Julia Child’s Salad Niçoise Recipe

Introduction

Few salads capture the vibrant spirit of the Mediterranean like Julia Child’s Salad Niçoise. This iconic recipe celebrates fresh, seasonal ingredients—ripe tomatoes, crisp green beans, creamy potatoes, briny olives, and tuna—artfully arranged and simply dressed. Bursting with color and balanced flavors, it’s a perfect show-stopping meal for both casual lunches and elegant gatherings.

Why Julia Child’s Salad Niçoise Stands Out

What makes this version memorable is Julia’s focus on high-quality ingredients and thoughtful composition. The medley of textures—from tender potatoes to snappy beans and the hearty protein of tuna and hard-boiled eggs—offers a satisfying, complete meal in every forkful. It’s not just delicious; it’s beautiful and deeply nourishing.

Preparing the Perfect Ingredients

Blanch the green beans and potatoes just until tender, ensuring they retain their bright color and a pleasant bite. Assemble your vegetables, olives, and tuna in distinct sections on a large platter, replicating Julia’s famous eye for presentation. The classic Dijon vinaigrette, lightly tossed with the vegetables, brings all the flavors together while letting the individual ingredients shine.

Assembling Julia Child’s Salad Niçoise

On a large plate or platter, arrange each salad component in small mounds (rather than mixing everything together). Drizzle with the vinaigrette just before serving, and garnish with fresh herbs. This method ensures each bite delivers a unique combination of flavor and texture—a signature of Julia Child’s style.

Serving Suggestions for a Crowd-Pleasing Salad Niçoise

Salad Niçoise is a hearty, standalone meal—perfect for picnics or dinners al fresco. Serve it with a crusty baguette and a glass of light white wine. For added flair, offer fresh lemon wedges and extra vinaigrette on the side, letting guests tailor their salad to taste.

Nutritional Information and Serving Size

This recipe yields 4 generous servings, each packed with protein and vegetables. Depending on your tuna selection and vinaigrette portion, each serving averages 400–450 calories. It’s a fiber-rich and fulfilling choice that fits a wholesome meal plan.

Julia Child’s Salad Niçoise Recap

Balanced, bright, and full of classic French flavor, this Salad Niçoise brings together the best ingredients and a timeless presentation. It’s a staple for both meal planners and home entertainers—delicious, nutritious, and always impressive.

💡Meal Planning Tip: Save this recipe to automatically generate an organized shopping list—with every ingredient sorted by store section—for faster, smarter grocery shopping and effortless weekly meal planning.

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until just tender, about 10–12 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove potatoes and set aside.
2. In the same pot, add green beans and blanch them for 2–3 minutes, until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
3. Place eggs in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off heat, cover, and let stand for 8–10 minutes. Rinse under cold water, peel, and cut into quarters.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper to make the vinaigrette.
5. On a large serving platter, arrange potatoes, green beans, eggs, tomatoes, onion, olives, and tuna in separate sections. Add anchovies and capers, if using.
6. Drizzle with vinaigrette and sprinkle with parsley or basil just before serving. Serve with extra vinaigrette on the side.

Weekly Meal Planning

Julia Child’s Salad Niçoise is outstanding for meal prep—each component can be cooked and stored separately, then assembled fresh for quick lunches or dinners throughout the week. Save and schedule this recipe to your meal plan for the week to generate a consolidated shopping list that covers all your planned meals—making prepping and grocery runs a breeze.

Planning Benefits:

• Automatically sums ingredient quantities across all recipes in your plan
• Groups items by grocery store section for fast shopping
• Eliminates duplicate items to avoid overbuying
• Simplifies meal prep—know exactly what needs to be made ahead

Pro tip: Using CookifyAI to plan your weekly meals reveals ingredient overlaps—so if you’re also making a frittata this week, you’ll get one total count for eggs, making shopping ultra-efficient and reducing waste.

Cook and Prep Times

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes