Russian Salad (also known as Olivier Salad, Salad Olivieh, or Rus Salatasi) is a simple, colorful, and delicious side dish originating from Russia.
This fresh and creamy Russian potato salad is perfect for holiday celebrations such as Easter, Christmas, or New Year's Eve.
It is also great to serve at BBQ parties, as a side dish to Air Fryer Sausage, or as a filling for delicious Turkish street food Kumpir - Turkish Baked Potato.
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In Turkey, the Russian Salad is known as "Rus salatası" or "American salad" and is usually served as part of a meze platter along with Cerkez Tavugu- Circassian Chicken, Mucver - Crispy Zucchini Fritters, and Tirokafteri (Spicy Whipped Feat Dip).
This colorful and creamy potato salad is also commonly used as a filling for sandwiches and Kumpir (Turkish-style jacket potato).
The Turkish version consists of diced and boiled carrots and potatoes, diced cucumber pickles, boiled peas, and mayonnaise.
What is Russian Salad Olivier?
Russian Salad - Salad Olivier is a popular side dish traditionally served during festive holidays such as Easter, Christmas, and New Year's Eve celebrations.
It typically includes a mix of boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, and diced pickles.
The ingredients are mixed together and dressed with mayonnaise, along with other seasonings like salt, pepper, and vinegar.
Some versions of this famous salad contain cubed ham or chicken and boiled eggs but I prefer it without them.
A Brief History of Russian Salad
The original version of this Olivier Potato Salad was invented by a Russian chef of Belgian and French descent called "Lucien Olivier" back in the 1860s.
He was an extremely celebrated head chef at the Hermitage, one of the most famous restaurants in Moscow’s history.
Olivier's salad quickly became widely popular with Hermitage regulars and became the restaurant's signature dish.
The original recipe for Russian Salad was a closely guarded secret, and many variations of the dish emerged over time.
However, the basic ingredients included boiled potatoes, carrots, pickles, and either ham or beef tongue, all finely chopped and mixed together with a rich dressing made from mayonnaise, vinegar, and mustard.
Russian Salad quickly became a staple dish in Russian cuisine and was particularly popular among the wealthy aristocracy.
It was also served in other parts of Europe, and its popularity eventually spread to other parts of the world.
Same as Russian Honey Cake - Medovik, this famous Russian Salad was and maybe still is the most traditional dish for the home New Year celebration for Russian and former Soviet Union people.
Why This Recipe Works?
- Russian Olivier Salad is perfect for family gatherings, special celebrations as well as BBQs and picnics.
- You can prepare the vegetables a couple of days in advance and mix them all up before serving.
- The leftovers of this Russian potato salad would keep for up to 3 days when refrigerated in an airtight container.
- This creamy, fresh, and light salad is the perfect alternative to standard potato salad.
- You can easily transform this vegetarian salad into a vegan-friendly one by using vegan mayonnaise for the dressing.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Potatoes - You can use any type of potatoes you would use for your regular Potato Salad recipes. Some recipes recall boiling the whole potato and dicing it after being cooked. I prefer dicing them before cooking, saves me time and they keep their shape better.
- Carrots
- Cornichons
- Peas - I prefer frozen peas but you can use fresh peas (cooked until soft) or canned peas.
- Sweetcorn - Optional, I like the texture, color, and sweetness they add to this colorful salad.
- Fresh herbs - Dill and flat-leaf parsley are my favorite herbs for this Russian salad.
- Mayonnaise - Homemade mayonnaise provides the best flavor. However, you can use a good quality mayonnaise for the dressing with an addition of a teaspoon of mustard!
How to Make Russian Olivier Salad?
This recipe is very easy to make with a few ingredients you might already have in hand.
However, you need to follow a few simple steps - tips to achieve the best results:
Prepare the Vegetables
Peel and dice the carrots, place them in a saucepan filled with cold water, and bring it to a boil on medium heat.
Let the carrots cook for 10 minutes while preparing the potatoes.
Peel and dice the potatoes and then add them to the pan with half-cooked carrots.
Cook the potatoes and carrots together for another 10 minutes while preparing/chopping the rest of the ingredients.
Chop the cornichons into small cubes and finely chop the herbs while the potatoes and carrots are cooking, set them aside.
