This easy Nicoise Salad includes tuna in extra virgin olive oil, fingerling potatoes, soft-boiled eggs, salty olives, fresh green beans, and a simple vinaigrette. This post is brought to you in collaboration with StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.®.
A Niçoise Salad is the perfect example of something I like to have in my “Chef Bag of Tricks.”
Most people don’t really ever make it themselves because they think it’s too complicated. But it’s not.
In fact, a quick and easy Nicoise Salad is the perfect meal. It’s impressive enough to serve, because it’s simply stunning as a colorful composed salad. It’s simple, yet full of flavor. And it’s the perfect balance of flavors and textures — briny, sweet, soft, crisp, rich, fresh, hearty.
A Niçoise is the perfect “salad for dinner” salad. It’s full of protein, healthy fats, and some carbs to keep you full. This salad is satisfying, yet still healthy and light.
It’s even better when we use convenient and delicious StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Yellowfin Tuna, featuring Wild Caught tuna and cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil.
What is a Niçoise Salad?
Think of Salade Niçoise like the French version of American Cobb salad.
Traditionally, the salad includes anchovies, although it most commonly is made using tuna now. The Nicoise also typically includes hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, Niçoise olives, green beans, potatoes, and an olive oil vinaigrette.
There are dozens of variations out there, however.
When it comes to this salad, I stick with my basic “rules”:
- include a mixture of greens (I like butter lettuce, romaine, and arugula)
- make a quick and easy citrus-based vinaigrette to complement the seafood
- use tuna or salmon, both are delicious
- include some fresh, crisp veggies (like cucumber and green beans)
- be generous with pickled, briny additions (I love olives, pickled red onion, and capers)
- incorporate fresh herbs (I like to tear basil into large pieces)
How to Make a Quick and Easy Nicoise Salad
There are a few things that make this Nicoise Salad easier than most.
The eggs, green beans, and potatoes are all cooked in the same big pot of boiling water. This step can be done while you’re prepping everything else.
To make it even easier, go ahead and use store-bought hard-boiled eggs and/or microwaveable veggies.
Next, a four-ingredient vinaigrette comes together in literally seconds.
Finally, we use quick, easy, and delicious StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Yellowfin Tuna.
Busy weeknights and quick, balanced lunches: meet your new superstar. StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Pouches are packed in cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil with just a few simple ingredients.
StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Pouches feature three different flavors and varieties: StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Yellowfin Tuna, StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Yellowfin Tuna with Sun-dried Tomato, and StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Wild-Caught Pink Salmon. Both their tuna and salmon are Wild Caught.
A natural source of healthy fats and Omega 3s, the StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Pouches have become a staple in my I-only-have-three-minutes-to-make-a-healthy-lunch meals. All three varieties work wonderfully in this salad (you can even combine them!).
I hope that you make and enjoy this simple Nicoise Salad! This post is sponsored by StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.®.
Print
Easy Nicoise Salad
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This easy Nicoise Salad includes tuna in extra virgin olive oil, fingerling potatoes, soft-boiled eggs, salty olives, fresh green beans, and a simple vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 4 eggs
- 10 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed
- 1 pound fingerling potatoes
- 6 cups greens (romaine, butter lettuce, and/or arugula)
- 1/2 cup chopped pitted olives
- 4 StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Tuna Pouches (10.4 ounces total)
- 1 large cucumber, sliced, optional
- 1/4 cup torn fresh basil, optional
- 1/4 cup capers, optional
- 1/4 cup sliced raw or pickled red onions, optional
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- In a mason jar, combine the olive oil, Dijon, lemon juice, and honey. Season with sea salt and pepper and shake vigorously to combine and emulsify. Set aside.
- Carefully add the eggs to the boiling water and boil 7 minutes for a soft-boiled egg. Remove the eggs using a slotted spoon and cool under cold running water. Halve when cool.
- Add the green beans and potatoes to the boiling water. Cook the green beans until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes, and transfer into an ice bath. Cook the potatoes until fork-tender, 12-15 minutes, and transfer to the ice bath. Slice the potatoes in half once cooled.
- Assemble the salad. Fill a large bowl with salad greens. On top of the greens, arrange the eggs, green beans, potatoes, olives, tuna, and optional ingredients (if using).
- Drizzle the lemon vinaigrette over the entire salad and season with sea salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 412
- Sugar: 4.4g
- Sodium: 474mg
- Fat: 29g
- Saturated Fat: 4.9g
- Carbohydrates: 21.8g
- Fiber: 4.3g
- Protein: 19g
- Cholesterol: 129mg
- Healthier Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
- Charred Lemon Chickpea Salad
- Italian Chopped Kale Salad
- Harvest Farro Salad with Kale + Butternut Squash
- Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Salad
- Whole30 Salmon Chowder
This looks so good! I love eating salad so this is perfect for me!
★★★★★
A healthy and delicious recipe to try! I can’t wait to make some for the whole family!
★★★★★
I can empty this bowl in just one sitting! Definitely my kind of salad.
Yum! I love a good salad and that is what I want for lunch today. Saved your recipe. Going to grab the ingredients later. 🙂
I have yet to hear about or try this but now I must, It looks so good. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my goodness! This makes me feel so hungry! I need this salad right now. Yummy!
This looks amazing. I have been trying to eat Whole 30 but am blanking on lunches. I would just omit the honey but the rest is perfect. Do you have a recipe for pickled red onions or do you buy them that way?
This salad looks really yummy. Love the combination of flavors. Looking forward to making this.
★★★★★
I love a salad for lunch or dinner. So delicious. This recipe sounds easy and totally satisfying. Adding this to my to-make list!
I love how you broke down this recipe. It is easier for me to recreate now. We love to eat as much salad as possible, this helps keep it interesting!
★★★★★
This is my kind of salad! It looks incredible! I’ll have to prepare it one day for sure. I love all the color going on!
★★★★★
This looks amazing and has so many great ingredients. I am vegan so I can make it with most of the parts and it will be almost as good as the original recipe.
★★★★★
Wow this looks super fresh and very healthy. I love a good salad, makes me feel full and low in calories too xx
I’ve never tasted Nicoise Salad before. It looks absolutely delicious and healthy too.
This looks fantastic. I am a sucker for salads! Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Ouu, this recipe looks really good! I would recreate with salad with a plant-based “tuna”, as I don’t eat any meat.
I like tuna in some things and I think I’d like it here! This salad looks good and healthy…just how I like it!
Easy Nicoise Salad sound so “easy” to make! I hope to make one this weekend. I hope this is so yummy!
★★★★★
When all my favorite ingredients come together I now know you get Tuna Nicoise Salad dished out. Wonderful recipe which I loved. Will make this often.
Wow this salad really has it all! I would have never thought of this combo but it sounds delicious! I gotta try!
I love Niçoise salad. This looks like a nice, easy recipe.
It is such a gorgeous salad. I just ate, but this makes me want another meal. Gorgeous photos!
★★★★★
So delicious! I have been trying to add more greens to my diet as I need as much fiber as I can get. This salad’s ingredients are all so yummy. Making this for lunch today!
★★★★★
That looks really good. I love a salad like this that’s substantial. I can’t do a plain Jane salad.
★★★★★
I love your version of the Nicoise Salad. Not only does it look so appetizing, but the ingredients also work so well together for a great taste that is filling. Quite a straight-forward and easy recipe that produces a wonderful result on the table!
★★★★★
WOW! This is a salad that makes me smile! I love a salad like this that’s loaded with awesome goodness!
★★★★★