Vegan Nicoise Salad

5 from 1 vote

This vegan spin on the classic Nicoise salad is made with fresh greens, baby potatoes, green beans, juicy cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, chickpeas, and olives in a zesty Dijon vinaigrette! It's hearty, delicious, and perfect for a light lunch or a starter for special dinners.

Prep Time25

Cook Time15

Total Time40

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American, French

Servings:

Calories: 513kcal

Author: Alissa Saenz

Ingredients

For the Salad

10 ounces baby potatoes
½ medium red onion, sliced
6 ounces fresh green beans
4 ounces baby romaine lettuce
6 ounces cherry tomatoes (about 1 cup) halved
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (6.5 ounce/184 gram) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
¼ cup pitted olives (Note 1)
2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Dressing

⅔ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon creamy Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place the potatoes into a medium saucepan and cover them with water. Place the pot over high heat, and bring the water to a boil. Boil the potatoes until they're fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes into a colander when they're done. Return them to the pot to cool for a few minutes.
While the potatoes boil, place the dressing ingredients into a jar with a lid. Tightly close the jar and shake it well to mix the ingredients.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half. Return them to the pot or place them in a small bowl, and add two tablespoons of the dressing. Gently stir to coat the potatoes with dressing.
Optional step: place the red onion into a small container or bowl and cover it with cold water. Let it sit while you prepare the remaining ingredients. This step helps remove some of the bite from the onion.
Add a few inches of water to a pot fitted with a steamer basket. Place the pot over high heat and add the green beans to the pot. Cover the pot and steam the beans for about 4 minutes, until they're tender and bright green (Note 2). Remove them from the basket when done and allow them to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Arrange the baby romaine on a large plate or salad bowl. Arrange the cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, olives, capers, potatoes, and green beans over the lettuce. If you soaked the onion slices, drain them before arranging them on the salad. Drizzle the salad with as much dressing as you'd like (Note 3). Sprinkle it with parsley, along with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve.

Notes

Use Nicoise olives if you can find them. If not, any good quality pitted olives will do. Kalamata olives are a good choice and are generally easy to find.
You can briefly boil the beans if you don't have a steamer basket.
This recipe makes a very generous amount of dressing, so only use as much as you want. Any leftover dressing will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about one week.

Nutrition