I hate when half the calories of my meal come from a tiny drizzle of sauce so 99% of the time I use a lightened-up version of whatever dressing my salad calls for. The biggest challenge to this habit hit when, towards the end of Summer, we discovered a new favorite salad that went best with creamy poppy seed dressing. I’ve never made poppy seed dressing from scratch and wasn’t even sure where the unique flavor profile came from. What I did know is that I couldn’t keep guzzling the Newman’s Own and laying off this particular salad was out of the question.
I hit the kitchen after work one day with a stack of recipes, a bottle of Newman’s Own, and a taste for experimentation. By the time Brad got home I was ready. I giddily subjected him to a taste test before even saying hello and he confirmed my hypothesis: poppy seed success.
The final recipe has all the flavor of the original but less than a third of the calories and a quarter of the fat. Pureeing the onion to extract it’s juice seems like a little extra work but this is an extra special dressing and totally worth it.
I’ve successfully stored this in an airtight container in the fridge up to 2 weeks but it’s best in the first week.
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion, yellow or sweet variety
- 6 tbs nonfat Greek yogurt
- 6 tbs light mayonnaise
- 4 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbs sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch mustard powder
- 2 tsp poppy seeds
Instructions
Coarsely chop the onion and place in a blender or food processor. Puree until liquefied. Strain onion pulp through cheesecloth into a cup.
Measure 3 tbs of onion juice into a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Refrigerate.
Nutritional Information
Calories 42
Total Fat 2.9g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 2mg
Sodium 132mg
Potassium 34mg
Total Carbohydrates 2.1g
Sugars 2.0g
Protein 1.2g
Weight Watchers Points: 1
PointsPlus: 1
Hello!
How long will this dressing keep for?
Sounds delucious!
I’ve kept it in an airtight jar in the fridge for a week. It’s one of my all time favorite recipes on this blog – I hope you have a chance to try it!
Wow this looks amazing! Would it still work if I used regular non fat yogurt instead of greek? and can you omit the onion to have a more sweeter dressing?
Thanks!
Hi Opal!
You can absolutely use regular nonfat yogurt instead of Greek. Don’t omit the onion, though – it’s totally critical to the flavor and adds a lot of sweetness. If you need it sweeter you can add a little more sugar. I think you’ll love it!
Had to comment! I love poppy seed dressing and not only does it not seem to be widely available in supermarkets but also its not the healthiest. Just made this recipe and I love it! This is awesome. Thank you 🙂
Hooray! I’m so glad you love it as much as I do!
I didn’t have lowfat mayo on hand so I subbed light miracle whip for it and just added 2 teaspoons less of sugar. This dressing tastes freaking amazing. It tastes exactly like the poppy seed dressing that comes in the broccoli slaw salad mix bags at costco but with a whole lot less fat. Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ll be making this frequently.
Hi there! Would you be able to use a little less Splenda or Stevia to further cut the calories but to add sweetness? Thanks!
Hi Mary,
You could substitute a pinch of splenda or stevia for the sugar if you prefer but note that it will only save you 3 calories per tablespoon of dressing.
Hi Maggie,
Sounds like you and I are both “addicted” to PS dressing! I’ve been using the Kraft Calorie-Wise version, but know I must stop with all the additives. Your version sounds like the real thing….I will make it. Just need to know, is that 42 calories for the whole recipe as shown? How awesome that would be! Thank you so much!!
Heehee – that would be awesome! This is 42 calories for each 2 tbs serving. Still not too bad 🙂
Give it a try – this is one of my all-time favorite dressing recipes!
This recipe is amazing! I was really hesitant about the onion juice, but I wouldn’t change a thing in this recipe. Totally hit the spot. Thank you so much!