Tender potatoes, crisp green beans, rich oil-packed tuna, jammy soft-boiled eggs, briny olives, and a tangy anchovy vinaigrette, Classic French Salade Niçoise sounds fancy, but and it's also one of easiest things you can put on the table for a light dinner or a casual lunch with friends.
Quick Look: French Salad Niçoise with Tuna and Anchovy Vinaigrette
- ⏱ Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Time: 25 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 45 minutes
- 🥗 Serving: 4 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 483 calories per serving
- 🫛 Flavor Profile: Light and fresh with a tangy vinaigrette
- 👌 Difficulty: Easy. Light dinner, casual entertaining
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Nicoise is the ultimate composed classic French Salad. It started appearing on French restaurant menus in the 19th century as a Provençal specialty, and it has never lost its appeal. There's something really satisfying about building a beautiful platter like this, especially when it tastes as good as it looks.
High quality, fresh ingredients and homemade dressing is what really makes this recipe. Anchovy paste, dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, garlic, shallot, herbs, all blended together until it's slightly creamy and incredibly savory. It clings to everything and makes the whole salad come alive. It's similar to what I do with my shaved vegetable salad - a simple, punchy vinaigrette can make even the most basic ingredients feel completely elevated.
If you love big meal salads you're going to be all over this steak salad, my southwest chicken salad and this crispy chicken salad.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- It's a full meal on one platter - protein, vegetables, and a hearty starch all in one. Full of fresh ingredients and perfect for a light lunch with friends.
- The anchovy vinaigrette is absolutely incredible and works on so many other salads too.
- It's great for entertaining. Make all the components ahead and assemble right before serving.
- It's endlessly flexible - swap ingredients in and out based on what you have.
- It looks gorgeous on a big platter and feels special without being complicated. Open a good bottle of white wine and you'll be immediately transported to the French Riviera.
Ingredient Notes
- Oil-packed tuna - This is a big one. Do not use water-packed tuna for a nicoise salad recipe. Oil-packed tuna is richer, more flavorful, and has a much better texture. It's worth seeking out a good quality brand. Tonnino tuna is my favorite.
- Niçoise olives - These small, dark, briny olives are traditional in a salade nicoise recipe and they have a really distinct flavor. If you can't find them, Kalamata olives are the best substitute.
- Anchovy paste - Don't skip this in the dressing! It adds a deep, savory, umami backbone without making the dressing taste fishy. If you're anchovy-averse, you can skip it but I promise, you won't know it's in there!
- Fresh herbs - Use whatever soft herbs you love. Parsley, tarragon, chives, and basil are all wonderful here.
- Baby yellow potatoes - These cook quickly and have a naturally buttery flavor. You want to toss them with a few tablespoons of dressing while they're still hot so they soak it all up.
- Haricots Verts - French green beans and more slender and not as chunky and fibrous. French green beans are best but any good string beans will work.
- Eggs - Soft-boiled eggs with a jammy yolk are my preference. Go with hard-boiled eggs if that's what you prefer!
How to make Salade Niçoise
Make the Dressing: Add the shallot, garlic, dijon mustard, anchovy paste, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar to a food processor. Pulse until everything is finely minced and well combined. With the processor running, slowly stream in the olive oil and process until the dressing is smooth and slightly creamy. Season with salt to taste and set aside.
You can make the nicoise salad dressing up to three days ahead and store it in a jar in the refrigerator. Give it a good shake before using.
Boil the Potatoes: Add the whole baby potatoes to a medium pot and cover with cold water, submerging them by about one inch. Bring to a boil and add a generous pinch of kosher salt - about 2 teaspoons. Boil until tender all the way through, about 15 minutes. You should be able to easily pierce them with a fork.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes from the water, but don't pour the salted water out - you'll use it for the green beans. Let the potatoes cool for a few minutes, then slice in half and toss with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette while they're still warm. This is the move. Hot potatoes absorb dressing like a sponge and the flavor is so much better than dressing cold potatoes.
Blanch the Green Beans: While the potatoes are boiling, set up an ice bath in a large bowl. Add the trimmed green beans to the same pot of salty, potato-y water and blanch for 2-3 minutes until they are bright green and just tender crisp. Use tongs to immediately transfer them to the ice bath to stop the cooking and lock in that gorgeous green color.
Once cool, remove the beans and place them on a clean kitchen towel to dry. Wet beans will dilute your dressing, so this step matters.
