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Niçoise salad is a classic French salad originating from the city of Nice in the French Riviera. Filled with both fresh and cooked ingredients like tuna, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, and boiled potatoes in a tangy lemon dressing, it’s the perfect summertime salad.
What is Niçoise Salad?
Salade niçoise, pronounced “nee-swahz,” is a traditional French salad that originated in the French city of Nice. Original versions contained just a few simple ingredients – tomatoes, anchovies, and olive oil. Over time, additional fresh, mostly raw, ingredients were added.
These days, what makes one nicoise salad “traditional” and “authentic” is hotly debated. For some, cooked ingredients should be excluded completely.
This Nicoise salad recipe is probably the one you’re most familiar with. No, there’s no mayonnaise (sorry, Julia Child), but it has all of the usual players – hard-boiled eggs, cooked green beans, boiled potatoes, canned tuna, tomatoes, lettuce, and a homemade dressing. Like a good Cobb salad, nicoise salads are termed “composed salads,” meaning they are presented artfully on a large plate rather than being tossed together.
How to Make Nicoise Salad
1. Prepare the Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the lemon dressing until combined. Season with additional salt, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard, if needed. Set aside.
2. Hard-Boil the Eggs: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Gently place the eggs in the water and cook for 7-10 minutes. Seven minutes will give softer insides, whereas 9-10 minutes will result in more hard-boiled eggs. Transfer the eggs to a bowl filled with ice water for a few minutes, then crack, peel, and slice each in half.
3. Boil the Potatoes: In a second pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes until fork tender, about 12-15 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to an ice bath to cool before slicing them into quarters.
4. Blanch the Green Beans: Return the water that was used to cook the potatoes to a boil. Add the green beans and blanch for 1-2 minutes or until bright green. Transfer the green beans to a bowl filled with ice water before draining.
5. Assemble: On a large platter or salad plate, arrange the mixed greens. The greens will serve as the base for the salad. Arrange the green beans, potatoes, eggs, olives, tomatoes, tuna, and red onion over the top and drizzle with vinaigrette.
Optional Additions
Feel free to make this salad your own. Some delicious additions may include:
- Capers
- Radishes
- Sliced Shallots
- Artichoke Hearts
- White Beans
- Cucumbers
- Fresh Parsley
Make Nicoise Salad in Advance
While this salad is super easy to make, it’s even easier when all (or most) of the ingredients are ready to go. If I know I’ll be in need of an easy summer recipe to serve my family or friends, I’ll do the following in advance:
- Cook the eggs, potatoes, and green beans: The most time-consuming part of the whole recipe is cooking these three ingredients. The eggs can be hard-boiled several days in advance, while the potatoes and green beans are best when made no more than one day in advance. Keep them stored in individual air-tight containers in the refrigerator.
- Prepare the dressing: The dressing can be made several days in advance. Keep stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 weeks.
How to Store Leftover Nicoise Salad
Storing leftover nicoise salad can be somewhat tricky since it contains a mixture of both cooked and fresh ingredients. If possible, separate the fresh from the cooked ingredients. For example, the green beans and potatoes can be stored in one container, while the tomatoes, red onion, olives, and lettuce should be stored in another. This will work especially well if the salad has not yet been mixed with any dressing. I recommend consuming the tuna and hard-boiled eggs as soon as possible, especially if the salad has been sitting out for any period of time.
As a general rule, however, the sooner you can get the leftover salad into the refrigerator, the better it will retain its freshness.
More French Recipes
- Crêpe Recipe
- Cassoulet Recipe
- Bouillabaisse Recipe
- Beef Bourguignon (French Beef Stew)
- Chicken Fricassee
- Quiche Lorraine
If you try making this Nicoise Salad Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
Nicoise Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed salad greens
- 4 large eggs
- 1 pound baby potatoes, multicolored (optional)
- ½ pound fresh green beans, trimmed
- 4 ounces Kalamata olives, sliced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 (12-ounce) can chunk light tuna, drained
- ½ red onion, sliced
Dressing Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the lemon dressing until combined. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Gently place the eggs in the water and cook for 7-10 minutes. Seven minutes will give jammier insides, whereas 9-10 minutes will result in more hard-boiled eggs. Carefully remove the eggs and transfer them to an ice bath for a few minutes, then gently crack, peel, and halve each one.
- Bring a second pot of salted water to a boil. Add the baby potatoes and cook for 12-15 minutes or until fork tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes from the pot (leaving the water in the pot). Transfer the potatoes to an ice bath, then cut them into quarters.
- Return the water to a boil. Add the trimmed green beans. Blanch for 1-2 minutes or until they turn a bright green color. Transfer to an ice bath to chill before draining.
- Over a large platter or salad plate, arrange the mixed greens. The greens will serve as the base for the salad.
- Next, arrange the green beans, potatoes, eggs, olives, tomatoes, tuna, and red onion. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently toss (if desired).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
