This easy Niçoise Salad with tuna and hard-boiled eggs is bursting with flavor from fragrant basil, juicy tomatoes, crisp radishes, briny olives and a light Dijon dressing. It is a delicious meal any night of the week! This recipe makes 4 to 5 generous lunch portions with a side of your favorite crusty bread, or 6 as an appetizer.
Salt the tomatoes. Put the tomato wedges in a large colander and place the colander over a bowl. Season the tomatoes with a generous pinch of kosher salt, toss, and set aside for 10 minutes while you prepare your ingredients. Do not discard the tomatoes’ juices, we’ll use it to make the dressing.
Arrange the salad. Spread the lettuce on a platter. Top with the sliced radishes, cucumber, olives, artichoke hearts, eggs, and drained tomatoes. You can do this as a composed salad, keeping like things together, or you can spread the toppings evenly across the platter. Sprinkle on chunks of tuna, green onions, and torn basil leaves all over. Season with black pepper.
Make the dressing. In the same bowl with the juices from your tomatoes, add the red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and a pinch of salt. Whisk to combine. While you are whisking, pour in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Taste and adjust salt to your liking.
Serve. Serve immediately, or wrap the salad in plastic and store in your fridge until you’re ready. Pour a bit of the dressing over the salad and toss very gently, or serve with the dressing on the side and allow everyone to help themselves.
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Notes
Nicoise variations: Omit the tuna and eggs for a vegan option. Replace the tuna with anchovies for a traditional variation, or cooked salmon for an untraditional twist. You can also add cooked green beans and boiled potatoes, if you prefer.
Leftovers: Leftover nicoise salad does not last very long once it’s dressed. Transfer to a tight-lid glass container and save in the fridge for a few hours or no more than 1 night.