Vegan Niçoise Salad

This vegan Niçoise salad is packed with crisp veggies, briny olives, and chickpeas for plant-based protein—drizzled with a zesty champagne vinaigrette that makes everything sing. Pro tip: serve it on a big platter and pretend you’re dining on the French Riviera. A salad that feels like a vacation? Yes, please.

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A French bistro classic, your new favorite salad!

I have a theory: the best meals make you feel just a little fancy—even if you’re eating them in sweatpants. That’s exactly why I love a good Niçoise salad. The first time I had one was in a tiny bistro in Nice, where I mentioned I was vegetarian. The waiter looked horrified, then rushed off to the kitchen. When my plate arrived, it was a masterpiece—perfectly arranged vegetables glistening with vinaigrette, but missing the usual tuna and eggs. Turns out, they thought I was vegan and stripped it of anything non-plant-based.

One bite in, and I wasn’t mad about it. The briny olives, crisp green beans, juicy tomatoes, and bright champagne vinaigrette made me forget anything was “missing.” It was fresh, vibrant, and honestly, better than the classic. This version takes that happy accident and makes it intentional, swapping in chickpeas and capers while keeping all the bold flavors intact. Whether you’re meal-prepping or serving it up for friends, this salad proves the best tweaks happen by mistake.

Craving more classic French, but vegetarian, dishes? Try my French onion soup.

📋 Ingredients and notes

To make a killer vegan nicoise salad, you’ll need large romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, radish, canned chickpeas, black olives, capers, fresh parsley, fresh basil, sea salt, and black pepper.

To make champagne vinaigrette, you’ll need champagne vinegar, dijon mustard, honey or maple syrup, olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

• Lightly salting and draining the tomatoes draws out excess moisture, concentrating their sweetness.
• Roasting cherry tomatoes and green beans before tossing them in adds a deep, caramelized flavor that makes this salad even better.
• While you’re at it, toss the chickpeas with a little olive oil, smoked paprika, and salt before adding them for extra flavor (or roast them too, even better!)
• Quickly blanch green beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, then shock them in ice water. This keeps them bright green and perfectly crisp.
• If you love the briny elements but don’t want them overpowering, rinse the capers and olives lightly before adding them.
• Add roasted baby potatoes or grilled tofu for extra heft. For a Mediterranean twist, throw in marinated artichokes.
• If you have time, let the salad sit with the vinaigrette for 10-15 minutes. The flavors meld beautifully! The colder dressing on fresh veggies = a refreshing bite every time.

Notes and variations

• Dijon is key here. Don’t substitute yellow mustard—it won’t give the same punchy, sophisticated bite.
• Olives. I used black olives for this recipe, but you can also use kalamata olives, niçoise olives, green olives, and other briny olives.
• Champagne vinegar. I used champagne vinegar for the dressing but you can substitute it with white wine vinegar.
• Add a squeeze of lemon juice for a slightly sour, tart, and refreshing flavor.
• Add a variety of vegetables. You can add fresh vegetables that are available to you such as green beans, artichoke hearts, white beans, hearts of palm, brussels sprouts, red peppers, and baby potatoes.
• Use maple syrup to keep it vegan. You can use either honey or maple syrup for the vinaigrette dressing but use maple syrup if you want to keep it vegan.

Season the vinaigrette with salt and black pepper to taste. Drizzle over the salad and toss to combine.

🍴 Serve and store vegan niçoise salad

Instead of tossing everything together, arrange ingredients separately on a platter for a restaurant-style presentation.

This salad is hearty enough to be served as a splendid main dish salad or as a side to your favorite meals. If you have leftovers, add a starch (like quinoa or farro) and make it a lunch bowl. If you eat eggs, toss in a quick hard boiled egg (made in the microwave!)

Store the salad separately from the dressing to keep it fresh for up to two days in the refrigerator.

Store the dressing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Remove 15-30 minutes before serving to warm it up in case the olive oil solidifies. I don’t recommend freezing this dressing as it is oil-based.

🍴 Other simple salad recipes

• Roasted beet salad with grapefruit vinaigrette
• Heirloom tomato Caprese salad
• Mango and avocado salad
• Spinach avocado salad
• Lemon garlic kale salad
• Brussels sprouts Caesar salad
• Vegan daikon salad
• Refreshing summer slaw salad

If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