A fresh, French inspired Nicoise Salad that’s perfect for quick lunches or elegant dinners. Simple, flavorful, and beautifully balanced.
Classic Salads like the American Cobb Salad or Greek Salad, are everywhere, but Nicoise Salad is the one unforgettable dish I realized many people haven’t tried. It may sound fancy, but I love that it actually started as a simple country salad built on crisp greens, fresh toppings, and a bright herb mustard dressing.
Sabrina’s Nicoise Salad Recipe
There’s plenty of debate about what belongs in a “true” Nicoise Salad, but the best part of making it at home is that you can build it exactly the way you like. Start with the basics and make it as hearty as you want. Pile on potatoes, green beans, hard boiled eggs, and don’t forget some warm French bread on the side. Using good olive oil, quality canned fish, and fresh herbs really makes this salad shine, and while you can absolutely swap things around, I always recommend trying it once in its classic form. Keep scrolling for tips, substitutions, and all the extra details below.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Red Potatoes:
- 1 pound baby red potatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup white wine
French Green Beans:
- 1 pound French green beans , trimmed
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
Nicoise Dressing:
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Nicoise Salad
- 6 cups butter lettuce
- 1/2 red onion , thinly sliced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1/4 cup radishes , thinly sliced
- 6 large eggs , hard boiled and halved
- 10 ounces canned chunk tuna in oil , drained
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives , or Nicoise olives if you can find them
Instructions
Red Potatoes:
- Add the baby potatoes to a large pot.
- Cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil.
- Cook for 10 minutes or until fork tender then drain.
- Cut into thin slices and salt and add the white wine.
French Green Beans:
- Add water to a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Add steamer insert along with green beans.
- Cook for 5 minutes, covered, then remove to a bowl of ice.
Nicoise Dressing:
- In a medium bowl whisk together olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, fresh thyme, salt and pepper until emulsified, for about 1-2 minutes.
To Assemble:
- To a large platter add the butter lettuce, onions, cherry tomatoes and radishes evenly.
- In small pockets add the hard boiled eggs, tuna, olives, potatoes and green beans.
- Dress with the Nicoise dressing and serve.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Sabrina’s Tips
When I make a Nicoise Salad, I always reach for creamy baby potatoes because they cook quickly and their natural buttery flavor holds up beautifully. I slice them into thin pieces, so they soak up the white wine and give you those delicate, flavorful bites chefs love. For the greens, I prefer French green beans because they’re naturally more tender and cook evenly. If you’re using regular green beans, just choose the thinnest ones you can find for the best texture. And when it comes to tuna, I always recommend oil packed tuna. It has a richer, more luxurious flavor that stands up to the tangy vinaigrette. If you prefer something lighter, fresh tuna or tuna packed in water works too, but that silky, olive oil packed tuna really brings the dish together.
Table of contents
Can this be made ahead of time?
You can prep most of the ingredients separately up to 2 days in advance of you when you want to serve it. Here are some tips to keep everything fresh if you make Salad Nicoise ahead of time. Store sliced radishes in a container with water or a moist paper towel to keep them crisp. Pat the blanched green beans dry before storing. For the sliced potatoes, add enough water to cover them plus a teaspoon white wine vinegar to keep them from turning brown.
How to Store
- Serve: This salad is best served chilled and kept cold so the veggies stay crisp. Don’t keep it at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: Store dressing and salad separately in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep in mind if you make some ingredients ahead of time, they will have a shorter shelf life after you serve it.
- Freeze: You don’t want to freeze a salad. You can freeze certain toppings like the green beans but for the most part you want to make it when you are ready to serve it.
Variations
- Fish: If you want a salad closer to the original recipe, make this with anchovy fillets instead of canned tuna. You can also use canned salmon, grilled fresh tuna steaks, baby shrimp, or smoked fish. If you aren’t a seafood fan, try it with Grilled Chicken, canned chicken, or crispy chopped bacon.
- Vegetarian: For a vegetarian Nicoise Salad, marinate artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, or baked tofu with capers and soy sauce overnight. The capers and soy sauce together have a similar briny flavor as canned tuna. Leave off the eggs or replace them with cooked white beans (like Cannellini beans) or Fava beans.
- Potatoes: Use any small creamy potato instead of red potatoes like fingerling potatoes, yellow potatoes, or baby gold potatoes. You want a small soft potato so it cooks quickly and soaks up the dressing flavors.
- Veggies: Other veggies you can try are bell peppers, roasted peppers, artichokes, roasted beets, mushrooms or cucumber. It’s always best to go with what’s in season and you can either cook the vegetables or use raw depending on your preference.
- Lemon: Make a lemon-mustard dressing by swapping the white vinegar with fresh lemon juice. Add capers and shallots to bring out the fresh, tangy lemony flavor.
Related Recipes
More Hearty Salads
