Small Town Woman

Nicoise Salad

by 32 Comments

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY FOR DETAILS. AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES.

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Nicoise Salad is a delectable cornucopia of fresh vegetables, Nicoise olives, red potatoes, hard boiled eggs and tuna drizzled with a tangy light mustard vinaigrette.  It is not tossed but rather elegantly arranged on a platter or serving plate making it as pretty as it is delicious.  The different array of flavor combinations comes together so well in this heart healthy salad.

Nicoise Salad is a salad with vegetables, Nicoise olives, red potatoes, hard boiled eggs and tuna with mustard vinaigrette. 

Why is it called Nicoise Salad?

This traditional salad originated in the French city of Nice. Nice is located in the Provence region of France. One of the signature ingredients for this salad is Nicoise olives which are also grown in the Provence region of France hence the name Nicoise salad or salad Nicoise.

Nicoise Salad is a cornucopia of vegetables, Nicoise olives, red potatoes, eggs and tuna with a light mustard vinaigrette. 

How do you make Salad Nicoise?

A little advance preparation is in order with this salad.  Put a couple of eggs and a teaspoon of baking soda in a saucepan full of cool water.  Bring the eggs to a boil, cover and remove from the heat.  Allow to set for thirteen minutes and them plunge in ice water. Place a few small red potatoes and one half teaspoon of salt in a saucepan full of cool water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.  Add the green beans to the water the last couple minutes of cooking.  Plunge everything into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.  These tasks can be completed up to several days in advance and stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

In a medium bowl whisk together the wine vinegar, minced shallots, mustard, dill and fresh ground black pepper.  Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously. Set the dressing aside till you arrange the salad on the platter.

Peel your eggs and slice them and the red potatoes in half.  Grab up to four large plates if you are doing this as a main meal or a large platter and spread out some some good crisp lettuce. Top with tomatoes, cucumber slices, sliced radishes, Nicoise olives, green beans, halved eggs, halved potatoes and tuna. Drizzle with mustard vinaigrette and serve promptly.

Salad Nicoise

Other ingredients you can add or swap out on Salad Nicoise

  • Spanish Olives
  • Kalamata Olives
  • Capers
  • Cannelloni Beans
  • Baby Carrots
  • White Beans
  • Arthichoke Hearts

A salad of fresh vegetables, red potatoes, eggs, olives and tuna drizzled with an easy six ingredient mustard vinaigrette.

Helpful tips for making Nicoise Salad epic

  • It is very helpful to cook the eggs, potatoes and beans in advance.
  • Use good fresh crisp lettuce.  I personally like Boston lettuce but you can use any variety or mix except iceberg.
  • Mince the shallots extra fine for the dressing.
  • If you can’t find Nicoise olives substitute good quality black olives.
  • You can use any kind of green beans but Haricots Verts (thin style French green beans are by far the best.)
  • You can use fresh grilled tuna or good quality canned tuna.
  • Feel free to add or swap with other goodies and make the salad unique to your taste preferences.

A salad of fresh vegetables, red potatoes, eggs, olives and tuna drizzled with a tangy light mustard vinaigrette.

Other salad recipes you will love!

This post was originally published March 17, 2019 and was republished March 13, 2020 with new content.

Print

Nicoise Salad

Salad Nicoise

★★★★★

4.9 from 14 reviews

A delectable salad of  fresh vegetables, red potatoes, hard boiled eggs, Nicoise olives and tuna drizzled with an easy six ingredient mustard vinaigrette.

  • Author: Beth Pierce
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4 serving 1x
  • Category: main meal salad
  • Cuisine: French
Scale

Ingredients

Mustard Vinaigrette

  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons finely minced shallots
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Salad

  • 1 head of lettuce chopped or torn into bite size pieces
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes
  • 1 cup sliced cucumbers
  • 1/2 cup sliced radishes
  • 1 cup Nicoise olives
  • 1/2 lb. trimmed and blanched green beans
  • 2–3 hard boiled eggs peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
  • 3/4 lb small red potatoes boiled and cooled
  • 1–2 cans (7 ounce) white Albacore tuna

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl whisk together wine vinegar, minced shallots, dill and mustard. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously. Season with fresh ground black pepper to taste.
  2. Top platter or plates with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber slices, sliced radishes, Nicoise olives, green beans, halved eggs, halved potatoes and tuna. Drizzle with mustard vinaigrette and serve promptly.

Keywords: nicoise salad, salad, main entree salad, salad with tuna, French salad, healthy dinner, tuna nicoise salad, nicoise salad dressing, what is nicoise salad, classic nicoise salad

https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Norafiqin

    I’ve had this once before but never knew the name and it sucked cos I love it! This is great cos I can now make it on my own and leave out certain ingredients that I don’t like. 🙂

    Reply

  15. Alexandra Cook

    OMG, Can I just say, I can’t help but drool over the picture! Who would not love to taste this! I’ll be printing out your recipe so I can try making this out over the weekends.

    Reply

  16. Va Anne Rome

    Wow, I have never tried this recipe looks really delicious and easy. I will try to make this for my kids, thanks for sharing!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Sharing is Caring

Help spread the word. You're awesome for doing it!