed dressing!