Boil the Eggs: Bring a small pot of water to a full boil. Gently lower the eggs in with a spoon and set a timer for exactly 7 minutes. While the eggs cook, prepare another ice bath. When the timer goes off, transfer the eggs to the ice bath immediately. Let them sit for at least 5 minutes before peeling. The yolks will be just set with a slightly jammy center - exactly what you want for a tuna nicoise salad.
Assemble the salad:This is the fun part. Arrange the green beans, warm potatoes, halved soft-boiled eggs, nicoise olives, cherry tomatoes, and tuna on a large platter. Scatter capers all over the top and finish with a generous shower of fresh herbs. Drizzle with dressing or serve it on the side so people can dress their own plates. Serve immediately.
For more beautiful salad recipes for every season, browse the full salad recipes collection.
Recipe Tips
- Dress the potatoes hot. Warm potatoes absorb dressing so much better than cold ones. This step alone makes a huge difference in flavor.
- Use quality tuna. Since tuna is a star ingredient in this tuna nicoise salad, it really matters. Oil-packed, preferably in a jar, will give you the best result.
- Don't overcook the green beans. You want them bright green and tender crisp, not soft. Pull them at 2-3 minutes and get them into that ice bath right away.
- Make it your own. A classic nicoise salad has some flexibility. Roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, or even grilled salmon in place of tuna are all great additions. Go wild!
- Salt your water. The potato and green bean water should taste pleasantly salty. This is your chance to season the vegetables from the inside out.
- Serve it at room temperature. Nicoise is best served at room temp, not ice cold straight from the fridge. The flavors are more vibrant and the olive oil in the dressing won't congeal.
Recipe FAQs
Nicoise salad, or salade nicoise, is a classic French composed salad from Nice, France. It traditionally includes tuna, hard or soft-boiled eggs, green beans, potatoes, olives, tomatoes, and anchovies, all dressed with a simple vinaigrette. It's meant to be arranged beautifully on a platter rather than tossed like a regular salad.
Yes! This is a great make-ahead recipe. Cook the potatoes, blanch the green beans, make the dressing, and soft-boil the eggs up to two days ahead. Store each component separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Assemble right before serving. Toss the potatoes with fresh dressing before plating since they'll absorb what you already added.
Oil-packed tuna is strongly recommended for nicoise salad ingredients. It's richer and more flavorful than water-packed tuna. Look for it in a can or jar at specialty grocery stores or online. My favorite is Italian or Spanish-style oil-packed tuna.
Absolutely. Grilled or seared fresh tuna is a classic upgrade. Grilled salmon works beautifully too. If you want a vegetarian version, skip the tuna and anchovy paste and add artichoke hearts, chickpeas, or white beans.
Store leftover components separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The assembled salad doesn't store as well once dressed, so try to plate only what you'll eat.
What to serve with Nicoise Salad
This salad does all the heavy lifting for you but to round it out, consider serving it with:
- Crusty baguette and a butter board
- A cheese board
- A crisp rosé or a dry white like Sauvignon Blanc or a French Provençal white
- A light, fruit forward dessert or this peach salad
French Salad Nicoise with Tuna and Anchovy Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 6 oz oil packed tuna
- 1 pound baby yellow potatoes
- 8 ounces haricots verts fresh green beans
- 4 boiled eggs
- 10 ounces cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ cup Niçoise olives
- 2 tablespoons capers
Lemon Anchovy Vinaigrette
- 1 small shallot
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh soft herbs parsley, chives, tarragon, basil
Instructions
- Add the shallot, garlic, mustard, anchovy paste, lemon juice and red wine vinegar to a food processor. Pulse until well minced. Add olive oil and process until well combined and slightly creamy. Add salt to taste.
- Add whole potatoes to a medium pot and cover with water, submerging them by about one inch. Bring to a boil and generously salt the water with about 2 tsp kosher salt. Boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes and them and set aside, leaving the boiling salty water in the pot. Slice in half and toss hot potatoes with a few tablespoons of the dressing and set aside.
- Add the trimmed green beans to the same water and blanch for 2-3 minutes until bright green and tender crisp. Use tongs to plunge them into an ice bath. Remove and place on a clean kitchen towel to dry.
- Assemble the salad: Arrange green beans, potatoes, sliced eggs, olives and tuna on a large platter. Scatter capers all over the top. Drizzle with dressing or serve on the side.
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