My twist on the French classic, Salade Niçoise! It’s made with wild salmon, roasted potatoes, green beans, olives, capers, radishes, tossed with a lemony anchovy dressing. Vegan-adaptable and gluten-free.
The first time I experienced a real Nicoise Salad was as a 13-year-old at an outdoor café in Nice, France, where this salad originates. Very apropos. 🙂 My parents ordered one for the table, and we were so exhausted and hungry from spending the day at the beach that we fought like vultures over the last few bites- so much flavor! To this day, this salad brings me right back to that sunny little cafe, next to the sparkling Mediterranean ocean.
Over the years, this Nicoise Salad recipe has been one I used in my catering business, and every now and then, both my husband and I crave it. It’s packed full of vegetables and healthy omega-3-rich salmon, tossed in the tastiest vinaigrette. It’s a wonderful salad for entertaining (yes, you can make it ahead!) or whip it up for a delicious weeknight meal, It’s easier and faster than you think!
Nicoise Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Lettuce: Romaine, little gems, arugula, radicchio, or endive. Crisp, sturdy greens hold up best!
- Wild fresh salmon: King Salmon, or “clean” Atlantic Salmon. Check out Seatopia, (Vegan? see variations below)
- Eggs: To make boiled eggs for topping the salad.
- Baby potatoes: Add a comforting heartiness to the salad.
- Green beans: Or haricot vert.
- Ripe tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, or you can sub red bell pepper.
- Radishes: Or sub with sliced cucumber.
- Kalamata olives: Or use niçoise olives.
- Capers: For a delicious, briny bite.
- Fresh herbs: Fresh basil leaves or flat-leaf parsley. Fresh tarragon is optional, but it’s so good!
- Dijon mustard adds depth to both the baked salmon and the salad dressing.
- Shallot and garlic: Adds an aromatic punch to the dressing. In lieu of the shallot, you can always add sliced red onion to the salad.
- Lemon juice: Save the zest for garnishing the salad.
- Red wine vinegar: For acidity and a perfectly tangy taste that complements the salad well.
- Anchovy filets: Adds so much depth to the salad dressing. Sub anchovy paste, or skip it altogether!
Salade Niçoise Variations
- Steam the potatoes instead of roasting. This is the traditional way to prepare them, if you prefer.
- Roast the green beans instead of steaming. I prefer how vibrant green they get when steamed, but you could just as easily roast them!
- Skip the oven. In the hot summer months, leave your oven off and steam the potatoes and pan-sear or grill the salmon.
- Make it vegan. Skip the eggs and add an avocado instead. Sub the salmon with 2-3 cups of cannellini beans or chickpeas. And leave out the anchovy in the dressing.
- Use Ahi Tuna. Use pan-seared, fennel-crusted ahi tuna instead of the salmon!
How to Make The Best Nicoise Salad!
1. Prepare the potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the halved baby potatoes in a bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread out on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake 15-17 minutes, or until just tender.
2. Season the salmon. Using the same bowl, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix together, then coat the salmon pieces with the mixture and set aside.
3. Boil the eggs. Place a steamer basket into a pot, filling the pot with water up to the bottom of the basket. Bring to a boil, then place the eggs inside. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and steam for 7-12 minutes. 7 minutes for a jammy egg, 12 minutes for hard-boiled eggs. Remove the eggs and place in cold water. Peel under running water and halve them.
4. Steam the green beans. Add the green beans to the same steamer basket, cover, and steam 3-4 minutes until bright green and tender. Remove and shock with ice water.
5. Bake the salmon. When the potatoes are just tender, add the salmon to the same sheet pan and bake 6-7 minutes. Check for doneness and continue baking until it flakes apart. Remove and flake it apart a bit using a fork. Let cool.
6. Whisk the dressing. Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
7. Toss the salad. Place the greens in a large bowl with half of the herbs. Drizzle just enough dressing to lightly coat. Mix well. If you skipped the anchovy, taste and adjust for salt.
8. Arrange. Place the dressed greens on a platter. Arrange the green beans, tomatoes, radishes, eggs, salmon, and olives how you’d like. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper. Spoon the remaining dressing over the veggies and salmon. Scatter with lemon zest, capers, and remaining fresh herbs. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side.
Chef’s Tips
- Use crisp, sturdy greens. And keep them cold until ready to use.
- Meal prep. After preparing the dressing, feel free to refrigerate everything and assemble the salad later in the evening.
- Layer with intention. For beautiful presentation, layer the ingredients by color and texture, alternating soft (eggs, salmon) with crisp (radishes, green beans) to make the platter pop!
- Zest before juicing. Always zest your lemon before juicing it for the dressing.
