Description
Easy Olivier Salad, also known as Russian Potato Salad, is a classic, creamy salad combining boiled potatoes, carrots, hard-boiled eggs, dill pickles, sausage, peas, and scallions, all mixed together with mayonnaise. It’s a comforting and hearty dish perfect as a side for gatherings or as a light meal on its own. This recipe offers the option to swap sausage for rotisserie chicken, smoked ham, or omit the meat for a vegetarian version.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegetables and Eggs
- 5 medium Yukon potatoes, boiled and diced
- 3 medium carrots, boiled and diced
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, diced (reserve 1 egg for garnish)
- 8 dill pickles, diced
- 3 scallions, diced
- 1 cup peas, frozen and thawed
Protein
- 2 cups sausage, diced (optional – can substitute with chopped rotisserie chicken, smoked ham, or omit for vegetarian)
Condiments and Seasoning
- 1 ¼ cups mayonnaise
- Kosher salt, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables and eggs: Place the carrots, potatoes, and eggs into a large pot of cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to medium and simmer. Cook the eggs for 10 minutes, carrots about 15 minutes, and potatoes up to 25 minutes until they are easily pierced by a knife.
- Cool the eggs: After cooking, carefully transfer eggs to an ice bath to cool completely. Peel and dice 5 of the eggs into pea-sized cubes later; reserve the 6th egg for slicing into rings for garnish.
- Cool the vegetables: When carrots and potatoes are done cooking, remove with tongs and set on a tray to cool. Once cool, peel if necessary and dice into pea-sized cubes to match the egg pieces.
- Dice remaining ingredients: While the vegetables are cooling, dice the sausage and pickles into pea-sized cubes to maintain consistent texture and appearance.
- Combine all ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add the diced potatoes, carrots, eggs, pickles, sausage, peas, and scallions. Add the mayonnaise and gently fold all ingredients together using a spoon to evenly coat and combine.
- Season and garnish: Adjust salt to taste. Slice the reserved egg into disks and use them as a decorative garnish on top of the salad along with some extra scallions for a fresh finish.
Notes
- For a vegetarian version, omit the sausage or use a plant-based sausage alternative.
- Consistent dice size enhances the salad’s texture and visual appeal.
- Using dill pickles adds a signature tangy flavor typical of Olivier salad.
- Mayonnaise can be substituted with lighter Greek yogurt for a lower fat option.
- Chilling the salad before serving helps flavors meld together nicely.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Russian
Keywords: Olivier Salad, Russian Potato Salad, Potato Salad, Hard-boiled Eggs, Sausage Salad, Classic Russian Salad, Mayonnaise Salad, Comfort Food
