Healthy Poppy Seed Salad Dressing is a lovely sweet and tangy topping for fresh greens and fruit. This recipe makes it easy to create your own homemade condiment. Free from refined sugars, it’s a healthful addition to your plate.
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Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
Whenever I’ve eaten out lately, my salad dressing of choice has been poppy seed. I assume that it’s been loaded with sugar, but it’s been my little guilty pleasure. After all, I reasoned, I was only having it occasionally and I don’t eat large quantities of salad dressing.
At some point it occurred to me to try to make a healthier version of poppy seed salad dressing at home. I was thrilled with how well it turned out and how much it tastes like the commercial varieties!
Poppy seed salad dressing is delicious poured over fresh greens.
Do poppy seeds have opium in them?
When we talk about poppy seeds, the question of opium comes up. According to my research, high quality poppy seeds are harvested when the seed pods are dry. Opium is traditionally harvested when the seed pods are green. The seeds of other types of poppies are grown for flowers. I have enjoyed these in my flower gardens for several years.
Poppy seeds can contain trace amounts of opiates, mostly due to residue from the sap. However, according to Christopher S. Baird, assistant professor of physics at West Texas A&M University, as quoted to HuffPost, the seeds do not “have a drug effect on humans that are eating typical amounts of poppy seeds.” However, they could show up in a drug test, so be careful when you eat them!
It’s easy to make this refined sugar free poppy seed salad dressing recipe at home!
Homemade Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
I use my blender
[affiliate link*] to make my dressing smooth and creamy. To emulsify everything except the poppy seeds, I run it on low speed until it automatically turns off (45 seconds for my Blendtec.) I want the poppy seeds to remain whole, so I mix them in afterwards. If you don’t have a blender, just shake all of the ingredients together in a jar.
Other Refined Sugar Free Salad Dressings You Might Like:
Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except poppy seeds in a blender and process at low speed for 45 seconds. Pour dressing into the jar you'll be using to store it.
- Add poppy seeds to the dressing in the jar and shake to combine.
Notes
Equipment for This Recipe
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I’m loving this. Eating it every day until I need to make the next batch!!
I’m so happy that you’re enjoying it, Diane! And thanks for letting me know!
This is a lovely recipe! I always wonder what weird ingredients are in salad dressing whenever I’m eating out. I have also started using avocado oil in dressings and really love it!
Thank you, Lizzy! I know! And it’s so easy to make our own salad dressing!
I love poppy seed dressing and yours has organic ingredients which is much better. I like using avocado oil in my cooking as it is lighter and with no flavour. Thanks so much for sharing.
Avocado oil is a great, healthful fat for us.
I have to agree with you, Cathy! Poppy Seed Dressing is one of my favourite dressings, too and it is always nice to know what goes into your food. I appreciate that it is gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar free. Thanks for sharing! ??
Thank you for your comment, Denise.