Salmon Nicoise Salad makes an elegant, healthy meal, with leftover salmon and crispy vegetables! Add soft-cooked eggs, and favorite dressing!

Friends, enjoy this beautiful spring and summer take on the classic Niçoise Salad, using leftover salmon! Tender salmon, crisp-tender green beans, onion, white beans,  with a drizzle of dressing, makes a delicious variation of a Tuna Niçoise.

Loaded with protein and colors and textures, this salad is a full meal. Serve with a baguette or maybe a focaccia—and a bottle of chilled rosé for a summertime feast. Better yet, pop some Garlic Bread in the Air Fryer.

What is a Salmon Nicoise Salad?

Salad Nicoise typically contains tuna, but we love it with salmon! Top crisp butter lettuce (also called Boston or Bibb lettuce) or arugula, with tomatoes, cooked green beans, potatoes (optional), and hard-boiled eggs (we like soft-cooked).

Why we love this recipe

  • It’s a heart-healthy salad!
  • Serve it with store-bought blue cheese, or make your own Dijon Vinaigrette.
  • Delicious for lunch or dinner with a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
  • Leftovers are great the next day.

What does nicose salad mean?

In French, Nicoise means “in the style of Nice.” It is the cooking style of Nice, France. Typical recipes have black olives, tomatoes and anchovies, but of course anchovies are optional!

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Ingredients for salmon nicoise salad

  • Fresh lettuce greens: Frisée is the classic Niçoise salad green, but we’ve opted for arugula.
  • Leftover salmon: Add a slab of bacon, or break it into pieces, or optional to flake the salmon.
  • Crisp green beans: Look for thin, bright, green beans and snap the ends off first.
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Soft-cooked jammy eggs
  • White Northern Beans
  • Red onion, green onion
  • Blue cheese dressing: If you want to make your own classic nicoise salad dressing, try this French recipe.

We eat a lot of salmon this time of year, such as Baked Maple Miso Salmon and Sesame Chili Grilled Salmon. Cook an extra salmon fillet, let it cool, and then break into large flakes for topping lunch  or dinner salads.

Make your own salad dressing

If you don’t use blue cheese, you can make your own salad dressing with these ingredients:

  • Mayonnaise
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Ground mustard
  • Lemon juice
  • Dried dill: or fresh dill
  • Black pepper + salt

How do you make a nicoise salad?

  1. Lay greens in a large bowl or on a platter. Layer leftover salmon and cooked green beans, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and beans on top of the green.
  2. On a large platter, arrange lettuce, salmon, green beans, beans, eggs, tomatoes, and onion.
  3. Serve a bleu cheese dressing topped with green onions on the side.
  4. Optional to make your own salad dressing (recipe below).

How do you cook salmon?

  • Frozen: Thaw it out in the refrigerator for 1-2 days or run it over cold water in its vacuum sealed package until it’s thawed.
  • Fresh: Rinse, pat dry, and it’s ready to go.
  • Skin on: Remove the skin at home or ask the seafood department at your grocery store to remove it for you prior to purchasing.
  • Optional to leave skin on when cooking: Cook it nice and crispy.
  • Get the grill, oven or pan hot (medium or medium-high), and cook.
  • Use the spatula method: With the back of a spatula, press down on the fish to make sure it is firm (not spongy). This means the salmon is cooked. Do not overcook the salmon, as it will make for a dry salad.

Perfect Soft Boiled Egg Recipe

This salad is so very good with white beans and soft cooked eggs!

Which, by the way, remember how to boil the perfect egg? Follow my easy method, here.

It works every time.

Once the eggs are cooked and cooled, store in the fridge until ready to eat. Run under cold water to peel!

Tips and substitutions:

So we made our own version of Salmon Nicoise Salad (pronounced nee-suaz), using leftover green beans, and skipped the traditional potatoes, anchovies, and olives!

  • Frisée is the classic Niçoise salad green, but we used arugula. You can also use mixed spring greens.
  • If you choose to add olives, use Niçoise olives. They are sometimes hard to find, so look in your local market’s olive bar or substitute with kalamatas if you have to. We like to buy the pitted kind.
  • Optional to buy capers in a jar, which makes the salad more briny!
  • Use our soft-boiled eggs recipe so the yolks are brilliantly yellow and tender, and jammy! Or, you can opt for regular hard-cooked eggs.
  • Oh, and to keep it easy, I used a store-bought blue cheese dressing with added green onions! But you can make your own salad dressing (recipe included).

a beautiful Salmon Nicoise Salad

How do you serve a nicoise salmon salad?

Loaded with protein and a rainbow of flavors, colors and textures, this salad is fully a meal unto itself. However, some really good bread—a baguette or maybe an olive-studded focaccia—and a bottle of chilled rosé would round out this salmon Niçoise salad into a true summertime feast.

Delicious lunch or dinner tonight!

More salmon salad recipes to try:

Butter Lettuce Spring Veggie and Salmon Salad
Mediterranean Salmon Salad

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Salmon Nicoise Salad

TIP: To soft-cooked eggs, with a spoon, gently place each egg in a medium pot of boiling water. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, pour out hot water and fill the pan with a mixture of cold water, and ice cubes; let stand until the eggs are completely cooled. Always peel under cold running water!
Salmon Nicoise Salad is an elegant healthy salad using leftover salmon and crispy vegetables! Add soft-cooked eggs with favorite dressing!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4
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Ingredients
 

  • Fresh lettuce greens , frisee, fresh garden greens, or arugula
  • Leftover salmon, left in chunks
  • Cooked green beans, blanched
  • Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • Soft cooked eggs, halved
  • 1 15 oz can White Northern Beans (or Cannelini beans), drained
  • Red onion, thinly sliced
  • Green onion, chopped
  • Blue Cheese dressing

Or make your own dressing:

Instructions
 

  • Lay greens in a large bowl or on a platter. Layer leftover salmon and cooked green beans, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and beans on top of the green.
  • On a large platter, arrange lettuce, salmon, green beans, beans, eggs, tomatoes, and onion. Optional to add briny capers and pitted olives.
  • Serve a bleu cheese dressing (or homemade dressing) topped with green onions on the side.

Make your own dressing:

  • In a small bowl, add the salad ingredients and whisk together; set aside.

Notes

Originally posted FEB 2015
Cuisine: French
Course: Salad
Author: Sandy / Reluctant Entertainer
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Salmon Nicoise Salad