When the potatoes and carrots are almost cooked, add the frozen peas and sweetcorn to the pan, and cook them together for a few more minutes.
You can check the doneness of the vegetables with a small knife.
Drain the vegetables, place them on a colander, and let them cool down before building your salad.
Combine and Serve
When the vegetables are cooled down, place them in a large bowl and then add mayonnaise, salt, paprika, and black pepper along with the chopped dill and parsley.
Give it a good stir and transfer it to a serving plate.
Refrigerate your salad for at least half an hour before garnishing it with some fresh herbs and serving.
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
Serving Suggestions
Russian Salad (Salad Olivier) is perfect on its own with a nice piece of Bazlama (Turkish Flatbread).
You can also serve this versatile salad as a side dish with a variety of accompaniments.
Here are a few suggestions for what to serve with Russian salad:
Air Fryer Sausage, Lahana Sarmasi - Turkish Cabbage Rolls, Shish Tawook (Turkish Chicken Kebab), Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy, or Baked Turkish Meatballs.
Top Tips From the Chef
- If you have the time, cook the vegetables a couple of hours or a day ahead to give them enough time to cool to room temperature.
- Add some mustard to your Russian potato salad if using store-bought mayonnaise instead of homemade!
- Decorate your salad with hard-boiled eggs, black olives, and/or slices of cooked beetroot for an impressive presentation for your special gatherings.
- This recipe yields 6 portions as a side dish. You can half the recipe as well as double or triple it by using the buttons on the recipe card.
Recipe FAQs
The leftovers of Russian Salad would keep for up to three days when refrigerated in an airtight container. This can go up to five days if you use store-bought mayonnaise!
I don't recommend freezing this salad.
Traditionally, Russian Salad is made with potatoes, carrots, cornichons, canned peas, celeriac, onions, apples, boiled eggs, mayonnaise, ham or chicken, dill, mustard, salt, and pepper. You can add any of these vegetables/ ingredients to your salad and adjust the amounts to your taste.
Yes, you can prepare your vegetable up to three days ahead. When ready to serve, mix the vegetables with freshly cut herbs and mayonnaise last minute.
Relate Recipes
For more colorful and delicious salad recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this colorful and creamy Russian Potato Salad as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Russian Salad (Olivier Salad)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 300 g potatoes (cut in small cubes)
- 200 g carrots (cut in small cubes)
- 100 g frozen or fresh peas
- 100 g sweetcorn (optional)
- 50 g cornichons (cut in small cubes)
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 200 g mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon mustard (optional)
Instructions
- Peel and dice the carrots, place them in a saucepan filled with cold water and bring it to a boil on medium heat.
- Let the carrots cook for 10 minutes while preparing the potatoes.
- Peel and dice the potatoes and then add them to the pan with half-cooked carrots.
- Cook the potatoes and carrots together for another 10 minutes while preparing/chopping the rest of the ingredients.
- Chop the cornichons into small cubes and finely chop the herbs while the potatoes and carrots are cooking, set them aside.
- When the potatoes and carrots are almost cooked, add the frozen peas and sweetcorn to the pan, and cook them together for a few more minutes. You can check the doneness of the vegetables with a small knife.
- Drain the vegetables, place them on a colander, and let them cool down before building your salad.
- When the vegetables are cooled down, place them in a large bowl and then add mayonnaise, salt, paprika, and black pepper along with the chopped dill and parsley.
- Give it a good stir and transfer it to a serving plate.
- Refrigerate your salad for at least half an hour before garnishing with some fresh herbs and serving.
Notes
- If you have the time, cook the vegetables a couple of hours or a day ahead to give them enough time to cool to room temperature.
- Add some mustard to your Russian potato salad if using store-bought mayonnaise instead of homemade!
- You can check the doneness of the vegetables with a small knife.
- Refrigerate your salad for at least half an hour before garnishing with some fresh herbs and serving.
- This recipe yields 6 portions as a side dish. You can half the recipe as well as double or triple it by using the buttons on the recipe card.
- The leftovers of Russian Salad would keep for up to three days when refrigerated in an airtight container.
- Decorate your salad with hard-boiled eggs, black olives, and/or slices of cooked beetroot for an impressive presentation for your special gatherings.
Nutrition
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Vilma
Great recipe! So easy and so tasty. Will be making this again and again!
Zara
I loved all the different color and flavor combination in this salad!