WW Recipe of the Day: Easy Canned Tuna Nicoise Salad for Two
Summer spells Salad Nicoise all over France. Whether you're in Nice where it started, or in busy Paris when it sizzles, you'll find the salad in brasseries, bistros and even in market stalls.
What Does Nicoise Mean in English?
Niçoise comes from the French phrase à la niçoise and means "of Nice," a French city on the Mediterranean coast. While other things can be described as 'niçoise' (such as the olive), it is best known as the name of the salad which is said to have originated here.
Salad Niçoise (pronounced nee-swaz) is essentially a French composed salad, similar to our American Cobb salad, but with tuna, green beans, and potatoes, instead of chicken, bacon, and avocado.
This healthy main course tuna salad, a great example of why French Women Don't Get Fat, is easy to recreate here at home all year round—although when tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes are at their best it can be especially awesome.
WW Friendly Tuna Salad Nicoise
You can follow the recipe to a "T" and get an authentic delicious version, or if you're lacking in a few ingredients, just skip them and use what you do have.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Easy Canned Tuna Salad Nicoise?
According to my calculations, each serving of this easy healthy Tuna Salad Niçoise has 264 calories, and:
7 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
7 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
The preponderance of WW Points in this recipe come from the olive oil in the simple homemade mustard vinaigrette.
The only other non-zero points food is the potato. To lighten the SmartPoints and lower the calories add some dijon mustard to your favorite bottled or homemade light vinaigrette salad dressing.
Recipe Notes, Substitutions & Variations
Check the beans as they steam after a few minutes. When they are ALMOST done and still green, turn the flame off and remove from the heat.
Fresh steamed green beans
As the beans stand, they will continue to steam so make sure the lid is off or they will be mushy and brown.
To make a simple mustard vinaigrette: mix equal parts vinegar (or lemon juice) and olive oil, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes I like to add a few minced chives or basil to it. This is good to have, however for the salad a favorite commercial brand works fine.
If you have extra boiled potatoes from another meal and hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator, putting the salad will be a snap.
Greek Kalamata Olives
I used the Nyons olives from Provence as I had a huge sack in the refrigerator that I just brought back. Any good Greek Kalamata or Mediterranean oil-cured olives will work well.
What to Serve with this Nicoise Salad?
This is a full meal salad. It is ideal as is with a few slices of baguette and a good glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
Ways to Use Leftovers
Save the platter, and any extras, if you have them. Cover it with plastic and refrigerate.
Pouring dressing on Tuna Nicoise
Since the dressing is served on the side, the salad itself will keep for up to 2 days. The lettuce may wilt a little, however all the other parts will last.
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Easy Canned Tuna Nicoise Salad
Ingredients
- ¼ pound green beans, trimmed
- 2 cups (or ½ medium head) red leaf lettuce, washed, rinsed and torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 can (5 ounces) water-packed tuna, drained
- 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
- 2 small roasted sweet peppers, or ½ large pepper, thinly sliced
- 6 cherry tomatoes
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
- 1 medium red potato, boiled and thinly sliced
- 6 oil-cured Mediterranean, or Greek, olives
- 2 large radishes, stemmed and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup homemade, or prepared, mustard vinaigrette
- Basil leaves, optional
Instructions
- Steam the green beans until crisp/tender. When they are ALMOST done and still green, turn the flame off and remove from the heat. As the beans stand, they will continue to steam so make sure the lid is off or they will be mushy and brown.
- Make two salads: Divide the salad greens evenly between two plates. Arrange the remaining ingredients on top of the plates of lettuce.
- Serve dressing on the side
Equipment
Recipe Notes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
If you like this Tuna Nicoise Salad, you might also like
- Summer Salmon Panzanella Salad
- Crab and Papaya Salad
- Shrimp and Grapefruit Salad
- Summer Tuna and White Bean Salad
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Hallie is a chef-teacher who eventually found her way to Provence, France, where she gave food and wine tours of the region.
In addition to writing more than a dozen cookbooks, she has also been teaching both professional and recreational cooking classes since 1978.
Hallie looks forward to sharing some of her favorite easy, healthy recipes with you here on Simple Nourished Living.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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bridget cooper
I loved this salad and am making it tonight to take to my friend's 95-year old mom tomorrow. It's so easy, tasty and healthy.