Persian Salad Olivieh

Salad Olivieh is a classic chicken, potato, and egg salad dressed with a citrusy mayo dressing with pops of crunchy pickles, and sweet peas and carrots. I love serving it as a crowd-pleasing party appetizer, sharable picnic item, or taking it to a potluck party. Salad Olivieh can also be spelled and pronounced Ooloovieh or Olivier as well.

My good friend Shab (short for Shabnam!) taught me how to make this easy recipe and I am happy to now share it on my blog! Shab and I have been friends for a long time and always enjoy spending time together and eating delicious food together. 

The biggest challenge for me when making Salad Olivieh is all the chopping but if you have someone willing to help you, it can really speed things up. But even making it all by myself it is definitely worth it as Salad Olivieh is always a hit and everyone loves it. 

You definitely need a big bowl to mix the ingredients in. The first time I made it I actually had to use a wok as a mixing bowl because I didn’t have one big enough!  I like to make the dressing separately then mix it with all the ingredients. I love using a little extra lemon juice in my version to really highlight all the flavors.

Tips and Cheats

I have a few cheats that help bring the salad together faster and in my opinion taste better!

The biggest one is using store-bought rotisserie chicken breast instead of cooking my own from scratch.  Not only does it save time, but the breast meat on rotisserie chicken are typically more moist that the ones I can pull off cooking myself. So I call that a win-win!

I love using frozen peas and carrots, I feel the color of the peas are more vibrant and bright green and the carrots are a time saver. I will typically warm them up a little before adding to the salad to get them out of their frozen state. 

Another time saver is to cook the potatoes and eggs at the same time. I’ll start the potatoes in a cold pot of water and once it comes to a boil I add in the eggs for about 10 minutes. 

How to serve Salad Olivieh

I enjoy letting the ingredients of the Salad Olivieh shine on their own so I simply present it in a bowl or platter and garnish with fresh herbs or a few vegetables. You can mold the salad into shapes or scoops if you are so inclined. Regardless, always serve with lots of bread or crackers. Pita bread triangles work great, as does lavash, or even baguette slices.

Another favorite way I like to serve Salad Olivieh is in split top rolls, perfect for a picnic or lunch. Paired here with a little tomato salad with vinegar and Persian Iced Tea.

Podcast

We have a dedicated Salad Olivieh podcast episode on the Modern Persian Food podcast, available everywhere podcasts are found. We also talk about it in the Sizdeh Bedar New Year episode and Summer Party Appetizers episode, among others.

There recipe is easy, simply dice all the ingredients into small pieces and mix with the dressing! You can experiment with adding little more or less of an ingredient to get to your preferred flavor preference. I have even experimented with using capers in lieu of some of the pickles, and you can even try omitting the chicken if you want to try for a vegetarian version. My podcast co-host Bita Arabian likes using yogurt instead of the mayo and I’ve found you don’t really notice the yogurt when used with some mayo as well.

To me, Salad Olivieh isn’t the same without a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and a heavy hand of black pepper. Caution with adding too much salt as the pickles will already bring a lot of saltiness.

So thank you to Shab for giving me her family recipe! I of course think of you every time I make it and I’m excited that others can make the recipe now too.

Persian Salad Olivieh

Print

A crowd pleasing chicken, potato, and egg salad for your next gathering. Serve up in indiviudal portions or a big platter always with bread or crackers and your favorite crudite!

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked or rotisserie chicken breast
• 5 cooked russet potatoes
• 1 jar (20oz or 24 oz) of crunchy dill pickles
• 1 bag (12oz or 16 oz) frozen peas and carrots
• 8 hardboiled eggs
• 2-3 cups of mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper
• juice of 2 lemons, more to taste

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise with salt and pepper and lemon juice to make the dressing.
2. Chop chicken, potatoes, pickles and eggs into 1/2 inch pieces and add to the bowl with the dressing.
3. Add thawed peas and carrots.
4. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.
5. Serve on a platter and garnish with fresh herbs, olives, or vegetables.