Paleo
Gluten Free
Quick MealsSalade Niçoise is one of the most refreshing summer salad recipes to make! This Paleo version is full of flavor, healthy fats and nutrients, plus it’s simple to make and ready in 30 minutes.
Hey ya! Happy Summer Days! It’s official, Summer is here. I will be honest, I can’t wait to our Summer is over. GASP! I know! Shame on me. Although, we are spoiled here in Texas. It’s nice 9 months out of the year and then sweltering the 3 months of Summer. But I will put on my big girl pants and not complain. Hold me to it, okay?
With summer weather comes summer food, right? Grilling, salads, smoothies, and everything FROZEN or no bake. Ahh yes, the simplicity. That’s nice.
So today I thought I’d share one of my favorite summer salads that is packed with nutrients and flavor! Plus two UNREFINED oils that are best used with this type of dish. You’re learn my reasons why below.
Let’s dive in!
The famous French SALADE NIÇOISE. It’s a classic summer dish in France. Each region has their own version, but I will share the recipe I am familiar with a few of my own tweaks. Yes, I’ve traveled to many parts of France and I want to go back and eat this salad on the French coast! Too much to ask for?
But really, this salad … IT’S just BEAUTIFUL! And is packed with good flavor and nutrients.
- Tuna (fatty fish) – High in omegas. I actually subbed in Sizzlefish Sablefish for my recipe. It’s a buttery fatty fish with similar powerhouse nutrition as Tuna!
- Anchovies – More good fats and high in EPA/DHA. As you can see, I replaced my anchovies with salted sunflower seeds. Still good fats though!
- French green beans or haricot verts to get fancy on you! – fiber
- Greens (preferably crunchy butter lettuce)- Vitamin K
- Olives – healthy fats (monounsaturated fatty acid) and natural minerals (sodium and copper to name a few)
- Hard Boiled Egg – Vitamin D, protein, and good fats
- Tomatoes – rich in vitamin C and lycopene
- Boiled or Steamed New potatoes – healthy carbs (To make my recipe more Paleo, I used Squash/Sweet Potato)
- basil/garlic – great for immunity plus both are antifungals.
- avocado or olive oil – cold pressed is best and high in vitamin E.
- Mustard – for the dressing
- Lemon Juice
Okay, so we get why this Salade Niçoise is so darn healthy; it’s balanced in nutrients and macronutrients. That being said, let me share with you my recipe tweaks and the 2 oils I used in place of the olive oil. Don’t get me wrong, I love my cold pressed Extra virgin olive oil, but today I wanted to brag about these two HEALTHY oils and their awesome flavors! You Just might want to consider adding to your diet. Mmmm k?
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Paleo Salade Niçoise
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 1-2 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
A refreshing twist on the classic French Salade Nicoise
Ingredients
- 4 oz Tuna or sablefish (fatty white fish)
- 1/2 c to 2/3 cup sliced boiled red potato or sweet potato (seasoned with black pepper and garlic)
- 1/2 cup french green beans (lightly steamed)
- 2 vine ripe tomatoes (quartered)
- 1 hard boiled egg or soft boiled egg
- 2–3 tbsp chopped olives
- 2 tbsp roasted sunflower seeds or capers (to replace the anchovies if desired)
- 3–4 cup mixed greens or butter lettuce
- sea salt to taste
- fresh basil
- 1 tbsp red palm oil
- 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp garlic and onion seasoning
- lemon juice
For the Dressing:
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- 1/4 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- dash of sea salt
- dash of onion powder
- 2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Instructions
- To cook the fish, heat a skillet on medium heat. Add in your palm oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and dash of sea salt. Cook on medium to medium high for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Mine took about 10 minutes. The flesh will be flaky and buttery.
- If you haven’t already cooked your red potato or sweet potato, you can simply chop them steam in microwave bowl for 2-3 minutes. I seasoned mine with a little black pepper and sea salt after. You can also slightly steam your green beans, but make sure they are still crunchy.
- Once everything is cooked, place your greens in a bowl, arrange your potatoes within the greens, then add in your tomatoes and beans.
- Next, slice your cooked fish and place on top with the olives and sunflower seeds. Add lemon juice on top.
To make the dressing.
- Mix the ingredients listed above into a small jar. Pour half or all over salad. How ever much you prefer. Top with a few fresh basil leaves.
This serves 1 big salad or 2 smaller salads.
Notes
if you do have red palm oil, you can use coconut oil or butter. No prob! Just needs to be higher heat oil.
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: French
First, what the heck is an Unrefined Oil? Well, I’ll tell you. Unrefined Oils are oils that are in their purest state, meaning, they haven’t been bleached or chemically changed. Which unfortunately, a lot of industrialized oils in America are these days. The unrefined or “cold pressed” oils are more nutritious and have a less of a storage life than refined. More on that below!
The two oils I used in this Salade Niçoise recipe are Red Palm Oil and Avocado Oil.
The Red Palm Oil being used to cook the fish and the avocado was used in the dressing. Now, let’s get nerdy and talk about why I LOVE these oils.
