Active Time
25 minutes
Total Time
25 minutes
Nothing says “I’m on vacation” like a meal that lets you linger over a glass of rosé, imagining you’re looking out at the sea. This tuna niçoise salad recipe delivers big briny Mediterranean-inspired flavors, with lots of satisfying crunch. Bonus: It requires the bare minimum of prep time, so it won’t eat into your dozing-off-with-a-book-in-your-lap plan for the day.
Just a handful of quality ingredients makes this summer salad special. Canned tuna plays the leading role, so splurge on a really good tin—after all, you’re on vacation (or at least dreaming about it). For the briny elements, choose your own adventure. Tiny niçoise olives are traditional, but meaty green Castelvetranos or robust black olives like Kalamata work too. Capers make another great addition, and they’re even better when you crisp them up. Peperoncini bring both tang and a touch of heat. Look for fresh green beans or haricot verts at the farmers market as well as crisp seedless cucumbers, which are at their best in summer.
To keep everything as simple as possible, the cooked elements are all boiled in a single pot of water: Cook the eggs first, then blanch the green beans, and finally simmer baby gold or red potatoes until they’re fork-tender. Use the cooking time to assemble everything else. When ready, drizzle a lemon vinaigrette over the composed salad, slice some crusty bread, and pour that rosé. No garnish is necessary, but if you have some fresh basil on hand, don’t let it go to waste.
Ingredients
6–8 servings
¾
¼
2
1
1
1
6
1
4
3
Preparation
Step 1
Whisk ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. honey, 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, and 1 tsp. kosher salt in a medium bowl; set niçoise salad dressing aside.
Step 2
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully add 6 large eggs and cook 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water (keep pot over high heat); chill eggs until cold, about 5 minutes. Peel; set aside.
Step 3
Meanwhile, add 1 lb. green beans, trimmed and/or new or baby potatoes, halved if larger to the same pot of boiling water and cook until just tender, 2–4 minutes for green beans, 10–15 minutes for potatoes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to bowl of ice water; let sit until cold, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels; pat dry.
Step 4
To serve, slice eggs in half and arrange on a large platter with green beans and/or potatoes, 4 cups seedless cucumbers, thinly sliced on a diagonal, and 3 cups oil-packed tuna. Top with olives, capers, peperoncini, pickles, anchovies, or other pickled-briny things, drained well, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, and drizzle some reserved dressing over. Serve with remaining dressing alongside.
Do Ahead: Niçoise salad dressing can be made 5 days ahead; cover and chill. Eggs can be boiled and vegetables blanched 2 days ahead; cover and chill separately.
Editor's note: This recipe was first printed in our August 2019 issue. Head this way for more of our favorite summer salads →
Leave a Review
Reviews (77)
Back to TopWondering why the ingredient list doesn't contain potatoes?
Whiskey Gap
Coquitlam, BC
7/26/2023
Delicious! Very authentic Nicoise Salad (in my opinion) based on similar salads tasted in various parts of France. Such a beautiful entree for hot summer dinners. Lovely flavors and gorgeous presentation. On the rotation here,
Maggie V
Los Angeles, Ca
7/24/2023
Lost count of the ooohs and aaaahhs from my partner. An easy, yet perfect, recipe. 7 min eggs were jammy and wonderful. Threw in a few sliced oil-cured olives, capers, and cornichons and just a touch of mayo to the tuna. Placed on a bed of butter lettuce. Will be making all through the summer.
Anonymous
Austin, TX
3/6/2023
Perfect dish when the farmers markets open and the produce is super fresh. I have made it for parties, showers and “just because.” The jammy eggs are the perfect consistency and just what they should be. Sarcastic thanks must have never had a true Nicoise Salad because the jammy eggs are a standard. This is a great summer supper.
Mamaria21
NJ
2/27/2023
I didn't have small potatoes and my green beans that was previously frozen was not fresh so i had to toss. But the dressing stole the show and made up for the missing ingredients....next time I will also opt for a more quality tuna
Ariana
Rodeo, Ca
8/14/2022
What a great, basic Nicoise recipe. Since I just served it last night, in addition to 4 times in July, I thought it was only fair to review it and thank you. The perfect meal for this summer's sweltering weather.
Virginia
MV, MA
8/5/2022
I love this recipe and often use other meats and veggies in order to clear my pantry and/or fridge, It's such a forgiving recipe! Tonight I used up leftover rotisserie chicken and added a few radishes in for tang. This will be lunch for me tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it
Anonymous
8/16/2021
LOVE this recipe. The instructions are well written and, like others that have reviewed, I serve the extra dressing on the side. I also save the dressing for using the next time I make it - which is probably once per week in the summer. As another had written, this travels well. I make it ahead and bring it to eat on our boat, it presents well, especially when served over a bed of greens. Hope you enjoy it as much as our family and friends do.
NN
Seattle, WA
8/10/2021
Summer is here! The minute I saw beans and new potatoes at the Farmer's Market, I began dreaming of Salade Nicoise. This is a lovely version that reminds me of France. The touch of honey in the vinaigrette adds a lilt. Everything came out perfect as timed. We love jammy eggs, and 7 minutes gives you jammy eggs. Make sure your pot is large enough to handle all of the eggs you are cooking and get to know your eggs. If you are using cold ones right out of the fridge, you may need more time with them. Start to know your ingredients and adjust each recipe as needed.
MH_sf
San Francisco, CA
6/8/2021
Great receipt, however for a bigger flavour hit, use use Italian tuna in olive oil and use the the oil for the basis of the the vinaigrette. Gives bigger tuna flavour to the salad.
Anonymous
ottawa canada
6/7/2021
Wow great salad! I was never a fan of nicoise salad until I had a great one in London England. Your recipe nailed it. I like the idea that one reader placed it on lettuce for a nice presentation. This salad recipe worked well; entertaining girlfriends for a patio lunch and a glass of rose. It was a big hit! In response to the negative review by "sarcastic thanks" the instructions that you gave were easy to follow and very successful. I didn't think boiling eggs was rocket science.
SueS
Edmonton, Alberta
6/7/2021
I write in response to the negative review by “Sarcastic Thanks.” That reviewer was apparently disappointed in your instructions for hard-boiling eggs. However, nowhere does the recipe denominate the eggs as “hard-boiled.” The reviewer should know that a 7-minute egg is not hard-boiled
Anonymous
6/4/2021
Fantastic! A Mother's Day hit for all ages. I prepped everything the night before and it all traveled well. I dressed salad greens and served all the fixings buffet style so everyone could take what they wanted, and brought the extra dressing to the table.I also added blanched asparagus and cherry tomatoes. For high altitude jammy eggs 8 and 1/2 minutes is perfect.
Nicole S
Truckee, CA
5/17/2021
This is my absolute go-to recipe when I want a fun, beautiful, easy, delicious salad. We have it for dinner frequently. The egg time given produces yolks just like the picture. If you want them firmer, add a minute at a time. One of the reasons I love this recipe is that it takes you by the hand and walks you through it. All you need to do before starting is to put a pot of water on to boil, and fill a bowl 1/2 with ice cubes and 1/2 water. The only thing we’ve changed is that we put a bed of lettuce down on the plate before building the salad. It is soooo good!
SRFern
Santa Rosa CA
5/13/2021
I chose to follow the instructions for hard-boiled eggs for the Tuna Niçoise, which totally did not work out! The egg yolks were still runny! Thanks for ruining & wasting two perfectly good EB eggs! Thanks for wasting my time & money! Don't bother trusting bon appétit!
Sarcastic thanks!
2/4/2021