Light and fresh, this Keto Poppy Seed Dressing is the perfect topper for your healthy salads. It has just the right touch of sweetness and tanginess. And only 1g carbs per serving!
Trying to up your salad game? I eat salad for lunch almost daily and really enjoy it. Fresh low carb veggies topped with plenty of protein keep me full and satisfied all afternoon.
Making salad a daily habit takes a little bit of advanced prep. One trick is to have plenty of lettuce chopped up and at the ready. Another trick is to make sure you have plenty of delicious keto salad dressings on hand.
Dressing can turn a ho-hum salad into a delectable meal. And this Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing adds spectacular flavor to any salad!
Why you need try this
I tend to favor creamy dressings like Chipotle Ranch or Feta Dressing, but there is no denying that they are heavier. Sometimes they can weigh things down a bit.
But this Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing is light and fresh, and it brightens up lettuce or spinach salad. It feels like spring sunshine on your tongue. And it pairs perfectly with proteins like chicken or fish.
I made a fabulous salad with lettuce, cucumber, avocado, some fresh berries, and cooked chicken. Pouring this lemony bright dressing overtop was the icing on the cake. Er… the dressing on the salad!
It takes only about 3 minutes to make. And with less than 1g of carbs per serving, you can drizzle it on without concern.
Ingredients you need
- Lemons: You need both lemon zest and lemon juice, so fresh lemons are best.
- Oil: I really like extra virgin olive oil in this dressing but you can use avocado oil as well.
- Allulose honey: Poppy seed dressing should have a lightly sweet flavor, and honey tones add a nice complement to the tart lemon. I like allulose honey for this, but you could also use the ChocZero honey as well. See the Expert Tips for additional sweetener suggestions.
- Mustard: A touch of Dijon mustard helps emulsify the dressing so that the oil and lemon juice mix in together a little better.
- Shallot: You could use a little chopped onion, but shallot has a more delicate flavor.
- Poppy seeds: You can’t have keto poppy seed dressing without the poppy seeds!
- Salt: I like kosher sea salt. You can adjust the salt to taste.
How to make Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing
- Zest and squeeze the lemons.
- Whisk in the remaining ingredients.
- Adjust salt and sweetness to taste.
Phew! That was hard, wasn’t it?!!?
Expert Tips
Don’t skip the mustard. It’s an emulsifier so it keeps the dressing from separating too easily. The flavor doesn’t come through that much but you can use a milder mustard if you prefer.
Remember to zest the lemons before squeezing them. I am guilty of cutting into my lemons first and remember later I need the zest. That’s why the first step in the recipe is zesting!
Sweetener Options: Don’t fret if you don’t have a keto friendly honey substitute. You can add other sweeteners to help soften the tart lemon. I recommend powdered or liquid sweeteners to avoid grittiness. Depending on what you use, the equivalent of 2 tablespoons of sugar should be sufficient.
Frequently Asked Questions
This easy keto salad dressing contains olive oil, lemon juice, sweetener, a little shallot, a touch of mustard, and poppy seeds. You can easily adjust the sweetness and the salt to your own taste.
Conventional lemon poppy seed dressings has 6 to 8 grams of carbs per 2 tablespoons. Those carbs can add up when you pour it over salad! But this keto poppy seed dressing has only 1.3g of carbs and 0.4g of fiber per serving. So it has only 0.9g net carbs.
This delicious low carb salad dressing can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Store in a glass jar with a resealable lid for best results.
More recipes you will enjoy
Keto Poppy Seed Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon allulose honey
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoon finely minced shallot
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Grate the lemon zest into a glass measuring cup. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, allulose honey, mustard, and shallot.
- Add the poppy seeds and salt and whisk well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings and sweetener as desired.
Denise says
Yummy
Rachel H says
You might want to change the label in that ingredient pic – poppy seeds are labelled “Heavy Cream”. And don’t approve theis message, I want to PM, couldn’t find a way.
Thanks for all you do, I love your recipes! Always great.
Lynette Shor says
Love, love, LOVE these spring-ish light clean made with salmon or white fish recipes!!!
I am making this dressing today and the Smoked Salmon Chowder too👍🏼
(Side note on ingredient photo square-
“Poppy seeds needs to be switched out for Heavy Cream”)
Thank you for all of this DELICIOUSNESS❣️❣️❣️
Carolyn says
Dang me for always using the template from the recipe before! Thanks for the heads up.