- Red Palm Oil – . Palm Oil, like Nutiva’s Organic Red Palm Oil, comes from the red, fleshy fruit of the palm tree. It’s a tropical oil like that of coconut oil. But WAY different that palm kern oil, so be sure to note that. Red Palm oil gets it’s dark red color from carotenes in the plant itself, that’s why it is high in vitamin A and Vitamin E. Red Palm oil is also 45% saturated fat, mostly monounsaturated, so it’s great to use with medium high heat without it being oxidized. That means you can cook foods up to 302° F without the oil undergoing oxidation (the reaction of oxygen to form free radicals) which can be harmful to the body. Want to know more about Red Palm oil and it’s health benefits? Check out Nutiva’s site!
- Avocado Oil – Another plant based UNREFINED oil that is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, and has a high smoke point 400F, Again great for frying without the oxidation! The ‘Hass’ cold-pressed avocado oil is green when extracted; due to the high levels of chlorophylls and carotenoids. Avocado oil has a creamy texture and slightly nutty which is why i thought it would be great with the mustard garlic dressing, see picture below. Want to know more about the health perks of avocado oil, read here!
It’s always important to read up on which UNREFINED oils can handle certain heat/light without being oxidized. So go move all your oils to the fridge or in a cool dark place now! haha. And if you can, buy organic cold pressed. Here’s a great chart to keep to help explain.
Well, that’s all my nerdy food talk for today. Are you hungry for Salade Niçoise now? I sure hope so!
What are your favorite oils to use with cooking or dressings?
Cheers!
Hi, I’m Lindsay! Gluten Free Nutrition Specialist, food photographer and author of 
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Tina Muir says
June 22, 2015 at 5:18 AMWOW linds this looks ahhhmazing! You are photography queen now, and this sounds delicious! And thanks for the info about palm and avocado oil, very helpful! Happy Monday my dear friend!
SuzLyfe (@suzlyfe) says
June 22, 2015 at 5:48 AMLet’s get something straight–Salad Nicoise is one of my weaknesses. If it is on a menu, there is a pretty good chance that I will be ordering it. It just has everything, you know? Sweet + acid + salty savory + umami (from the olives) and even a little bitter if you are so inclined. Perfection.
Annmarie Licatese says
June 22, 2015 at 5:50 AMThis looks absolutely amazing! Pinned for later 🙂
Livi @ Eat, pray, work it out says
June 22, 2015 at 6:04 AMThis looks incredible! Im definitely considering having some for breakfast!
jill conyers says
June 22, 2015 at 6:41 AMCoconut and olive are my go to oils. I need to branch out! Happily sharing the goodness 🙂
Cara's Healthy Cravings says
June 22, 2015 at 6:42 AMThe deep freeze that we experienced this past winter has me very thankful for every warm sunny day, so I am hoping for lots of HOT days ahead!
That salad is packed with so much goodness, love it! I often use avocado oil for cooking and dressings, it’s a lovely neutral oil.
p.s. in the recipe, you have avocado oil written twice 🙂
Cotter Crunch says
June 22, 2015 at 7:05 AMthank YOU! will fix that. phew!
Michele @ paleorunningmomma says
June 22, 2015 at 6:51 AMWhy have I not thought to try this? You are reading my mind again, an old favorite that looks so much better when you make it!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com says
June 22, 2015 at 7:42 AMFrench green beans are my favourite vegetable, and as soon as I saw them in your recipe photo here, I knew this recipe had to be be pinned. Must see if these oils are available in our local health food store too. 🙂
★★★★★
Blair @ The Seasoned Mom says
June 22, 2015 at 7:44 AMOh, my. This salad is gorgeous and it’s packed with so much good stuff. Adding this to our dinner menu this week and will let you know when we’ve tried it! Pinned!!
Erin @ The Almond Eater says
June 22, 2015 at 8:10 AMThis salad has all of my favorite foods in it! If you could make this for me for lunch today that would be fabbbbb 🙂
Bethany says
June 22, 2015 at 8:29 AMi have always wanted to make a tuna nicoise salad! I love how you added in sablefish instead of tuna. I wish I still had some left from my sizzle fish order, it doesn’t need any seasoning or anything because its so buttery and delicious!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
June 22, 2015 at 8:40 AMLindsay, this bowl of scrumdiliumptiousness has me craving salad in a big way! Actually, I am not a dressing kinda gal – sometimes I’ll grab a dash of a balsamic vinaigrette, but, most times I like my salads naked – though all your talk on the benefits of avocado oil makes me wanna throw some on my next salad!
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says
June 22, 2015 at 8:57 AMI love these style of salads. They have such great flavor. Love that you did such a thorough breakdown of the ingredients/benefits.
Jody - Fit at 57 says
June 22, 2015 at 9:08 AMI first read about red palm oil over a year ago. I read mixed thoughts on it so I never used it but very interesting!
The salad looks great! So colorful!
EA-The Spicy RD says
June 22, 2015 at 9:12 AMLove this salad! There is a restaurant called Urban Plates in San Diego, and I almost always order the Nicoise Salad when I go to eat there-yum! Sablefish is new to me too-can’t wait to make this. Try and stay cool in that Texas heat 🙂
Cotter Crunch says
June 22, 2015 at 2:42 PMI think i need to visit urban plates and you!
