Discover secrets for streamlining the preparation and the best niçoise salad dressing for Tuna Nicoise Salad, a classic French salad.
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My recipe for salad niçoise is pretty close to the classic french composed salad. Boiled potatoes are dressed with a homemade lemon vinaigrette that also includes anchovy paste. The anchovy is of course optional but they are traditional in a classic salade nicoise – which has its origins in Nice, France.
The potatoes, fresh green beans (haricot verts) and hard boiled eggs are all made in the same medium pot of salted water. Add in some canned tuna, cherry tomatoes (or the best fresh tomatoes in the summer), cucumber, salty olives and capers. This is an entree salad suitable for any special occasion! Or a perfect healthy indulgence on a hot day. Put your feet up, close your eyes and imagine yourself in the south of France.
More delicious recipes for a light dinner
Ingredients for tuna salad nicoise
Tuna salad nicoise
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- Tuna – I use a 5-oz can of albacore tuna packed in oil for my recipe. You are welcome to use yellow fin or tuna packed in water. You could even use freshly grilled tuna steaks.
- Potatoes – For my recipe I used ten very small Yukon Gold potatoes with the skin on. You could also use small red potatoes or any kind of new potatoes.
- Eggs – I use three hard-boiled eggs in my salad and I make them using my easy peel method.
- Green Beans – Fresh beans with ends trimmed are best for the recipe. I would not recommend using frozen green beans.
- Tomatoes – It’s not tomato season around here, so I used the best grape tomatoes I could find at my local grocery.
- Cucumber – I like English cucumber best because they contain very small, edible seeds.
- Olives – Use a briny, pitted olive like kalamata olives for this salad.
- Capers – These are optional but I love the bright, lemony flavor – which pairs really well with my homemade lemon vinaigrette dressing.
- Additions – I personally think of a nicoise salad as kind of a deconstructed potato salad. I don’t think it needs greens. But feel free to serve it on a bed of lettuce or add some baby spinach.
Niçoise salad dressing
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Use a good quality olive oil for this recipe!
- Anchovy Paste – Optional but it adds so much good flavor! Even if you think you don’t like anchovies I would encourage you to try it.
- Fresh Lemon – Be sure and use the juice of one half of a fresh lemon – about 2-3 tablespoons.
- Dijon Mustard – Adds a creamy texture and zippy flavor to the dressing.
- Red Onion – Finely chopped red onion provides more depth of flavor. Feel free to add a minced clove of fresh garlic too if you want.
- Salt and Pepper – Fresh cracked black pepper adds more flavor. Not much salt is necessary because of all the salty briny flavors in the tuna, anchovy, olives and capers.
Instructions
Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients – oil through salt and pepper.
Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the whole potatoes and gently simmer/boil for about 10-12 minutes. Then add the green beans and continue to cook for about 4 minutes more. With a slotted spoon or pasta server, remove the green beans and place them in an ice bath to stop the cooking and make them crisp tender. Use a toothpick to make sure the potatoes are tender. Transfer them to a bowl and drizzle about one third of the dressing over them. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Then to the same water gently lower in the eggs one at a time. Gently boil them for about 12 – 14 minutes. Rinse them under cool water. Crack and peel them. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble the salad as shown. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.
FAQ’s
What is salade niçoise?
It is simply a salad that originated in the city of Nice, France. This salad traditionally contains tuna or anchovies, potatoes, hard boiled eggs, niçoise olives, hericot verts and is dressed with olive oil or a vinagriette.
What are niçoise olives?
They are an intense black olive with a pleasantly bitter, nutty flavor – packed in the Provence area of France.
Serving suggestions
Serve this salad simply with some buttered slices of French baguette. Purchased or if you really want to go all out, made from scratch. For a sophisticated summer dinner, pair this salad with a chilled rosé wine from the Provence area of France.
Storage directions
You can make the salad dressing, potatoes, green beans and eggs ahead of time. Store them all separately, in airtight containers. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Kitchen tools
- Stock pot with glass lid for boiling water
- Slotted spoon for removing the green beans and potatoes from the water
- Nesting bowls with airtight lids for storing your ingredients
Tuna Nicoise Salad
Ingredients
Niçoise salad dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice juice of one half lemon
- 1 tbsp anchovy paste
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp red onion minced
- 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 1/4 tsp salt
Tuna salad nicoise
- 5 oz tuna packed in oil drained
- 10 small yellow potatoes
- 1 cup fresh green beans trimmed
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup English cucumber sliced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives or nicoise olives pitted and drained
- 1/4 cup capers drained
Instructions
Niçoise salad dressing
- In a glass measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, anchovy paste, Dijon mustard, finely chopped red onion, black pepper and salt.Cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to use. You might need to whisk again right before using it.
Tuna salad nicoise
- Bring a medium or large pot of water to a boil. Add about a teaspoon of salt to the water.Gently add the whole, washed potatoes. Gently boil for about 10 - 12 minutes. Then add the green beans and cook for an additional 4 minutes.Use a slotted spoon to remove the green beans. And transfer them to an ice water bath. This stops the cooking and keeps the green beans bright green and crisp/tender.Check to make sure the potatoes are tender with a toothpick. Then use the slotted spoon to remove the potatoes to a clean bowl. Drizzle the potatoes with about 1/3 of the salad dressing. And cover the bowl.Drain the green beans and put them in a covered container. Refrigerate the potatoes and green beans until ready to use.
- To the same boiling water, gently add one egg at a time. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the eggs for 12 - 14 minutes. Rinse the eggs under cold water until they are cool to the touch. Crack and peel each egg. Place them in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Slice each hard-boiled egg in half. Arrange all the ingredients - potatoes, green beans, cucumber, tomatoes, egg halves, olives and capers on a plate. Top with the drained tuna. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the salad and serve.
Nutrition
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