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.

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Recipe highlights
- Totally Customizable: Every Persian family has their own spin on Salad Olivieh. My mom adds mustard and carrots; I skip both. Creamy or chunky, it’s easy to tweak this recipe to your personal taste.
- Quick and Easy: Got leftover chicken? This dish comes together fast — no fancy prep, just simple ingredients and a satisfying mix.
- Bright, Balanced Flavor: Packed with chicken, eggs, dill pickles, and peas, this version is creamy (but not gloppy!) with a hit of lemon juice and olive oil to keep it fresh and tangy.
- Not Your Average Potato Salad: Garnished with fresh herbs or radish flowers, Salad Olivieh is anything but forgettable. It’s centerpiece-worthy, not just a side dish.
- Perfect for Parties or Meal Prep: It keeps well in the fridge and actually tastes better the next day — ideal for make-ahead lunches, picnics, or potlucks.
Reader’s Reviews
“I just made this and tasted it for seasoning adjustments and OMG it is delicious as is. I’ll definitely make this several more times this summer!!” — Susan
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Chop the eggs. Peel the cooked eggs, dice and add to the potatoes.
- Add pickles. Add the chopped pickles, peas, salt and pepper to the potato mix and stir to combine.
- Add dressing. Stir mayonnaise, lemon juice and olive oil into the potato salad until smooth.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate until read to serve.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
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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.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
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.
Persian Salad Olivieh is a potato salad made with chicken, hard boiled eggs, pickles and peas. It is very similar to the Russian version, Olivier Salad, which also contains carrots, celery, onions and mustard. Salad Olivieh can vary in consistency and ingredients depending on family traditions and personal preferences.
This dish can be served alone or with bread. Yes, I’m sure you low carb eaters aren’t too thrilled about potatoes wrapped in bread, but salad olivieh sandwiches made with lavash is oh-so-devilishly-good. It can served as an appetizer or a meal.
Salad Olivieh (Persian Potato Salad with Chicken)
Ingredients
- 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
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
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
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.
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
I just made this and tasted it for seasoning adjustments and OMG it is delicious as is. I’ll definitely make this several more times this summer!!
Hi Susan-
I am so glad you liked it! It really is so much better than the regular goopy potato salads we see everywhere.
Thank you for your kind words-
Laura
Mmm,this looks good. My favorite potato salad has a vinaigrette, but if I want to go mayo (and I often do), this looks like the way to go. Thanks!
I attended dinner last night at a friends house who is a native of Iran/Persia. She served this as a dish that was traditional in her home. She paired it with Zatar, Olive Oil and Pita. It was delicious! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi Karen-
Sounds like a wonderful time! Persians love to entertain and feed their friends!
Laura
Persian food is so good!
Hi Maria-
I agree!!
Laura
My husband is Persian and we make Olivieh very similar to yours though I gently poach the chicken with some spices then freeze the resulting broth to add to recipes as needed. Here is a picture of some Olivieh I made for a party.
Hi Carolyn-
Beautiful job on the olivieh! My mom likes to poach the chicken breast too. Many times I just use leftovers from a roasted chicken.
Thank you for sharing-
Laura
I love the way everyone has their own way of making this. I was first introduced to this by a friend I met at college in the UK and she used salad cream and mayonnaise. I still make this over 40 years later and all my family love it too. We recently went out to a different restaurant where the owner is Persion and he’s using his grandmother’s recipe and it has vinegar in it. It is so fascinating how everyone does this differently! Your photos are wonderful. Long live salad olivieh.
Oh yes! Everyone I know makes it slightly differently, too! My mom adds carrots and mustard to hers, my husband likes more mayonnaise than I do… It’s such a versatile salad! Thanks for sharing your story, Kimmy!
Laura
This salad looks stunningly gorgeous and scrumptious.
Your presentation & photos are breathtaking.
Job well done.
I’m Sorry but I have to correct you: 1) First of all this is not Persian. It’s Russian. A French Chef originated that when he lived in Russia years ago and that’s why it has a French name as well. It is not Salad Olivieh. The correct term is Olivier Salad. 2) It is incorrect to mention Frozen Pea as an ingredient. By saying that you are implying that fresh pea cannot be used(!) while it is actually much better. 3) In the original recipe there is no lemon juice and even if it required lemon juice, it would be… Read more »
Thank you for your detailed comments, Jacob, but if you had read my post you would have seen that I had mentioned in the second paragraph that Persian Salad Olivieh was influenced by the Russian Olivier Salad. I am not trying to recreate the Russian Olivier Salad at all. Fresh peas are very rare to find in American or even Persian grocery stores, which is why I use frozen. Of course you can use fresh. My family goes through gallons of lemon juice (yes, seriously) and we use both fresh and bottled. I leave it up to the reader to… Read more »
You sir are incorrect.You obviously did not read through the post. I am not Persian but still know and love this Persian ‘Salad Olivieh’ from my time living with a Persian family. The recipe is just as it is included here.This ‘version’ is most certainly a traditional Persian dish. Try it you will enjoy it, I’m certain.
Oh how I love Salad Olivieh!! Love you pics!
*big smile* Well, I have known this salad, made exactly the same way since my early childhood in Estonia . . . called ‘salad Olivier’ it was firmly regarded throughout Eastern Europe as of Russian background with a French heritage . . . am somewhat surprised it has managed to travel such a distance!! And get a slightly different spelling from its originator’s name . . .
Laura, I am SO impressed by your rose-carving artistry! Salad Olivieh was always a childhood favorite. And I love your version. Thank you for sharing and Happy Summer!
Laura jan, I cannot express enough how much I appreciate your presentation and photography. How true that each family has its own preference of ingredients in addition to the obvious basics and quantity of the dressing. What I see here is very tasty one and decorated beautifully.
Salad olivieh is a must have when you go on a picnic 😉 I want this now on my spread. love the recipe and your photos