Orange Poppyseed Dressing

I love a good salad. Further, if you didn't already know it, I like substantial salads that are chock full of flavor and texture and have a savory component. Salads like that only get better with tasty Orange Poppyseed Dressing.

I had made poppyseed dressings before and quite liked the flavor of them. However, I didn't like the amount of sugar needed to make them sweet. I wanted to make a dressing that got rid of all the unhealthy white sugar and replace it with something naturally sweet. Fresh squeezed orange juice popped into my mind and it turned out to be the perfect substitution!

Not only is this dressing incredibly easy to make, it's healthy! All you need is a sweet juicy orange, olive oil, honey (optional), white wine vinegar, and poppyseeds and the dressing can be whipped up in 5 minutes.

One thing I really like about this Orange Poppyseed Dressing is its sweet and sour flavor combination. The orange juice also gives a nice fresh "bright" tone to the dressing (if you can use "bright" as a taste description!). It's a tasty finishing touch on a savory salad.

Another thing I really like is that the majority of the sweetness comes from the orange juice. If you so desire, you can skip the honey altogether if you find it sweet enough with the orange juice. However, the honey is a good option if your orange is on the tart side. Either way, you can adjust the recipe, depending on what suits your palate. Just taste the dressing before adding the honey to see if you need it or not!

The Orange Poppyseed Dressing went perfectly with this steak and apple spinach salad I whipped up for my husband for lunch one day...

...and it was also the perfect topping to drizzle over my turmeric prawn spinach apple salad. Savory prawns (or steak!), sweet apples, a leafy bed of spinach, crunchy sunflower seeds, and sweet and sour Orange Poppyseed dressing... It was yummy!

I can imagine this dressing being drizzled over a leafy green salad with dried cranberries, feta, and some grilled chicken. It would also taste good tossed in a broccoli salad, along with halved grapes, sliced almonds, and chopped hard-boiled egg. Try it in a quinoa bowl, topped with avocado, chopped kale, pepitas, sunflower seeds, in addition to a dollop of hummus! YUMM!! I can imagine the wonderful flavors just thinking about it! This dressing is versatile and would taste good on so many salad combinations.

Are you looking for a fresh and flavorful dressing for your next salad? Orange Poppyseed Dressing might be just the one for you to try. Whip up some and leave a comment below to let me know how it turned out!

Orange Poppyseed Dressing

A versatile salad dressing that has the perfect balance of sweet and sour.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Makes: 1 cup

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• ▢ ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 2 tbs honey (optional, to taste)
• ▢ 2 tbs white wine vinegar (white vinegar can also be used)
• ▢ Pinch salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Instructions

• In measuring cup or bowl, combine orange juice, olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar and salt.
  
• Whisk mixture together until blended.
  
• Add poppyseeds and whisk to combine.
• Store any extra dressing in a sealed jar in the fridge for a week.

Notes

Experiment with different citrus juices to see what the flavors are like! If you like something more on the sour side, try grapefruit or lemon; the sweetness can be moderated with honey. Pomelo or tangerine or mandarin would also give a different spin to the taste!

Have you made this recipe?Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram! Be sure to mention @dayinthekitchen!