Here’s how to make Nicoise salad dressing! This easy and zingy lemon vinaigrette is the ideal complement, inspired by Julia Child.

Are you making Nicoise salad and need a killer dressing? Here’s our favorite way to top this classic French salad: with zingy and bright lemon vinaigrette! This vinaigrette is full of beautiful fresh flavor, and inspired by the master of French cooking herself, Julia Child! This simple dressing highlights the best of all the components of Nicoise salad without sticking out: it’s the perfect complement.

Ingredients for Nicoise salad dressing

This Nicoise salad dressing is brilliantly simple. It’s inspired by a lemon vinaigrette shared by Julia Child that we adapted for our Nicoise salad. Julia is an author and TV personality who wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking back the 1960’s: and she’s one of our culinary heros! Her goal was to bring the beauty of French cuisine to America: so she’s a great source for how a Nicoise salad should be put together. Here are the ingredients for this Nicoise salad dressing:

1 fresh lemon
Dijon mustard
Olive oil

Yes, it’s really that easy! There are a few things to know about the method to capitalize on that full, beautiful lemony flavor.

How to make Nicoise salad dressing: the method!

Here’s a little trick to this Nicoise salad dressing that amps up the lemon flavor: and you’ll find yourself wanting to make it this way every time. Here are the tricks:

Mash the lemon zest into a paste: Zest the lemon, then the key is to mash the lemon zest into a paste so it spreads throughout the entire dressing! That way there aren’t weird floaties of lemon zest, and the flavor spreads evenly throughout.
Add lemon juice and mustard. The Djion mustard adds great flavor and at the same time helps to create a creamy emulsion.
Whisk in olive oil gradually. To get the perfect emulsion, whisk in the olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time. The resulting lemon salad dressing is so zesty and delicious, you’ll want to put it on every salad you make.

What is Nicoise salad?

What exactly is Nicoise salad? It’s a classic French composed salad called salade nicoise in French, which means “Salad from Nice, France.” How to pronounce Nicoise? Say Nee-SWAZ in your best French accent. This fancy main dish salad always has the same elements:

Greens (many times butter lettuce)
Blanched green beans
Olives
Tomatoes
Tuna
Hard boiled eggs
Boiled potatoes or this French potato salad

Because it’s packed with protein from the tuna and eggs, it’s filling and incredibly satisfying. Top it off with this Nicoise salad dressing, and it’s fantastic as a fancy lunch or a healthy dinner. Add crusty bread and a bottle of wine, and you’ve got a beautiful French table. Head to our Classic Nicoise Salad recipe.

More salad dressing recipes

Making salad dressing at home is healthier and tastes much more delicious than store-bought options! Here are a few more of our favorite homemade dressings for when you’ve got a naked salad in hand:

Caesar Dressing Full of savory, classic flavor. It’s basic but dreamy: try it on the perfect Caesar salad.
Citrus Salad Dressing Another top notch citrusy dressing: this one combines lemon and orange. Try it on Fennel Salad.
Quick Tomato Vinaigrette Perfect for ripe, juicy tomatoes!
Balsamic Vinaigrette This is hands down the best balsamic vinaigrette you can make at home. Try it on Spinach Salad or Strawberry Salad.

This Nicoise salad dressing is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.