Christine @ Love, Life, Surf says
June 22, 2015 at 9:30 AMI love love love salade nicoise but never make it myself. This looks so delicious and makes me want to have one for lunch today!
Sarah says
June 22, 2015 at 10:07 AMCould you possibly pack any more nutrients into that bowl?? Nicely done it looks like a delicious nutrient dense salad!
Jessie says
June 22, 2015 at 10:09 AMMmm!! I love adding Halloumi cheese to this type of salad. Tastes so good.
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says
June 22, 2015 at 10:09 AMLove love love nicoisse!! 🙂
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious says
June 22, 2015 at 11:13 AMYum! I’ll be right over for this. Love that you used sablefish too!
Cotter Crunch says
June 22, 2015 at 1:30 PMplease do! bring your fudge smoothie!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says
June 22, 2015 at 11:23 AMI’m going to have to make one of these soon. I love the sablefish idea! The last one I made was so long ago… it’s when I decided to try to be vegan and I did it with tempeh.
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
June 22, 2015 at 12:20 PMLove this- It’s my kind of salad because of all the goodies in it- How GOOD is Nutiva!
Cotter Crunch says
June 22, 2015 at 1:29 PMnutiva is the BEST. You know it man! ;p
hEATHER @ fitASPIRE says
June 22, 2015 at 12:30 PMI’ve been on a lunchtime salad kick recently and this is the kind I love – yum!!
Taylor @ LiftingRevolution.com says
June 22, 2015 at 3:25 PMYour photography skills have been killing it lately! love everything! looks amazing
Cotter Crunch says
June 22, 2015 at 4:06 PMgirl, i am working HARD on it, so thank you. <3 miss you
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets says
June 22, 2015 at 3:47 PMThis salad is gorgeous, absolutely beautiful. You know I love it. Bring on the greens and the smoothies and the beaches and the pools. Maybe not simultaneously, but you know what I mean.
Cotter Crunch says
June 22, 2015 at 4:06 PMi think it would be great with your avocado panini… just sayin
Jess @hellotofit says
June 22, 2015 at 3:47 PMOkay, the photos today are SPECTACULAR! Well, they’re great all the time, but I legit just started to salivate. TMI?
Laura @ This Runner's Recipes says
June 22, 2015 at 5:14 PMSalad nicoise is one of my favorite salads ever, and then you add sweet poatotes to it? I can’t even handle this much awesome in one recipe.
Abby @ BackAtSquareZero says
June 22, 2015 at 7:03 PMSeriously. I will throw down with Gigi and Laura over who you move in with. Remind them I am a 5’10 former rugby player. #TacklesForFood
Beth says
June 22, 2015 at 8:52 PMYum yum! I love whitefish so I’m definitely going to have to give this a try. Love that it’s paleo, too. Thanks for the recipe and the beautiful photos!
Natalie says
June 22, 2015 at 9:25 PMAhhh, I am dreaming of being back in France and having Salade Nicoise…
This looks fantastic! I love the sunflower seeds over the anchovies and the sablefish sounds wonderful.
I love it!
Giselle says
June 22, 2015 at 10:09 PMOh this looks delicious! I love using avocado and coconut oil but haven’t tried red palm oil yet. I’ve heard great things though!
Cotter Crunch says
June 23, 2015 at 6:10 AMit’s similar consistency to coconut oil. but more buttery. I”m LOVING IT!
Sarah Grace says
June 23, 2015 at 10:25 AMThis literally looks sooo good! Even at 10am 🙂 I need to make this!
xo,
Sarah Grace
Cotter Crunch says
June 23, 2015 at 2:06 PMi’ve definitely eatin it at 10am! haha.
Tracy says
June 23, 2015 at 2:47 PMThis looks like the perfect salad for dinner tonight! Your pictures are beautiful!
GiGi Eats says
June 23, 2015 at 3:29 PMYOU know my thoughts on this salad. I actually KINDA prefer it with grilled salmon…. But I have never tried with sablefish – I actually don’t think I have any more sablefish in my freezer! GAH! NEED TO CHANGE THAT, but um, let me clear out my freezer first – shouldn’t be hard because my mouth is just so big.
★★★★★
Cotter Crunch says
June 23, 2015 at 7:44 PMyou must! it’s so buttery and good!
Lisa @ RunWikApricot i says
June 24, 2015 at 8:54 AMReady to dive in! Plus, it’s so much fun to say, “Nicoise” I feel so smart, fancy and important! xoxo
★★★★★
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine says
June 25, 2015 at 8:34 PMSalad Nicoise is Alex’s favorite– so I will be making your version for him soon. Love the crunchy addition of sunflower seeds and the sweet potato. So beautiful, too!
You’d think here in the land of palm plantations, I would be able to get unrefined palm oil– but nope. Nothing but super processed. I can get avocado oil and love it, although I haven’t bought it for a while– thanks for the reminder 🙂 Sharing!
★★★★★
Sarah says
August 13, 2016 at 11:13 PMThis looks so yummy, I’m heading to the store now for ingredients!