Niçoise Salad with Bacon and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

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This delicious non-traditional Niçoise Salad includes buttery potatoes, marinated red peppers, green beans, cherry tomatoes, bacon, and tangy Pomegranate Vinaigrette.

A large Niçoise salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette on a plate, ready to eat.

What is a Niçoise Salad?

The Niçoise Salad is a French invention, most likely originating and named after the little town of Nice.

Traditionally, it's supposed to include tomatoes, olives, and anchovies. But, variations abound, and you can easily find it served with a wide range of vegetables, fish, and animal proteins.

What makes the Niçoise salad so fabulously versatile is that it's a "composed" salad. This simply means that all the different components are grouped together and served side-by-side instead of all mixed up, as you do with a "tossed" salad.

Why This Recipe Works

This salad is the perfect dish to serve a group because each person can easily pick and choose the ingredients they want on their plate. It goes without saying that this also applies to the picky eaters in your life, bless their hearts.
All the individual ingredients in a composed salad like this one can be prepared in advance and then simply arranged on a platter right before serving.
This Niçoise salad recipe should be perceived as more of a guideline than a recipe. Swap out one ingredient for another as you please. Or, add even more kinds of veggies or protein. For example, use asparagus instead of green beans. Swap the bacon for tuna or roasted chicken. Toss in some roasted corn, or add a handful of quickly sautéed broccoli or cauliflower.

Obviously, Niçoise salad is an ideal way to showcase a bounty of perfectly ripe summer veggies.

But, it's versatility also makes it easy to serve in the middle of winter when you're reliant on frozen vegetables, potatoes, and jars of marinated peppers or artichokes.

A Niçoise Salad assembled on a dinner plate and ready to eat.

Ingredients for This Niçoise Salad

Bacon! You'll want about a pound of thick sliced bacon for this salad - the thicker the slices the better.
Potatoes. Look for small round potatoes often called "new potatoes". Wash the potatoes, but leave them unpeeled.
Unseasoned rice vinegar. After boiling the potatoes, give them a toss in a splash of vinegar. This is a delicious trick stolen from German Potato Salad. It makes the potatoes taste bright, fresh and flavorful! Unseasoned rice vinegar is nice and mild so it won't compete with any of the other flavors in this salad. White wine vinegar is also a good choice.
4 large eggs
Fresh or frozen green beans. If fresh, snip off the ends and cut into 1-inch pieces.
A red onion. Remove the outer skin of the onion, cut it in half and then cut each half into very thin slices that are about ⅛-inch thick.
Cherry tomatoes. You can also use Roma or beefsteak, or any kind of tomatoes you like in this salad. I usually choose cherry tomatoes because they require no slicing and tend to be tasty year round.
Marinated roasted bell peppers. Homemade Marinated Peppers are my preference for this salad. They are 100% better than anything you'll ever find in a jar, super easy to make, and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. But, you can also just pick up a jar in the Italian section of your grocery store.
Romain or Boston Lettuce. Wash your lettuce and cut into bite-size pieces.
Salt and pepper, obvi
Pomegranate Vinaigrette. This simple pomegranate vinaigrette only takes a few minutes to prepare and adds a delicious slightly sweet and tangy zing to this Niçoise salad.
Croutons. Homemade croutons are one of those things that are so simple to make and so delicious that I feel they're almost always worth it. This simple recipe will show you how. Another option, is to simply sautéed some bread cubes in leftover bacon fat until golden and crunchy.

A bowl of marinated roasted bell peppers. Someone is using a silver spoon to lift a few peppers from the bowl.

How to Make this Niçoise salad

Step #1: Cook the bacon

Chop up some thick cut bacon and cook it in a skillet until it's crispy. Lay it out on a paper towel lined plate to let it drain while you make the rest of the salad.

Pieces of bacon frying in a hot skillet.

Step #2: Cook the potatoes

Fill a large saucepan about halfway with water and add enough salt to make the water taste salty - about 2 tablespoons. Toss in some small potatoes and bring the water to a boil.

Cook the potatoes until they are tender enough that a fork slides into them easily. Drain the potatoes in a colander set in the sink then dump them into a bowl along with a tablespoon of rice vinegar. Toss the potatoes around in the vinegar to coat, then set them aside.

Small red and yellow potatoes in a pan of water, ready to be boiled.

Step #3: Cook the eggs

Fill a medium size saucepan about ¾ full of water and set it over high heat. When the water is boiling, use metal tongs to gently lower a few eggs into the pan.

Let the water come back to a full boil, then reduce the heat so that the water maintains a very gentle simmer with bubbles breaking the surface only here and there. Let the eggs cook in the gently simmering water for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs to a bowl of ice water, let them cool, then peel and cut into slices.

Step #4: Cook the green beans

If you're using fresh green beans, snap off the ends and cut the beans into 1-inch pieces. If using frozen green beans, there's no need to thaw them before cooking.

Fill a medium size saucepan about halfway full with water, add 1 tablespoon of salt, and bring the water to a boil. Add some fresh or frozen green beans and let them boil for about 3 minutes, just until they are fork tender.

Drain the beans in a colander that you've placed in the sink, and rinse them under cold water for a minute or two to stop them from cooking.

A pile of fresh green beans on a wood cutting board. Half the beans are whole and half have been cut into small 1-inch pieces.

Step #5: Make some croutons (optional)

Homemade croutons are one of those things that are so simple to make and so delicious that I feel they're almost always worth it. This simple recipe will show you how.

