Raspberry poppy seed dressing made with fresh berries, olive oil, vinegar, and a touch of honey is SO much better than the bottled stuff ~ the bright flavor explodes in your mouth!
raspberry poppy seed dressing is a salad game-changer
My backyard raspberry bush is winding down for the summer so I thought I’d do something special with my last cupful of berries. This garnet colored raspberry poppy seed dressing will let me enjoy that incredible raspberry flavor all week long.
Salad dressing is one of those food categories that always makes sense to make at home. There’s no excuse for the paltry stuff in the bottles when a fresh vibrant raspberry poppy seed dressing is only a button push away with a small food processor or hand held blender. Blend it up, pour it into a recycled jam jar, and stash it in the fridge. Then dream up salad recipes for the week.
all natural ingredients for raspberry poppy seed dressing
Have you read the label of bottle salad dressing lately? You’d be amazed at what they add to such a simple product. All those chemicals are used to artificially boost the flavor, color, and texture of the dressing but guess what? Just use fresh ingredients and it comes out bright, bold, and bodacious without any ‘help’ at all!
- raspberries
- fresh is best, but there’s no reason you can’t use thawed frozen berries.
- olive oil
- I used extra virgin, but pure is fine too.
- lemon juice
- it helps bring out the tart berry flavor, and helps the dressing emulsify into a creamy consistency.
- red wine vinegar
- honey
- helps emulsify the dressing into a creamy consistency that will not separate. You can use a sugar substitute if you like.
- poppy seeds
- Why add poppy seeds to dressing in the first place? They add a fun, nutty crunch to dressing, plus they look pretty! Could you leave them out? Definitely, but why?
- salt
how to make raspberry poppy seed dressing
- Put fresh raspberries, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, honey and salt in a small food processor. You can also use a jar and an immersion blender, or a regular blender if it has the capacity for a small jar attachment.
- Blend until smooth. At this point you can strain the mixture to remove raspberry seeds, or leave them in, your choice.
- Stir in the poppy seeds and taste to adjust the flavors.
- Transfer to a jar and refrigerate for up to a week.
how to use your raspberry dressing
A supercharged dressing like this one calls for a relatively simple salad. I’ve shown it here with a summery spinach and arugula salad with berries. If you like to boost your nutrition by adding a pile of greens to your everyday dinner plates, this is the perfect dressing to jazz it up. And if you’re having trouble getting kids to eat salad, try raspberry poppy seed dressing!
more homemade salad dressing recipes to try
I’ve always said it ~ a salad is only as good as its dressing, and these recipes prove my point
- 30 Second Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe
- Green Goddess Dressing
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Lemon Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
- The Best Vinaigrette in the World, according to Samin Nosrat
- 5 Fruity Salad Dressing Recipes
Raspberry Poppy Seed Dressing
Equipment
- small food processor or hand held immersion blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- pinch salt
- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds, or more if you like.
Instructions
- Put everything except the poppy seeds into a small food processor, or jar if you are using an immersion blender.
- Blend until smooth and creamy. At this point you can strain the mixture to remove the seeds, or leave them in, it's your choice. I've made it both ways and both are fine.
- Stir in the poppy seeds and taste to adjust any of the ingredients.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Video
Nutrition
I love this dressing, no longer buying it at 10 dollars a small bottle at sunripe
One of the best reasons for DIY!
If you’re fortunate to have a Vitamix, they pulverize berry seeds very well, and you don’t have to strain them out. Otherwise, I find the seeds to be distracting. This is a delicious recipe, and can be tweaked in a number of directions. I add a few drops of sesame oil, and use balsamic vinegar if I don’t have red wine vinegar. Thanks for the recipe!
Good point Renate. I adore my vitamix, but sometimes I feel like it does TOO good a job! Sometimes I avoid it when I think it might result in a ‘gummy’ texture. I didn’t try it for this recipe, though.