If you need a fresh summer salad dressing that makes greens taste a little more exciting, this strawberry poppyseed dressing is the one to make. It's sweet, tangy, simple to blend together, and perfect for drizzling over spinach salads, grilled chicken salads, or any pretty summer side you're taking to a cookout.
When strawberries are at their best, I'm always looking for easy ways to use them beyond desserts and drinks. As a Southern RD, I love this kind of recipe because it makes adding more fruit and flavor to the table feel realistic, especially during BBQ season, picnic weekends, baby showers, and porch lunches with friends.
This dressing is so good drizzled over a fresh strawberry salad with goat cheese and cinnamon pecans for the perfect sweet, creamy, and crunchy summer side.
If you're in full strawberry season mode, you'll also love my strawberry pasta salad or strawberry basil lemonade for more fresh and easy summer recipes.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Comes together fast: This strawberry poppyseed dressing blends up in just a few minutes with simple ingredients, making it an easy way to bring a little more excitement to everyday salads.
- Perfect for summer hosting: The pretty pink color and fresh strawberry flavor make this dressing feel special enough for BBQs, picnics, baby showers, brunches, or backyard dinners.
- Great way to use up fresh strawberries: If you have a carton of strawberries hanging out in the fridge, this is a delicious way to turn them into something fresh and useful that is not another dessert.
Ingredients for Strawberry Dressing
This strawberry poppyseed vinaigrette uses a handful of simple ingredients to create a fresh, sweet-and-tangy dressing that tastes like summer in a jar.
- Fresh strawberries: Ripe, juicy strawberries give this dressing its pretty pink color and naturally sweet flavor. Look for berries that smell sweet, have bright red color, and don't have soft or mushy spots.
- White wine vinegar: This adds a light tang that balances the sweetness of the strawberries and honey without overpowering the dressing.
- Dijon mustard: Dijon gives the dressing a little savory depth and helps bring the oil and vinegar together.
- Olive oil: Olive oil gives the dressing body and helps create a smooth, pourable texture once everything is blended.
- Honey: Honey sweetens the dressing and helps balance the vinegar, especially if your strawberries are a little tart.
- Poppy seeds: Poppy seeds add that classic strawberry poppyseed dressing texture and a pretty speckled look.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
This fresh strawberry dressing is easy to adjust depending on what you have in the kitchen and how sweet your berries taste.
- If fresh berries are not in season, you can use frozen strawberries as long as you thaw them first and drain off any extra liquid before blending the dressing.
- If that's what you already have in the pantry, balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar can work in this dressing.
- You can use maple syrup instead of honey if you want a different kind of sweetness or need a honey-free option.
- Stirring in a spoonful of Greek yogurt to make a creamy strawberry poppy seed dressing version with a slight tang!
- For a dressing that tastes a little less sweet, a small shallot adds savory flavor without making it complicated.
How to Make Strawberry Poppyseed Dressing Recipe
This dressing is as easy as blend, stir, and serve, which is exactly the kind of recipe we need during busy summer weeks.
Step 1: Add the strawberries, white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper to a blender or small food processor.
Step 2: Blend until the dressing is smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust with extra honey for sweetness, vinegar for tang, or salt and pepper to bring out the flavor.
Step 3: Strain the dressing into a jar or small bowl if you want it extra smooth, then stir in the poppy seeds.
Step 4: Serve right away or refrigerate until ready to use. Shake or stir well before serving.
Tips For the Best Strawberry Poppyseed Dressing
A few small details can make this homemade strawberry vinaigrette taste extra fresh and balanced.
- Choose ripe strawberries for the best flavor because they bring most of the natural sweetness and pretty pink color to the dressing.
- Before you serve it, taste the dressing and adjust the honey, vinegar, salt, or Dijon until it has that sweet-and-tangy balance you like.
- Before pouring, shake the jar well because homemade dressing naturally separates as it sits in the refrigerator.
Storage
This dressing is great to make ahead for summer meals, especially when you want one less thing to do right before guests arrive.
- Leftovers: Store strawberry poppyseed dressing in an airtight jar or container in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days. Shake or stir well before serving because the oil and strawberry mixture may separate as it sits.
FAQ
This dressing is especially good on spinach salad, mixed green salads, grilled chicken salads, and summer salads with fruit, cheese, and nuts. I love it with strawberries, feta or goat cheese, pecans, cucumber, and grilled chicken.
Yes, this is a great make-ahead dressing. Make it up to a day or two before serving, store it in the refrigerator, and shake it well before pouring it over your salad.
Yes, you can blend in a spoonful or two of plain Greek yogurt if you want a creamy strawberry poppyseed dressing. This will make the texture thicker and add a little tang.
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Jessie
Fresh Strawberry Poppyseed Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh strawberries hulled
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Add the strawberries, white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper to a blender or small food processor.
- Blend until the dressing is smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust with extra honey for sweetness, vinegar for tang, or salt and pepper to bring out the flavor.
- Strain the dressing into a jar or small bowl to make it extra smooth, then stir in the poppy seeds.
- Serve right away or refrigerate until ready to use. Shake or stir well before serving.
Notes
- Use ripe, sweet strawberries for the best flavor. If your strawberries taste a little tart, add an extra drizzle of honey to balance the dressing.
- If the dressing is too thick, add a small splash of water or vinegar until it reaches your preferred consistency.
- Store leftovers in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days. Shake well before serving.
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