Storage
This salad is best served on the day it is prepared, but if you plan to save leftovers, store things separately, particularly the dressing, to avoid wilted greens. Enjoy within the next day.
Serving Suggestions
The Nicoise Salad is a substantial salad that makes a great meal and is perfect for feeding a crowd. Here are some of our favorite recipes to serve alongside it.
- Focaccia Bread
- Pita Chips
- Crudité Platter
- French Potato Salad
- Potato Leek Soup
- Creamy Asparagus Soup
FAQs
Use fresh wild king salmon, Ora king salmon, or sustainably raised, “clean” Atlantic salmon- check out Seatopia!
The salad is traditionally served with seared tuna, but here we use baked dijon salmon. For a vegan option, substitute with cannellini beans or chickpeas.
We use anchovies in the salad dressing, but you can skip this if you prefer.
Salade Niçois refers to Nice, France (in the French Riviera), where the salad originates.
Hope you enjoy this colorful Nicoise Salad recipe! Let us know what you think in the comments!
More Favorite Salad Recipes
Nicoise Salad
- Prep Time: 40
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: salad, entree salad, summer dinner
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A delicious recipe for Nicoise salad using fresh wild salmon. Serves 4 as an dinner entree, or up to 8 as part of a bigger spread. If you multitask, this salad truly is pretty fast. 🙂 I can make this salad in 40 minutes, it is possible!
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 12 ounces of baby potatoes, cut in half
- 12– 16 ounces of fresh salmon, cut into 4 pieces (see notes for substitutions)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3–4 eggs
- 8–10 ounces green beans or haricot vert
- 1 1/2 cups ripe tomatoes- cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes halved (feel free to sub red bell pepper)
- 1 1/2 cups radishes, quartered (or sub sliced cucumber)
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved (or use niçoise olives)
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 4–6 ounces lettuce- romaine, little gems, arugula, radicchio, endive (crisp, sturdy greens hold up best) torn or cut into bite-sized pieces. Keep cold until ready to use.
- 1/4 cup fresh herbs: fresh basil leaves or flat-leaf parsley
- 1–2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, optional, but good.
Nicoise Dressing
- 1 tablespoon shallot, finely minced (or add sliced red onion to the salad)
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (save all the zest)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1–2 anchovy fillets, finely minced, or use one teaspoon anchovy paste, or skip it altogether! (note)
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Potatoes: Place halved baby potatoes in a medium bowl, toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and place on one side of a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until just tender. You’ll add the salmon to this pan.
- Salmon: To the same bowl, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon Dijon, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, mix. Coat the salmon pieces with this mixture and set aside.
- Eggs: Place a steamer basket in a pot, fill it with water to the bottom of the basket. Bring to a boil, place the eggs, cover it, lower heat to medium low, and steam for 7-12 minutes. 7 mins will yield a jammy egg, 12 minutes will be “hard boiled”. Remove eggs and place in cold water. Peel under running water and halve them.
- Green Beans: To the same steamer basket, add the green beans, cover, steam 3-4 minutes, until bright green and tender. (See note) Remove from the basket and shock with cold water.
- Bake salmon. When the potatoes are just tender, place the salmon on the sheet pan next to the potatoes and bake. Set your timer for 6-7 minutes, and check the salmon for doneness, continue baking until it flakes apart. Remove and flake it apart a bit with 2 forks, letting it cool.
- Dressing. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- NOTE: At this point, you could refrigerate everything and assemble the salad later that evening.
- Toss. Place salad greens in a large bowl with half the herbs. Drizzle just enough dressing to lightly coat (save the rest for the top) the greens, and toss well, and if you left out the anchovy, taste for salt.
- Arrange. Place the dressed greens on a large platter. Arrange green beans, tomatoes, radishes, eggs, salmon, and olives as you like. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper. Spoon the remaining dressing over the veggies and salmon. Sprinkle with the lemon zest, capers and remaining fresh herbs.
Notes
Steam vs. roast: Feel free to steam the potatoes (traditional), or feel free to roast the green beans (I personally prefer how vibrant green they get when they are steamed).
No oven? During the summer months, you can leave your oven off, steam the potatoes, and pan-sear or grill the salmon.
Vegan? Skip the eggs and add avocado. Skip the salmon and add 2-3 cups beans (cannellini beans or chickpeas) and skip the anchovy in the dressing.
Prefer Ahi Tuna? Our pan-seared, fennel-crusted ahi would be fabulous here!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of the salad
- Calories: 459
- Sugar: 5.1 g
- Sodium: 754 mg
- Fat: 29.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.5 g
- Fiber: 6.3 g
- Protein: 28.2 g
- Cholesterol: 183.8 mg
