Once you’ve learned how to make Nicoise Salad at home, it will surely find its way to your table over and over again!
What is Nicoise Salad?
Salad Niçoise (pronounced as “nee-suahz”) is a hearty and filling French Salad, composed of cooked tuna, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, and green beans (or haricot vert), that makes an amazing meal. This is in part due to the delicious homemade Nicoise dressing that pulls all of the ingredients together. The name of this salad comes from the location of its origin, which is Nice, a French city on the Mediterranean sea. The way this salad is put together is much like the American Cobb Salad, where the ingredients are cooked and artfully arranged on a bed of lettuce before being served. If you have extra hard-boiled eggs after making this salad, use them to make Deviled Eggs!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients In Nicoise Salad
Here’s what you need to make this classic French Salad
Lettuce: Chopped romaine lettuce is my choice for this salad, but you can use other greens if you like. Baby Potatoes: Red or yellow waxy new potatoes are best. Fresh Green Beans, or haricot vert if you can find them. Cherry Tomatoes: chop small tomatoes in half, or use larger tomatoes and dice them into bite-sized pieces. Red Onion Olives: Use Nicoise olives, or kalamata olives if you can’t find those. Tuna: I prefer to use tuna packed in oil for this salad. You can also use freshly cooked tuna steaks or tuna packed in water though.
Ingredients in French Nicoise Salad Dressing
Extra Virgin Olive Oil White Wine Vinegar Dijon Mustard Salt and Pepper Finely Minced Garlic Finely Minced Shallot Minced Capers – since capers are so tiny, they can be hard to mince. I think it’s easiest to smash them flat first with your hand, then chop them. Finely Minced Anchovy Fillets, Fresh Parsley, and Fresh Basil – Optional, but delicious!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Prep Ingredients for Nicoise Salad
Green Beans: Trim and slice the beans in half. Blanch the green beans in boiling water, then chill in ice water. I have full instructions for how to blanch green beans if you need more info! Eggs: Steam the eggs or use your preferred method for hard-boiling them. Peel and slice the eggs into quarters. Potatoes: Cut the baby potatoes in half, then add them to a saucepan and cover them with cold water so that there are two inches of water over the potatoes. Add salt, bring to a boil, and cook until soft but not falling apart. Red Onion: Slice a small red onion thinly into half-circle pieces. Soak the sliced onions in cold water for 20 minutes or longer to make them less harsh.
How to Make Nicoise Salad Dressing
Mix it Up! Add all of the dressing ingredients to a small jar. Add the lid, and shake until creamy and emulsified. About the Optional Ingredients: Minced anchovy fillets are listed as optional, but I highly suggest you try them in this recipe! They aren’t fishy, but instead add a great depth of flavor, just like they do in Caesar dressing. Fresh parsley and basil are also optional, but delicious.
How to Make Nicoise Salad
Now that everything is prepped (in France, this is called “mis en place”!), you can put the ingredients together to make the most delicious French salad!
Recipe Tips
Start the potatoes with cold water. When boiling potatoes, you want to fill the pot with cold water, rather than hot. This lets them cook more evenly. Don’t forget to salt the potato water too! For even more flavor, you can add a bay leaf to the pot. For perfectly boiled eggs, I highly suggest that you steam them. If you use my method for steaming eggs, you’ll find that they are super easy to peel. I like to buy whole olives and remove the pits myself using a cherry pitter. They are less expensive and more flavorful this way.
Storing Tips
You should enjoy this salad shortly after making it, but leftovers will stay in the fridge for up to 2 days. It’s best to store the ingredients separately if possible. Nicoise salad is also easy to make ahead! Prep the eggs, green beans, potatoes, onions, and dressing up to a day ahead of time and keep them in the fridge. Then assemble the salad when you’re ready to serve it.
What To Serve With Nicoise Salad
This salad with tuna, potatoes, and veggies is already a full meal, and in the summer I often serve this on its own with a fresh baguette and a bottle of Rosé. For dessert, enjoy something with a French influence, and make Croissant Bread Pudding, Heart-shaped Macarons, or a rustic Strawberry Galette. Enjoy this classic Nicoise Salad recipe! It’s the perfect summer meal that I know your whole family will love. © Little Sunny Kitchen
