Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Fresh and summery, this Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette is packed full of ripe berries and sweet honey. It’s tangy and sweet, perfect for pairing with this Grilled Chicken & Berry Salad or a simple spinach strawberry salad.

Berry Poppyseed Vinaigrette in jar with a salad

Ingredient Notes

  • Fresh Berries – You can use strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and even blueberries. If combining a mixture of berries, I suggest making a good amount of them strawberries or raspberries. I often throw in a few blueberries, but I’ve never tried it with all blueberries.
  • Vinegar and other seasonings- You’ll also need white wine vinegar, garlic, some onion, salt, pepper, canola oil, and poppy seeds.
  • Honey – Or sugar, if you’re in a pinch. But really, honey because there’s something amazing about honey and fresh berries together. If you like things less sweet, you can start with 1/3 cup honey instead of the suggested 1/2 cup and add more to taste.

How To Make Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

  1. In a the jar of your blender combine all the ingredients except the oil and the poppy seeds. Blend until combined and then, with the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream.
  1. Then add the poppy seeds and whisk them into the dressing until combined. If you can, refrigerate this dressing for at least an hour before serving.
adding poppyseeds to mason jar

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does this dressing last in the fridge? This dressing is best used in the first few days. You can keep using it as long as it tastes good! I have never saved it past about 1 week.

Serving Suggestions

This dressing was developed for this Grilled Chicken & Berry Salad but you could certainly build your own. Sweet, tangy dressings like this are especially delicious with spring greens, onions, fruit, bacon, and grilled meats in salads. Consider adding some Quick Candied Nuts. It would be delicious on this Autumn Harvest Salad or Blackberry & Pear Salad as well!

pouring berry dressing over salad

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berry poppyseed vinaigrette in glass jar

Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Our Best Bites
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: about 2 cups dressing
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Description

A simple, delicious dressing utilizing fresh berries. Use to top our Grilled Chicken Summer Berry Salad or one of your own creation!


Ingredients

1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup honey (or sugar)
12 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 teaspoon kosher or other coarse salt
About 10 cracks of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries (or a combo)
2/3 cup canola oil
1  1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds


Instructions

  1. Combine the vinegar, honey, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and berries in the jar of a blender.
  2. Blend until smooth
  3. With the blender running on low speed, add the oil in a steady stream. Turn off the blender and whisk in the poppy seeds, or pour dressing into a mason jar, add poppyseeds, cover and shake.
  4. If possible, refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
Sara Wells

Meet The Author

Sara Wells

Sara Wells co-founded Our Best Bites in 2008. She is the author of three Bestselling Cook Books, Best Bites: 150 Family Favorite RecipesSavoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites, and 400 Calories or Less from Our Best Bites. Sara’s work has been featured in many local and national news outlets and publications such as Parenting MagazineBetter Homes & GardensFine CookingThe Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times.

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Questions & Reviews

  1. This looks fabulous. And I laughed right out loud when you said “I’d bet my children…” You are so funny.

  2. I just bought poppy seeds in bulk from Penzey’s to make the other poppyseed vinaigrette I saw on your blog – but I’m even more excited about making this one!

  3. Hello! I was just wondering if you ever annouce the winner of the Cost Plus gift card? I checked but I did not see anything. THanks!!

  4. Made it tonight…love the berry salad. Used 1/2 blueberries and 1/2 strawberries…Yummy!!!!

  5. This looks simple and delicious, but most importantly BEAUTIFUL. Love that warm pink color.

  6. Thank you for sharing!
    My hubby has been asking me to find this dressing, so now I will just make it! 🙂

  7. I just made this and tasted it before sticking it in the fridge to chill. It is delicious and I can’t wait to have it with dinner tonight!!!

  8. How does one go about finding poppy seeds? I’m not sure if I’ve seen them at the grocery store before…

    1. Poppy seeds are in the spice section, usually in a small container. My grocery stores (sourthern CA) have all the spices and such in alphabetical order. I think McCormick packages them. Good luck!!

  9. OMGosh! I love those Berry Almond salads at Wendy’s. Their other ones are also awesome. Thanks for the recipe!

  10. I adore anything with Poppy Seeds and I’ve really been wanting to make my own dressing, so this looks like a great place to start 🙂

  11. Have you tried to can this? It would be great to make a big batch and have it on hand year round.

  12. I feel like Balsamic vinegar (or part BV) would be amazing in this recipe, what do you think? Unfortunately for me Berry season is over in this part of the world :-/ Looks amazing though

    1. Definitely! It would be a different flavor, but I’m sure it would be DELICIOUS!

    1. Sara, I bet they would be good, I just can’t say for sure! If you try it, let us know how it goes! 🙂

  13. Wow, you’ve really upped the ante- now you are betting your children instead of your cat. Hmm. Maybe it’s the bad dreams your daughter has been having lately 🙂
    Looks like a winner of a recipe, Kate! I’ll be trying it very soon!

  14. Looks awesome! Speaking of salads and dressings, here’s kind of a random question for you girls (or anyone, for that matter): Is light mayo any good for making salad dressings? I learned the hard way never to go with a generic mayo, but wasn’t sure about Best Foods/Hellman’s or Kraft light.

    p.s. I almost posted this question of Facebook, but now I’m glad I didn’t after reading Kate’s post. 😉

  15. This looks so fresh, summery and AMAZING! I’m so excited to try it! Nathaly hit the nail on the head…I would totally try it with some kind of spinach salad with grilled chicken and berries. Mmmmm…I want this for lunch today!

  16. Yay! I can’t wait to try this. No worries on the facebook message thing. I forget half the time, too. Chip – I’m sure these girls will have a way better idea, but I’m going to try it on a spinach salad with fresh strawberries, walnuts or almonds, grilled chicken, and maybe some red onion.

  17. OH my goodness this sounds wonderful! How long do you think it will keep refrigerated? Because I definitely want to make this but we will be gone a week… I am thinking only a day or so due to the fresh strawberries. We are going to my in-laws next week and this is something I would love to make while there. Do you think an immersion blender (ours have a several cup beaker to mix in) would work? They don’t have a blender so I could just pack my immersion blender and beaker….

    Thanks for another great recipe!

    1. Oh, thanks, Peggy! Yeah, I probably wouldn’t keep it for more than a couple of days because of the berries. And yes, totally use your immersion blender–that’s what I used for this recipe! 🙂

  18. I love that you included the number of cracks on the freshly ground pepper!! I can never figure out how many turns are in 1/4 tsp!! Just thinking that Yesterday as I was mixing up the aMAZingly flavor packed BBQ bacon sliders (fabulous!!). Thanks for another dressing recipe, love them!!!