Salad Olivieh is a comforting and rich potato salad with a mix of chicken, green peas, eggs, and crunchy pickles. A creamy and tangy mayonnaise and Dijon mustard sauce brings this salad together.
By Candice Walker on May 1, 2024 (Last updated May 1, 2024) This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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Salad Olivieh is a comforting and rich potato salad with a mix of chicken, green peas, eggs, and crunchy pickles. A creamy and tangy mayonnaise and Dijon mustard sauce brings this salad together.
It’s based on Olivier salad, which is a traditional Russian potato salad made with finely diced potatoes, carrots, pickles, boiled eggs, sweet peas, onions, and ham. This salad is a Persian twist on the classic, and you’ll find it at pretty much every Persian party or get-together.
You’ll find this dish as a star appetizer in Persian homes served with complementary dishes like noon barbari or lavash. It’s a hearty salad with plenty of protein, so fills you up plenty as a main meal, too.
🌟Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Creamy potato salad with a little bite: This dish has it all: sweetness from the peas, starch from the potato, a creamy dressing, tangy pickles and mustard, and savory chicken. There’s no wonder why it’s a popular Persian dish. For more vegetable-based side salad, try my 15 minute shirazi salad.
Versatile salad for gatherings: It’s amazing served alone, as an appetizer, or as a dip. I love it spread on a big hunk of bread or homemade pita.
Make-ahead magic: Salad Olivieh tastes even better after the flavors have had time to meld together. This makes it a great dish to prepare in advance.
Simple prep: There’s no complicated cooking methods that go into this recipe, just boiling water for the ingredients, cooking the chicken, and chopping up all your components.
🧾 Ingredients in This Recipe
Russet potatoes – I prefer russet for taste and texture in this recipe, but you could substitute for another starchy potato like Yukon or even red potatoes. The starch helps the potato hold its shape even after cooking, which we want.
Eggs – These will be hard-boiled before adding them to the salad.
Frozen peas – I like frozen as they’re easy to keep on hand. If you use fresh, you will not need to boil them in hot water.
Chicken – I find thighs are more tender and flavorful, but breasts will work just as well. When I have the extra time, I’ll roast the chicken instead of simmering it.
Onion – Use a large white or yellow onion.
Pickles – If you can get your hands on Middle-Eastern style pickles, amazing! Otherwise, dill or cornichon pickles are a great choice. Sweet pickles are not the best fit for this salad.
Mayonnaise – You can use regular mayonnaise or vegan mayo. I usually use vegan mayo, since I’ve never seen a food recall with vegan mayo!
Dijon mustard – A classic Dijon is ideal for this recipe. You could sub for regular spicy mustard but it won’t pack as big of a flavor punch.
Lemon – Use fresh for this recipe.
Peppercorns – Use whole black or rainbow peppercorns. You can also use ground black pepper if you don’t have whole peppercorns.
Salt & Pepper – Use any salt and pepper to season the salad to your preference.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
👩🍳 How to Make This Recipe
Boil 2 whole russet potatoes for 25 minutes until they are fork-tender.
In the meantime, peel and thinly slice half of a yellow onion. Fry the onion in 2 tablespoons of oil until slightly golden.
Simmer 2 bone-in chicken thighs with 1/2 tsp black peppercorns or 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, and cut the other half of the onion into quarters. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Drop the 3 eggs into the boiling water with the potatoes when only 10 minutes are left on the timer. Cook for that whole 10 minutes.
Add the frozen peas to the boiling water when there are only 2 minutes left on the timer.
Check the potatoes to make sure they are fork-tender. Strain the peas, potatoes, and eggs.
Add them to an ice bath to stop the cooking progress.
Pat them all dry, then peel the potatoes and eggs. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken. Chop all the individual ingredients into similar-sized small pieces and add to a large bowl.
⭐️ Pro Tip for Salad Olivieh ⭐️
Don’t overmix your salad! You want all the ingredients to be incorporated and coated in the dressing, but not to the point that it all turns into mush. Each ingredient should be visible and be distinct from one another.
Add the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and the lemon juice. Mix to combine, and season with salt and pepper to taste to your preference. Serve right away, or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
🥗 What to Serve with Salad Olivieh
It’s fantastic as a stand-alone dish or as an appetizer with fresh Persian bread such as noon barbari or homemade pita. I also like to pair the creaminess of the salad with something herby and fresh like sabzi polo.
🍴 More Delicious Persian Recipes
I can never get enough of all the incredible Persian recipes out there! Here are just a few I’m loving right now.
Salad Olivieh is a comforting and rich potato salad with a mix of chicken, green peas, eggs, and crunchy pickles. A creamy and tangy mayonnaise and Dijon mustard sauce brings this salad together.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Persian, Russian
Diet: Gluten Free, Kosher
Servings: 6
Calories: 254kcal
Ingredients
2russet potatoeswashed
1yellow onionlarge
2tbspoilcanola, olive, avocado, etc.
2chicken thighsbone-in, or 1 chicken breast
1/2tspblack peppercornsor freshly ground black pepper
1cupwater
3eggswashed
1cupfrozen peas
1/2cuppicklesdill, cornichon, or Middle-Eastern style
Boil 2 whole russet potatoes for 25 minutes until fork tender.
In the meantime, peel and thinly slice 1/2 a yellow onion. Fry until slightly golden in 2 tablespoons of oil.
Simmer 2 bone-in chicken thighs in 1 cup of water with 1/2 tsp black peppercorns or 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, and the other half of the onion, cut into quarters. Simmer covered for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (165 degrees Farenheigh internal temperature).
Drop the 3 eggs into the boiling water with the potatoes when there are 10 minutes left on the timer and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the frozen peas to the boiling water when there are 2 minutes left on the timer.
Check to make sure the potatoes are fork tender and cooked through. Then strain the peas, potatoes, and eggs and add them to an ice bath.
Pat them all dry, then peel the potatoes and eggs. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken.
Chop them all into similar-sized small pieces.
Finely chopped pickles and squeeze out the extra juices.
Mix the chicken in with the pickles, peas, potatoes, and eggs.
Add the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and the lemon juice. Mix to combine, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Serve as a side dish, main, or in a sandwich.Don’t overmix your salad! You want all the ingredients to be incorporated and coated in the dressing, but not to the point that it all turns into mush. Each ingredient should be visible and be distinct from one another.
Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.