But when I make this salad, I almost always make some croutons using leftover bacon fat.

Cut or tear a few slices of bread into 1-inch pieces
Heat a few tablespoons of bacon grease in a skillet until hot
Toast the bread in the hot bacon grease until crunchy.
Sprinkle the croutons with a bit of salt towards the end of cooking.

Homemade croutons being cooked in bacon fat in a hot skillet.

Step #6: Assemble and serve the salad

You can either assemble the Niçoise salad on one large platter, or set out all the salad components and let each person build their own.

If assembling on a large platter, lay down the lettuce first, then arrange all the other components in groups over the salad. Either drizzle the dressing over the salad, or allow each person to dress their own.

Pass the croutons alongside the salad. Adding them directly to the salad will make them soggy.

FAQs and Expert Tips

Q: What other vegetables are good in Niçoise salad?

A: This is truly the kind of salad for which anything goes. Add whatever kind of vegetable you like, raw or cooked.

I usually prefer to use vegetables that have been cooked until crisp-tender either by boiling them for a few minutes or sautéing them in a hot skillet until slightly charred. But, if you prefer raw veggies, go for it.

Q: What can I use in this salad instead of bacon?

A: Like the vegetables, the bacon is optional and can easily be swapped out for any kind of seafood or poultry, steak or ham.
Making a Niçoise salad is one of my all-time favorite things to do with leftover Roast Chicken.

If you want to leave out the animal protein altogether, consider adding a cup or two of Slow-Cooked Beans, or even a handful of Ja'ala, a delicious spicy roasted nut and seed mixture. Or, crispy sautéed tofu!

Truly, the possibilities are endless. Use whatever you like, or whatever you have on hand.

Q: What are marinated bell peppers?

A: Marinated peppers are bell peppers that have been roasted and then marinated in a simple vinaigrette flavored with garlic and fresh herbs.

They are easy to make and one of my favorite refrigerator staples. Here's the recipe for Marinated Roasted Bell Peppers.

You can also find jars of roasted red peppers in most major supermarkets. And, they are of course available on Amazon.

More Popular Salad Recipes:

Pouring pomegranate vinaigrette over a Niçoise salad.

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.

📖 Recipe

Yield: 4 large main dish salads

Niçoise Salad with Pomegranate Dressing

This somewhat non-traditional take on the delicious Niçoise Salad includes buttery potatoes, marinated peppers, green beans, cherry tomatoes, bacon, and tangy Pomegranate Molasses Vinaigrette.

Prep Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

1 lb thick cut bacon, sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 lb new potatoes (small round potatoes), washed and unpeeled
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
4 large eggs
½ lb green beans, fresh or frozen. If fresh, snip off the ends and cut into 1-inch pieces.
1 medium size red onion, outer skin removed, cut in half, each half cut into thin slices
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 cup (12 ounces) marinated roasted bell peppers (*see note)
8 cups washed Romain or Boston Lettuce cut into bite-size pieces
Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Croutons, for serving

Instructions

Cook the bacon: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon is crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked bacon from the skillet and lay it on a paper towel lined plate to drain.
Cook the potatoes: Fill a large saucepan about halfway with water and add 2 tablespoons of salt and the potatoes. Set the pan over high heat to bring the water to a boil. When the water boils, lower the heat slightly, to maintain a simmer. Let the potatoes boil until tender - approximately 20 minutes. Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander set in the sink then place them in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and toss the potatoes around in the bowl to coat. Set aside.
Cook the eggs: Fill a medium size saucepan about ¾ full of water and set it over high heat. When the water comes to a boil, carefully add the eggs. Let the water come back to a full boil, then reduce the heat so that the water maintains a very gentle simmer with bubbles breaking the surface only here and there. Let the eggs cook in the gently simmering water for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs to a bowl of ice water, let sit for at least 10 minutes to cool, then peel and cut into ¼ inch thick slices.
Cook the green beans: Fill a medium size saucepan about halfway full with water and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Set the pan over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Add the green beans (no need to thaw if frozen) and boil for about 3 minutes, just until the beans are tender. Drain in a colander in the sink. Rinse the beans under cold water for a minute or two to stop their cooking.
Assemble and serve the salad: You can either assemble the salad on one large platter, or set out all the salad components and let each person build their own. If assembling on a large platter, lay down the lettuce first, then arrange all the other components in groups over the salad. Either drizzle the dressing over the salad, or allow each person to dress their own. Pass the croutons alongside the salad; adding them to the salad will make them soggy.

Notes

A note about serving sizes:

If you're making this salad as a main dish for 4 people, 8 cups of lettuce will allow for 2 cups per person, which is a generous amount of greens. If you feel this is too much (or too little) adjust accordingly.

Where to find Marinated Bell Peppers

Marinated Bell Peppers are one of my favorite refrigerator staples. They are easy to make and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. You can also find jars of prepared marinated peppers in most major supermarkets. They are also available on Amazon.

How to Make Homemade Croutons

Homemade croutons are one of those things that are so simple to make and so delicious that I feel they're almost always worth it. This simple recipe will show you how.

Another option, is to simply sautéed some bread cubes in leftover bacon fat. Simply cut a few slices of bread into 1-inch cubes, heat a few tablespoons of bacon grease in a skillet, and toast the bread in the hot bacon grease until crunchy. Sprinkle the croutons with a bit of salt towards the end of cooking.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 salad
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 852Total Fat: 53gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 298mgSodium: 2881mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 7gSugar: 13gProtein: 51g