Nicoise Salad Dressing

How to prepare Niçoise vinaigrette! This easy and tangy Lemon Vinaigrette is the perfect addition to this classic French salad.

Are you making a Nicoise salad and need a killer vinaigrette? Here’s our favorite way to top this classic French salad: with a zesty, zesty lemon vinaigrette! This dressing is packed with deliciously fresh flavor. This simple vinaigrette brings out the best in all the components of the Niçoise Salad without overdoing it: it’s the perfect accompaniment.

Ingredients for the Niçoise vinaigrette

This Niçoise vinaigrette is ingeniously simple. Our version of this classic salad is inspired by a Julia Child recipe. Julia is an author and tv personality who has written Master the art of French cuisine in the 1960s: and she’s one of our culinary heroines! Her goal was to bring the beauty of French cuisine to America, so she’s a great source for making Salad Niçoise. Our Niçoise vinaigrette is a lemon vinaigrette like hers but even simpler. Here are the ingredients of this Niçoise vinaigrette:

• 1 fresh lemon
• 1 clove of garlic
• Dijon mustard
• olive oil

How to make Niçoise vinaigrette: the method!

Here’s a little trick for this Niçoise vinaigrette that boosts the lemon flavor: and you’ll want to make it this way every time. Here are the tips:

• Mix together the lemon juice, garlic and Dijon mustard. Dijon mustard adds great flavor while helping create a creamy emulsion.
• Whisk together the olive oil gradually. For the perfect emulsion, whisk in the olive oil, 1 tablespoon at a time. The resulting lemon vinaigrette is so flavorful and delicious you’ll want to add it to every salad you make.

What is Salad Nicoise?

What exactly is the Nice Salad? It’s a classic French salad called Nicoise salad in French, meaning “Salad from Nice, France”. How do you pronounce Nicoise? Say No SWAZ with your best French accent. This fancy main course salad always has the same elements:

• Green vegetables (several times butter salad)
• Blanched green beans
• olives
• tomatoes
• tuna
• Hard boiled eggs
• Cooked potatoes or this French potato salad

Because it’s packed with tuna and egg protein, it’s filling and incredibly satisfying. Top it all off with this Niçoise vinaigrette and it’s fantastic as a fancy lunch or healthy dinner. Add some crusty bread and a bottle of wine and you have a beautiful French table. Head over to our classic Niçoise salad recipe.

More salad dressing recipes

Making salad dressing at home is healthier and tastes way tastier than store-bought options! Here are a few more of our favorite homemade dressings if you have a naked salad on hand:

This Niçoise vinaigrette is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.