This poppy seed dressing is an absolute favorite of everyone I make it for, and I hope it will be for you too!

I love making homemade dressings and sauces. I probably haven’t bought something pre-made from the store (unless I’m travelling) in at least 10 years. It is so much cheaper and tastier to just make a dressing yourself at home. I even store them in my old honey jars since they can last quite a while. This poppy seed dressing is one of my absolute favorites and goes so well on so many salads including my apple watermelon salad.
My one rule that is greater than any other when making dressings is to use the absolute best quality ingredients I can find. I know, that sounds pretentious. But remember, you don’t cook dressings. A well balanced dressing will showcase all the great flavors of the ingredients making it up. This is why it is so so so important for you to use the best stuff you can find.
In this recipe for example, as it is oil based, I used an oil I brought back from one of my trips to Corfu. I go to Greece a couple times a year and always bring back local delicacies (especially olive oil) to cook with. I don’t heat this olive oil, since you can use cheaper EVOO if you are going to fry or bake with it, but it is perfect for salad dressings. As you can see by the picture this dressing is green! Cheap olive oils will be light yellow or even clear, but this olive oil from Kabbadates is some of the highest quality I’ve ever tasted. I also recommend all the products from Theotoky Estates as it will change your mind about what good olive oil is.
Poppy Seed Dressing Ingredients
- 1/2 cup The Best Olive Oil You Can Possible Find
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 cup White Sugar
- 1 tbsp Poppy Seeds
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Poppy Seed Dressing Instructions
1. In a large wooden bowl, whisk together the vinegar and the white sugar until thoroughly combined. Add in the Dijon mustard and salt and whisk that in as well.
2. Slowly trickle in the olive oil while whisking continuously. It is not as hard an emulsion as making homemade mayonnaise, but you still want all the liquids to be fully combined.
3. Pour in the poppy seeds and give it a few more whisks to mix everything together.
Notes:
You can use a different vinegar if you like, such as white wine, however I found Apple Cider just gives this dressing a real tang which I particularly like. Yet I’ll repeat again…do NOT cheap out on the olive oil. It is such an important part of this poppy seed dressing recipe.

Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Great Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup White Sugar
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Poppy Seeds
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- In a large wooden bowl, whisk together the vinegar and the white sugar until thoroughly combined. Add in the Dijon mustard and salt and whisk that in as well.
- Slowly trickle in the olive oil while whisking continuously. It is not as hard an emulsion as making homemade mayonnaise, but you still want all the liquids to be fully combined.
- Pour in the poppy seeds and give it a few more whisks to mix everything together.