Olivye – Russian Potato Salad (Салат Оливье)

This Olivye Russian Potato Salad is an iconic salad that is often made for big holidays and celebrations. Made with potatoes, carrots, pickles, eggs, peas, and cold meat like bologna or ham, this salad is filling and tasty.

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If you grew up in a Russian or Slavic culture, you probably grew up eating this salad. The Wikipedia Page on the Olivier salad (as it is also called), is a great page to read through if you’re interested in this salad’s history:)

Anyway, the salad is usually served for big celebratory events though, personally, I don’t wait for celebrations and like to make it on a normal weekday. Here is the version that was made in our family.

Ingredients for Russian Potato Salad

Potatoes – cooked, should be soft, but hard enough so that they don’t fall apart when cut

Carrots – cooked, should be soft, but hard enough so that they don’t fall apart when cut

Hard boiled eggs – use whatever method you like for cooking. I just boil mine in a saucepan for 10 minutes after they start boiling

Pickles – I love using Cornichons (very small pickles) for this salad as they are especially crunchy and tasty. You can also use half pickles and half fresh cucumbers to give the salad a bit of a crunch and different color and taste.

Peas – canned peas. I have heard some people use frozen, but I never tried that so I’m not sure how it would work.

Fresh onion – white onion is best. Red onion can be used in a pinch, but it will probably change the color of the salad a bit.

Bologna or Ham – or any other “smooth” type of meat or sausage. I have also heard of people using cooked chicken breast, finely chopped, but I haven’t tried it that way, but it is an alternative idea.

Mayonnaise, Salt and Pepper – only dressing and seasonings needed

Dill – finely chopped for garnish (optional, but makes salad look very pretty)

Instructions for Making Olivye Salad

Wash the potatoes and carrots, but do not peel. Add the potatoes and carrots to a pot and cover with water. Bring to boil, reduce heat a bit and cook for 20-30 minutes or until both are fork-tender. Note that the carrots will be done faster and will need to be taken out about halfway through.

Since all potatoes are different sizes, they will take a different amount of time to cook. A good rule of thumb is to check the doneness by poking them with a fork. The potatoes should be tender, but not falling apart.

Cook the eggs using whatever method you like. Just make sure they are hard-boiled as they will be cut. I cook the eggs at the same time as the potatoes and carrots to save time. I cook the eggs for 10 minutes after they start boiling to get hard-boiled eggs. Note, this might be different for you depending on the cooking method, altitude, etc.

One the potatoes, carrots, and eggs are cooked. Take them out of the water and let them cool.

Peel the potatoes, carrots, and eggs.

Chop all the ingredients into pea-sized pieces (except the peas of course), and add to a big salad bowl. Add the peas. Add the mayonnaise, salt and pepper and gently mix everything together until well-combined.

Let the salad stand for a few hours so that the flavors can meld together.

Make Ahead Instructions for Olivye

The best part about this salad is that it needs time for all the flavors to meld together (ok, maybe that’s not the best part), but it brings us to the best part which is – this salad is perfect for making ahead. Just make the salad the day before, pop in the fridge and serve the next day.

However, just one thing to keep in mind. If you add fresh cucumbers to this salad (as is mentioned above), then it’s not a good idea to make this salad ahead of time. Or better said, prepare the salad, but add the cucumbers shortly before serving. Once those cucumbers come in contact with the salt, they end up letting out water and making the salad watery.

Adjusting Salad Ratios

Olivye (or Oliviye, or Olivier) Salad is awesome because it is so easy to adjust it to your taste. Like more pickles? No problem. Just add more pickles. More meat? Just add more meat. There is no perfect ratio of ingredients for this salad (hence all the different recipes out there), but somehow it comes together so well no matter how you make it.

These are my ratios of this iconic Russian salad. I hope you like it as much as we do. My toddler definitely loves it.

Lastly, if you make this Russian Potato Salad please take a moment to comment below and leave a rating. It’s such a help for others who might want to try the recipe. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram if you make this recipe. I’d love to see the photos of the recipes you have made!