Salad Niçoise

4.7
(69)

Niçoise salad is a delightful French salad featuring tuna, potatoes, tomatoes, fresh green beans, hard-boiled eggs, and olives on a bed of greens. A great summer meal that you can dress up with other garden vegetables like asparagus if you like!

24
Salad Nicoise served on a blue platter.
24
24
24
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
15 mins
Additional Time:
2 hrs
Total Time:
2 hrs 45 mins
Servings:
4

This simple and elegant salad Niçoise recipe feels fancy, but it’s surprisingly easy to make at home!

What Is Salad Niçoise? 

Salad Niçoise is a French salad that originated in the Nice region of France in the 19th century. It typically consists of mixed greens, eggs, Niçoise olives, lots of fresh veggies, and anchovies and/or tuna. Salad Niçoise can be served as a tossed or composed salad. 

Salad Niçoise Ingredients

These are the ingredients you’ll need to make this flavorful salad Niçoise recipe: 

  • Produce: You’ll need new potatoes, fresh green beans, an onion, Niçoise olives, mixed salad greens, and plum tomatoes. Fresh parsley lends color and flavor. 
  • Dressing: Use a store-bought lemon vinaigrette or make your own at home
  • Eggs: Hard-cooked eggs are a staple of the traditional salad Niçoise.
  • Jarred fish: Canned tuna and anchovy filets add bold flavor. 
  • Capers: A tablespoon of capers adds even more pleasant saltiness. 

How to Make Salad Niçoise

You’ll find the full, step-by-step recipe below – but here’s a brief overview of what you can expect when you make salad Niçoise:

  1. Boil the potatoes until tender, but still firm. 
  2. Toss the potatoes, green beans, tuna, onion, parsley, olives, and parsley. Chill.
  3. Toss the greens with the vinaigrette and top with potato mixture. 
  4. Garnish with the remaining ingredients.

Can You Make Salad Niçoise Ahead of Time? 

You can prepare the salad Niçoise ingredients ahead of time (such as boiling the potatoes, boiling the eggs, and making the vinaigrette), but it’s best to assemble them right before serving. 

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

“This simplified take on Julia Child's classic Salad Niçoise was just what I was after for a quick and healthy dinner,” raves one Allrecipes community member. 

“To enhance the flavor, use tuna packed in oil like they do in Europe,” suggests Griffy. “The flavor is amazing and less ‘canned’ tasting. I buy Rio brand at the Italian grocery store.”

“Love this recipe,” says jdbauer. “The only change I made to it was I used fresh Ahi Tuna, pan seared, instead of canned tuna. Very good.”

Editorial contributions by Corey Williams

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

Original recipe (1X) yields 4 servings

  • ½ pound new potatoes, quartered

  • pound fresh green beans - rinsed, trimmed and blanched

  • 1 (5 ounce) can tuna

  • ½ onion, thinly sliced

  • ¼ cup pitted nicoise olives

  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

  • ½ pound mixed salad greens

  • 1 cup lemon vinaigrette

  • 3 hard-cooked eggs, quartered

  • 3 roma (plum) tomatoes, thinly sliced

  • 4 anchovy filets

  • 1 tablespoon capers

Directions

  1. Gather all ingredients.

    Various plates and bowls filled with ingredients to make salad nicoise.

    ALLRECIPES / DIANA CHISTRUGA

  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.

    Potatoes draining in a colander.

    ALLRECIPES / DIANA CHISTRUGA

  3. Combine potatoes, green beans, tuna, onion, parsley, olives, and parsley in a large bowl; refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

    Untossed salad nicoise in a glass bowl.

    ALLRECIPES / DIANA CHISTRUGA

  4. Toss greens with vinaigrette in a salad bowl; top with chilled potato mixture. Garnish with eggs, tomatoes, anchovies, and capers.

    Salad nicoise in a white bowl.

    ALLRECIPES / DIANA CHISTRUGA

  5. Enjoy!

    Salad Nicoise served on a blue platter.

    ALLRECIPES / DIANA CHISTRUGA

248 home cooks made it!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

287 Calories
9g Fat
35g Carbs
18g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4
Calories 287
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 9g 11%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 172mg 57%
Sodium 1306mg 57%
Total Carbohydrate 35g 13%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 18g 35%
Vitamin C 35mg 38%
Calcium 98mg 8%
Iron 3mg 17%
Potassium 772mg 16%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.