# Russian Olivier Salad

> The salad goes watery for two reasons: the potatoes were cut while hot (so they crumble), or the mayonnaise went in too early. Boil the potatoes **in their skins**, chill them completely, then dice — and dress no more than an hour before serving.

**Russian Cuisine · 65 min · 8 servings · 290 kcal per serving**

Olivier is the most famous salad in Russia and across Eastern Europe, and it's on every New Year's table. Simple to make, and all the difficulty is in the details: even dicing, and thorough chilling.

## Ingredients


### Boiled
- 4 حبات — medium potatoes
- 3 حبات — carrots
- 4 حبات — eggs

### Other
- 300 g — cooked chicken breast (or beef luncheon meat)
- 5 حبات — pickled cucumbers
- 1 cup — cooked peas
- ½ حبة — small onion, finely chopped (optional)

### Dressing
- 1 cup — mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp — mustard
- 1 tsp — salt
- ½ tsp — black pepper

### To serve
- 2 tbsp — dill, chopped

## Method

1. **Boil in the skins** — Boil the potatoes and carrots **in their skins** in salted water for 20-25 minutes, until a knife goes in easily without them falling apart. Boil the eggs for 9 minutes.
2. **Chill completely** — Refrigerate everything for **at least two hours**, or overnight. Cutting them warm crumbles them and the salad turns to mush.
3. **Dice** — Peel and dice everything to **the same size** (about half a centimetre). That evenness isn't cosmetic — it means every spoonful has everything in it.
4. **The pickles** — Dice the pickles to the same size and **squeeze them in your hand** or pat them dry — their liquid thins the mayonnaise.
5. **Combine** — Mix the mayonnaise with the mustard, salt and pepper and fold it through **gently** with a large spoon so the cubes stay whole.
6. **Rest** — Chill for an hour before serving so the flavours settle. Add the dill at serving time.

## Tips

- Boiling in the skins stops the potatoes absorbing water — the first cause of a watery salad.
- Chilling completely before dicing isn't an extra step; it's what keeps the cubes as cubes.
- Squeeze the pickles. Their liquid alone is enough to loosen the whole bowl.
- Don't dress more than two hours ahead — the vegetables start drawing water.

## FAQ

### Why is mine loose instead of holding together?
Most likely the ingredients were diced warm, the pickles weren't squeezed, or the mayonnaise went in too early. All three release water.

### How long does it keep?
Two days maximum in a sealed container. After that the vegetables weep and the mayonnaise splits.

### What was the original?
The nineteenth-century original used luxury meats and caviar. The version everyone makes now is the simplified Soviet one — potato, carrot, peas and pickles.

---

Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/russian-cuisine/russian-olivier-salad
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-09-12