Salad Olivieh (Persian Potato Salad with Chicken)

Salad Olivieh is a creamy Persian chicken and potato salad made with hard-boiled eggs, peas, and crunchy dill pickles. This classic dish is perfect as a make-ahead appetizer, sandwich filling, or easy lunch.

Ingredients you need

• Potatoes: Russet potatoes are the preferred potatoes for this recipe. You want a starchy potato and not a waxy one.
• Eggs: Hard boiled eggs are also chopped and added to this dish.
• Chicken: This is a great way to use up leftover chicken. If you don’t have any, chicken breast is commonly cooked up on its own and then used.
• Dill pickles: These provide some tang to the dish. You can use any variety of dill pickles, just do NOT use sweet pickles.
• Peas: Since I don’t usually have access to fresh peas, I typically thaw some frozen peas and use them.
• Mayonnaise: I use just enough mayo to bind the ingredients together. You can use any variety of mayo you like.
• Extra virgin olive oil: I also like to add some olive oil to the mix for a little more flavor and moisture. I’m a avid olive oil lover, so be sure to taste the oil first to make sure it isn’t rancid.
• Lemon juice: I also add some zing with lemon juice, fresh or bottled.
• Salt and pepper
• Garnishes: This is optional and usually done for parties. You can garnish with chopped radishes, green onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and/or fresh herbs. Or cut them into flowers. I share those tips below in the FAQ sections.

Step-by-step directions

1. Cook the potatoes. Wash and peel potatoes then cut in quarters, place in a pot and cover with water. Add eggs in with the potatoes and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until potatoes are fork tender.
2. Chop the potatoes. Drain the water and transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl to cool. Set eggs in a cold water bath to cool. When potatoes are cool to touch, coarsely cut into ½-inch pieces in the mixing bowl.
3. Chop chicken. If you do not have leftover chicken, you will need to cook some chicken breast first. I have details on this in the recipe card below. Dice the cooled chicken breast and add to the mix.
4. Chop the eggs. Peel the cooked eggs, dice and add to the potatoes.
5. Add pickles. Add the chopped pickles, peas, salt and pepper to the potato mix and stir to combine.
6. Add dressing. Stir mayonnaise, lemon juice and olive oil into the potato salad until smooth.
7. Chill. Cover and refrigerate until read to serve.

Expert tips and recipe FAQs

Garnishes. When you visit a Persian home and see this dish on the table, you will most certainly find it elaborately decorated. It is typically served in a smooth round mound and garnished beautifully with radishes, carrots, tomatoes, pickles and herbs, to name a few.

Tomato rose. To make a tomato rose use a sharp pairing knife or serrated peeler and peel a tomato. Then use the tomato skin and roll it up like a rose.

Radish flowers. This also works with green onions. Carefully make thin deep cuts into the radish and the white part of your green onion, without cutting all the way through. Immerse these veggies in ice water and refrigerate for at least an hour. They will open up and bloom for you!

Serve. When serving this at parties, I usually serve it as an appetizer with other foods like mast o khiar (yogurt with cucumbers) or Shirazi salad (cucumber tomato salad).

You can also enjoy this alone, as it is full of protein and makes a great lunch, especially on hot summer days. Many people make sandwiches with salad olivieh by rolling it up in flat bread like lavash.

For more potato salad recipes try my cider vinegar potato salad, my olive oil potato salad with raisins, or my grilled potato salad with mustard.

Salad Olivieh (Persian Potato Salad with Chicken)

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

Salad Olivieh is a creamy Persian chicken and potato salad made with hard-boiled eggs, peas, and crunchy dill pickles. This classic dish is perfect as a make-ahead appetizer, sandwich filling, or easy lunch.

4.67 from 15 votes

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Additional Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Salads

Cuisine Persian

Servings 8

Calories 418 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound russet potatoes
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil divided
• 1 boneless chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon salt divided
• ¼ cup lemon juice divided
• 3 large dill pickles diced
• 2 cups frozen peas thawed
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• sliced radishes
• green onions
• fresh herbs

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Instructions

 

• Wash and peel potatoes then cut in quarters. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add eggs in with the potatoes and bring to boil.
• Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until potatoes are fork tender. Drain the water and transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl to cool. Set eggs in a cold water bath to cool.
• While the eggs and potatoes cook, in a small pan over medium-high heat add 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.
• Season both sides of chicken with ½ teaspoon salt. Once oil is hot add chicken breast. Cook until the chicken breast is browned, then flip over and cook other side of chicken breast. Reduce heat to low and add 2 tablespoon lemon juice.
• Cover pan and continue cooking until chicken is cooked thoroughly and juices run clear, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken from heat and cool.
• When potatoes are cool to touch, coarsely cut into ½-inch pieces in the mixing bowl. Peel the cooked eggs, dice and add to the potatoes.
• Dice the cooled chicken breast and add to the mix.
• Add chopped pickles, peas, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper to the potato mix and stir to combine.
• Stir mayonnaise, 2 tablespoon lemon juice and 2 tablespoon olive oil into the potato salad until smooth.
• Cover and refrigerate salad olivieh until read to serve.
• When ready to serve, transfer salad to a serving plate and smooth into a round mound. Garnish as you please with sliced radishes, green onions and fresh herbs. Serve alone or with lavash.

Notes

Some people like to add chopped carrots and celery into salad oliveah.

I prefer to use the minimum amount of mayonnaise. You can definitely add more to make it creamier.

TO STORE: Store any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. You can also make this recipe a day before serving. Save the garnishes when you are ready to serve it.

TO FREEZE: I do not recommend freezing salad olivieh because it contains mayonnaise and the texture will change after it is thawed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 418kcalCarbohydrates: 17.9gProtein: 57.7gFat: 12.9gSaturated Fat: 1.8gCholesterol: 202mgSodium: 1164mgFiber: 4.2gSugar: 3.8g

Keyword persian potato salad, persian salad olivieh, salad olivieh, salad olivier

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Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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