This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Nicoise Salad is so easy to make and you can switch up the ingredients for what’s in season. Tuna Nicoise salad is my absolute favorite. It’s amazing that a can of good tuna, ripe tomatoes, tender green beans, perfectly cooked eggs and potatoes, briny olives and a simple mustardy dressing can make one of the most flavorful and satisfying meals there is!
Nicoise Salad or Salade Niçoise (pronounced [niˈswaz]) originated in the French city of Nice and can be served as a composed salad (each ingredient clustered into its own area of the bowl, plate, or platter) or tossed as you would other salads. In the late 19th century, it started in France as just tomatoes, anchovies and olive oil and was described as “simple food for poor people.” It has evolved to incorporate all kinds of cooked and raw vegetables and proteins and many famous chefs and authors have strong opinions about what it should and should not include.
I could eat this classic Nicoise Salad once a week. Forever. Sometimes I get fancy with it: swap in leftover Grilled Tuna Steak or Slow Roasted Salmon for canned tuna, add anchovy fillets here, a sprig of tarragon or other fresh herb there. But this is the way we eat it most often: just 30 minutes between putting water on to boil and taking our first bite.
It’s a house favorite because all of the elements, though distinct, work in harmony: a simple dressing of fresh lemon juice, white wine vinegar, good olive oil and Dijon mustard brighten; namesake Niçoise olives add spark; creamy new potatoes and tender green beans (French name: haricots vert) offer heft; perfectly boiled eggs and humble but mighty canned tuna make it a meal.
The best salads are a combination of the freshest ingredients in season and need only the simplest preparation to shine. Nicoise Salad is a perfect example (I’m looking at you too Crab Salad and Ahi Tuna Salad). Serve it alone or alongside a cup of French Onion Soup or a Jambon-Beurre sandwich as I often do.
How to Make Nicoise Salad
Step 1: Make Nicoise Salad Dressing: Whisk lemon juice, vinegar, and Dijon mustard together in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 2: Cover new potatoes with cold water in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Boil until tender; transfer to ice bath until cool. Drain, pat dry and cut in to bite size pieces.
Step 3: Add green beans to boiling water and boil until tender crisp. Transfer to ice bath to cool. Drain and pat dry.
Step 4: Line a single platter or individual bowls with butter lettuce leaves (optional). Arrange green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, hard boiled eggs, and tuna on top.
Step 5: Drizzle salad with desired amount of dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
Nicoise Salad
Video
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice about 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
- 1 head butter lettuce separated into leaves and washed, optional
- 1 pound small new potatoes or small red potatoes
- 1 pound thin green beans
- 2 large tomatoes cut into wedges, one pint of halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup black Niçoise olives or kalamata olives
- 4 hard-boiled eggs peeled and halved
- 2 cans high-quality tuna drained
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
To make the dressing:
- Whisk lemon juice, vinegar and mustard together in a small bowl; add oil in a steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and ground pepper.
To make the salad:
- Add potatoes to a medium saucepan; cover with cold water and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and keep at a low boil for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size of your potatoes) until fork tender (a fork should slide in with little effort). Drain or lift out with slotted spoon and transfer immediately to an ice water bath to cool. When cool (5-10 minutes) remove and cut into bite size pieces.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add green beans; boil 3-4 minutes until tender crisp. When cool (about 5 minutes), drain well in a colander and pat dry if necessary.
Assemble Nicoise Salad:
- Line four individual plates or a large platter with butter lettuce leaves (optional), arrange potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, olives, eggs and tuna on top of each plate, dividing the ingredients evenly. Drizzle each salad with desired amount of dressing. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks like such a hearty and healthy salad! And I agree, simple is better when the produce is great!
Thank you, Mary!
Hi, Marissa! This is something that I never think to make … oh why oh why? My husband is a huge fan of tuna though and we’ve got a heatwave coming here this week (with NO air con) so maybe this is the week to give this a try. Genius combination, isn’t it, with the green beans?! Those clever Frenchies!
