Dish guides
What is salade niçoise?
Salade niçoise is a composed salad from Nice built on ripe tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, small black Niçoise olives and anchovies or tuna, dressed with olive oil. In Nice it's mostly raw vegetables; elsewhere it often comes with potatoes and green beans. It's served as a starter or a light main course.
- At a glance
- Salade niçoise
- Nice's salad of tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, black olives and anchovies or tuna.
- Pronunciation
- Say it like sah-LAHD nee-SWAHZ · IPA /salad niswaz/
- Also written as
- salade nicoise, niçoise, niçoise salad, salad niçoise, tuna niçoise salad, salada nissarda
What’s in it
Core ingredients
- tomatoes
- hard-boiled eggs
- Niçoise olives
- anchovies and/or tuna
- olive oil
Often added
- lettuce
- raw red or green peppers
- cucumber
- spring onions or shallots
- radishes
- young broad beans or artichokes
- cooked potatoes and green beans (outside Nice)
- vinaigrette with mustard
- seared fresh tuna
Allergens
| Allergen | How likely |
|---|---|
| Fish | Typically contains |
| Eggs | Typically contains |
| Mustard | Often contains |
| Sulphites | Sometimes contains |
| Gluten | Rarely contains |
| Dairy | Rarely contains |
| Peanuts | Rarely contains |
| Tree nuts | Rarely contains |
| Shellfish | Rarely contains |
| Soy | Rarely contains |
| Sesame | Rarely contains |
| Diet | Suitable? |
|---|---|
| Vegetarian | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Pescatarian | Usually |
| Halal | Usually |
| Kosher | Depends — Tuna and anchovies are kosher fish, but the salad is kosher only when it comes from a kosher-certified kitchen. |
| Gluten-free | Usually |
Allergen and calorie details are AI estimates based on the menu and typical recipes. They can be incomplete — if you have a serious allergy, always check with the staff.
What goes into a salade niçoise
The base is always the same: tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, small black Niçoise olives and anchovies or tuna, dressed with good olive oil. Around that, cooks add raw seasonal vegetables such as peppers, cucumber, spring onions, radishes, artichoke hearts or young broad beans, and sometimes lettuce or basil.
Traditionalists in Nice are strict about one thing: no cooked vegetables. A former mayor of Nice famously begged readers of his cookbook never to put boiled potatoes in it. Outside the city, though, the most common version includes cooked potatoes and green beans, and restaurants increasingly top it with seared fresh tuna.
Where it comes from
The salad began in late-19th-century Nice as a cheap, everyday dish of tomatoes, anchovies and olive oil. Over time locals added more raw vegetables, eggs and sometimes tuna, and by the early 20th century it was known far beyond the city. Nice still has its own name for it, salada nissarda. For more on reading French menus, see the France menu guide.
How to order it
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Je voudrais une salade niçoise, s'il vous plaît. | I'd like a salade niçoise, please. |
| Elle est avec du thon ou des anchois ? | Does it come with tuna or anchovies? |
| Est-ce que la vinaigrette contient de la moutarde ? | Does the dressing contain mustard? |
Not to be confused with
- Horiatiki (Greek salad) — Tomato, cucumber, onion, olives and a slab of feta; no egg or fish.
- Pan bagnat — The same Niçois ingredients packed into a round bread roll soaked with olive oil.
- Salade de thon — A simple tuna salad; it may have none of the niçoise vegetables or olives.
Frequently asked questions
Does salade niçoise have potatoes?
Not in Nice, traditionally. Purists there use only raw vegetables, plus eggs, olives and anchovies or tuna, and treat boiled potatoes and green beans as a mistake. Elsewhere in France and abroad, potatoes and green beans are very common. The menu description usually tells you which version the restaurant makes.
Is salade niçoise vegetarian?
No, not as normally served. The classic includes anchovies, tuna or both, so it suits pescatarians but not vegetarians. Many kitchens can leave out the fish and keep the tomatoes, eggs, olives and vegetables. Ask "Sans thon et sans anchois, c'est possible ?" (Is it possible without tuna and anchovies?).
Is salade niçoise gluten free?
Usually, yes. The core ingredients, tomatoes, eggs, olives, fish, vegetables and olive oil, don't normally contain gluten. Watch for croutons, bread served alongside, or a bottled dressing. If you need to avoid gluten strictly, ask the server to confirm the dressing and that nothing is added on top.
How do you pronounce salade niçoise?
Say "sah-LAHD nee-SWAHZ", in IPA [salad niswaz]. The ç is a soft s sound, never a k, and the final "oise" sounds like "wahz". Niçoise simply means "from Nice", so you'll also see it on other dishes from the city.
