Nicoise Salad Dressing Recipe

Why You’ll Love Nicoise Salad Dressing 

A few simple ingredients make a delicious salad dressing bursting with flavour. 

The combination of extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, aromatic garlic, and citrusy lemon juice creates a quintessential French-style Nicoise salad dressing we all love. 

This recipe closely follows the fundamental principles of salad dressings, incorporating a solid oil base, acidity, and additional flavour enhancers like garlic. It also allows you to experiment and add your own twists with additional herbs or aromates. 

As you can imagine, we never buy salad dressings anymore. Making your own salad dressing at home saves you money and time—no more running to the store!—and cuts out any artificial additives you might find in store-bought dressings.

What is Nicoise Salad?

Originating from the south of France, Nicoise salad is a healthy combination of canned tuna, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, lettuce, olives, beans, and potatoes. I love how satisfying this hearty salad can be—it’s big enough to serve as a meal yet easily shared between friends.

To tie the flavours together, the salad is typically dressed with a classic French vinaigrette made from olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and garlic, though there can be variations.

In our version of the Nicoise salad dressing, I’ve substituted red wine vinegar for lemon juice because I adore the citrusy flavours that complement the canned tuna.

While it’s perfect for Nicoise salad, this gluten-free dressing also complements a variety of other salads like our Watercress salad or Jerusalem Artichoke and Pear Salad, roasted vegetables, and even grilled meats, making it a staple in your kitchen.

Ingredients

These are the ingredients you need for Nicoise salad dressing:

• Extra virgin olive oil: Good quality extra virgin olive oil is essential for salads. I love the rich, fruity and sharpness it brings to the Nicoise salad dressing. 

• Garlic: I added grated garlic to infuse the dressing with a robust, aromatic depth.

• Dijon mustard: This is a French salad dressing, so you can’t really go without Dijon mustard! It offers a creamy, mildly spicy kick that binds the dressing together.

• Lemon juice: I prefer lemon juice in this niçoise salad dressing because it is a natural pairing with tuna and seafood. The citrusy flavours balance the sharp extra virgin olive oil. 

Variations and Substitutions

Substitute for lemon juice: If lemon juice is unavailable, you can use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. 

Additional ingredients: This Nicoise salad dressing is very much the base of many French vinaigrettes. You can use it to build your own flavours. Other ingredients you can add include chopped herbs like parsley, chives and tarragon. Or add extra oomph with finely chopped shallots, capers or anchovies.  

Other salad dressings with a tangy mustard profile you may like include our honey seeded mustard dressing, apple cider vinaigrette and creamy mustard dressing. 

Instructions

Step by step instructions for how to make dressing for Nicoise salad: 

Finely grate garlic.

Add lemon juice, Dijon mustard and olive oil in a mason jar or small bowl and whisk well together. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

How to Store

Store leftover dressing in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. Shake it again before each use, as the ingredients may separate over time.

Best Salad for This Salad Dressing

Salad Nicoise (French Salad Recipe with Tuna)

Salad Nicoise is a quintessential French salad recipe that showcases everything you would want in a salad. Combining canned tuna, fresh tomatoes, green beans, eggs, potatoes and olives the flavours are delicious and satisfying. Big enough to be a meal but easily shared between friends.

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