They are clever! Oh boy, no air con…hang in there! 🙂
Hi Marissa! What a lovely dish for summer when the temps are high! I have new potatoes and green beans from the garden and, of course, a steady supply of fresh eggs from my “girls”.
I think dinner must ALWAYS be amazing at your house, Dorothy!!
love the girls! just doing their best! smile i’ll bet they taste different than store bought eggs huh?
This one is perfect for hot temps! I’m the same way…when it gets unbearably hot, I usually send hubby out to grill…but both he and I would be happy giving him the night off and making this instead!
Thanks, Faith! We do the same thing, alternating between super simple stove top dishes and the BBQ.
We’ve been on the road for almost a week now, and eating horribly!!!! My body is craving something exactly like this! No more fast-food, I need fresh veggies!!! And your salad looks fantastic!
Oh man – I know what you mean! It’s so tough to eat well when traveling. So excited for you and your new SF adventure!!
Nicoise salads are perfection! I could easily eat one every day. I probably eat tuna salad twice a week already…
Isn’t is the best pantry item (tuna)! It’s just so versatile!
I try to plan all my meals so that they are quick, healthy and fresh. I make this a lot and my dressing is more complicated so thank you for a quicker way because it sounds simply perfect! I’m with you, Marissa, I could eat this at least once a week. Sometimes I put salmon in because I’m addicted to it and it only takes a few minutes to roast in the oven.
Such a lovely photo!
Thank you, Robyn. I’ll have to try this with salmon next time – sounds SO good.
Oooh, even though I am not that big on salad I do like a good Nicoise, but I had forgotten about it! Thank you so much for the reminder, your’s looks and sounds delicious!
Thank you, Nicole!
Well, now I know what I’m eating for lunch this weekend! This looks absolutely lovely! I’m a big fan of Nicoise sald too for the very same reasons you mentioned; it’s hearty and balanced in taste and texture. It’s also got that delicious, simple DIjon dressing which makes it so perfect. I love your version, Marissa…can I come over and eat this at your house every week too?? 🙂
Thanks so much, Beeta. And yes! Please do…
Now I’d ditch my Shakeology today for this in a heartbeat, especially those lovely not too hard boiled eggs – perfect!
Thanks, Kevin. It’s all about that yolk, right? 🙂
Looks gorgeous Marissa, I wish I had it for lunch today! Love the dressing, too! Perfect for summer! Pinned!
Thank you, Mira!
This looks lovely! Just check out that perfectly boiled egg. 🙂 Nicoise is one of my favorite salads ever, and I love how you can make it as simple or fancy as you want. We sometimes just do egg, potato, and green bean, and it’s still excellent!
Nothing like a perfectly boiled egg, right? I’m always disappointed when the yolk is overcooked.:) We do that too, btw – just egg, potato and green bean sometimes and, yes, excellent!
Love salad niçoise! This looks perfect, Marissa! Lovely meal for those warm summer days!
Thanks, Jess! I agree…
I am a huge salad fan so I would definitely rely on a dish like this with hot weather! 😀
Thanks, Lorraine!
Is the dressing really that easy? I made a Bill Granger one once and the ingredients list was A LOT longer. Unnecessarily it seems!
Now Marissa, I read your opening para and I had to wonder “HOW did she boil the egg and veggies without slaving over the stove?” 😉
I could eat it once a week too. For my fancy variation, I like to sear a tuna really REALLY briefly, sometimes with a thick pepper crust, and slice it. Nice and rare, practically sashimi!! 🙂
Stay cool! Crank up that air con! 🙂
I do add other things to the dressing sometimes, but this one is a go-to when ingredients are at their peak. Super simple, but greater than the sum of its parts.
Okay, you got me there. 😉 I suppose you to have to stand over the stovetop for 15 minutes or so…work, work, work! 😉
And on the fancy version, you’re my kind of girl. We do the same thing – love super rare, thinly sliced Ahi!