Classic Niçoise Salad

Article by Krissy Downey

Salad recipes can quickly become boring, but one of the best salads out there is the Niçoise Salad: an impressive-looking French classic made from a handful of satisfying, filling, inexpensive ingredients. Look no further for the perfect version. The developers at Food Network Kitchen have tested and re-tested this recipe so it works every single time. Follow our simple instructions and prepare to make this dinner-worthy salad a go-to meal.

What Is Nicoise Salad?

The nicoise salad is a type of composed French salad, meaning all the ingredients are dressed separately and arranged – or composed – on a plate much like the American cobb salad. Nicoise salads typically bring together canned tuna, boiled potatoes, hard boiled eggs, olives, haricots verts or green beans, lettuce and a vinaigrette dressing.

How to Make Nicoise Salad Like a Pro

Don’t let the show-stopping presentation fool you; our Niçoise salad recipe uses all easy techniques and comes together in under an hour.

Choose fresh produce. The simplest dishes always start at the grocery store. Look for crisp lettuce, fresh eggs, and plump cherry tomatoes. Feel free to make substitutions: if beets, corn, cucumbers, or any of your other favorite produce looks particularly fresh, add it to the mix or swap it for the tomatoes, radishes, or green beans. The key is to choose produce of varying textures. You’ll want a little bit of everything: crispy, juicy, and snappy.

Which tuna should you use? One of the best things about this salad is that you won’t be working over the stove to cook a protein. Niçoise salad is often called tuna Niçoise salad because of its marquee ingredient. Canned or jarred tuna is inexpensive, requires no cooking, and adds a perfectly salty flavor. Opt for Italian or Spanish tuna packed in olive oil.

Cook your veggies. Boil the potatoes until they are fork- tender and blanch the green beans. Blanching keeps vegetables tender and vibrant after they’ve cooked, so you won’t want to skip this step. Use the same pot of water for the green beans after you’ve boiled the potatoes to minimize dishes and save water.

Hard boil eggs like a pro. Sometimes the simplest recipes can turn out to be the trickiest. Follow our hard boiled eggs recipe to achieve perfect results every time. If you prefer soft-boiled eggs, they will also work well here.

Bring it all together. Now that the cooking is done, it’s time to assemble your gorgeous salad. Halve the tomatoes, quarter the eggs and radishes, and slice the potatoes.

Arrange the ingredients over the lettuce, fanning them out into pretty arragements, and drizzle with dressing. Be sure to top it all off with those briny Niçoise olives.

How to Make Our Simple Salad Dressing

This salad dressing makes our recipe for Niçoise salad truly special. Start by whisking together white wine vinegar, minced shallot, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to make a flavorful, tangy base. Even out those flavors by slowly drizzling in olive oil to create an emulsion. Emulsifying is the process of whisking together liquids of different viscosities to create a homogenous texture. Slowly drizzling in the olive oil ensures a smooth emulsion.

While we love it on our Niçoise, this salad dressing would be a perfect addition to any complex or simple salad. From a basic green salad to a heartier steak salad, this vinaigrette is a staple dressing you can make once and use all week.