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Meet the delicious French classic, Niçoise Salad. Simple and delicious, it’s made with each store cupboard ingredients and a show-stopping dressing. Perfect for a light lunch or dinner.
If you have tuna and olives in your cupboard you can usually whip up some version of this decadent French dish.
The traditional Nicoise Salad is made with tuna, boiled eggs, potatoes and various other fresh ingredients to make a wonderful Mediterranean salad that is anything but boring.
This combination, arranged on a platter, cannot fail to look stunning and impress lunch guests! (Sshhh don’t tell them how easy it is..)
Why you’ll love this easy Nicoise Salad recipe
⭐️ Nutritious, satisfying and delicious
⭐️ Perfect for a quick lunch, a light dinner or side dish
⭐️ Simple but classic recipe
Sarah’s Notes
A Salad Nicoise is one of those meals that when you eat it, you wonder why you don’t have it more often.
This famous classic dish from Nice, France, is the ultimate taste of summer (or a wonderful way of adding a little sunshine into a grey day!)
I find the combination of ingredients, which include healthy fats, protein and vegetables, as well as a light oily, zesty dressing, really filling and satisfying, meaning it’s robust enough for an evening meal for the whole family.
Classic Nicoise Salad Ingredients
- Potatoes – Go for salad potatoes and halve them before you cook them.
- Green beans – You’ll need about 100g.
- Eggs – These are for hard (or soft!) boiling. One per person.
- Lettuce – Tear little gems into large pieces.
- Olives – Black olives if you have them.
- Tomatoes – Large juice ones, cut up into wedges.
- Tuna – Use your favourite kind (more notes on this below).
- Dressing: Garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and olive oil.
Choice of tuna
There are lots of different kinds of tinned and jarred tuna on the market.
Normal tinned tuna works perfectly well and is great for having a long shelf-life so you can make up a quick store cupboard meal, such as Tuna Pasta Salad or a simple Tuna Melt, but you could swap to a slightly more premium jarred tuna if you want to serve Salad Nicoise for a special lunch.
You could also go for cooked fresh tuna too, of course.
How to make Nicoise Salad
1. Whisk the dressing ingredients together as per the recipe below.
2. Boil your potatoes, adding the green beans near the end, as per the recipe below. Drain and leave to cool.
3. Boil the eggs as per the recipe below.
4. Arrange the ingredients onto a serving platter finishing with the eggs and tuna, then spoon over the dressing and serve.
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe undressed in the fridge for up to 3 days, but try and eat it quickly as it will go a little soggy.
In the freezer This isn’t suitable for freezing.
Recipe Tip
⭐️ Dress the salad just before serving to avoid the tomatoes and lettuce going soft.
MOre easy salad recipes…
FAQs
The exact components of this dish are not official, but I have kept the ingredients close to the classic style most of us love.
Some would say it must contain anchovies, others would say it shouldn’t have potatoes. But whether it’s true to the 19th century recipe is anyone’s guess!
According to the BBC, “the actual contents of a Salad Niçoise led to much local debate, and still does.” Read more about the story behind Nicoise Salad here.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Niçoise Salad {Easy French Classic}
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1 Garlic clove, Crushed
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Lemon, Juice only
- 6 tbsp Olive oil
For the salad:
- 400 g (14 oz) Salad potatoes, Halved
- 100 g (3.5 oz) Green beans
- 4 Eggs
- 2 Little gem lettuce, Torn into large pieces
- 100 g (3.5 oz) Black olives
- 3 Tomatoes, Cut into wedges
- 300 g (10.5 oz) Tuna, This is drained weight | See notes
Instructions
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together, season to taste then set to one side.
- Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the salad potatoes for 15 minutes or until tender, adding the green beans in for the last 4 minutes of cooking. Drain and leave to one side to cool.
- Boil the eggs for 6 minutes then run under a cold tap to stop the cooking.
- Arrange the ingredients onto a serving platter finishing with the peeled and halved eggs and tuna chunks, then spoon over the dressing and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I absolutely love the combinations in this salad. It’s so filling and delicious! I’ll be eating this on repeat for our lunches.