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Salat Olivye (Olivier Salad)
Finely diced boiled potato, carrot, egg, dill pickle, green peas and doctor’s sausage folded through mayonnaise, the salad that crowns every Russian New Year table.
Russian · easy · serves 8
prep 35 min · cook 30 min · plus 30 min hands-off time
~355 cal · 10g protein · 16g carbs · 28g fat · 2g fiber · 2g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Olivier salad is named after Lucien Olivier, the chef of the Hermitage restaurant in 1860s Moscow, whose original was a far grander affair than the one Russians make today. His exact recipe was never written down, and the dish that survives is the Soviet version, rebuilt from everyday ingredients: boiled potatoes, carrots and eggs, sharp brined cucumbers, tinned green peas, and doktorskaya kolbasa, the mild boiled "doctor's sausage", all cut into small, even cubes and bound with mayonnaise.
It is known across the world as Russian salad, but in Russia and much of the former Soviet Union it has one fixed place in the calendar. No New Year's Eve table is complete without a big bowl of it among the zakuski, and families make it by the basin on the 31st of December, often with boiled chicken in place of the sausage.
The skill is all in the knife work. Every ingredient is cooked, cooled completely and diced to the size of a pea, and the mayonnaise goes in only shortly before serving so the salad stays fresh rather than heavy.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten- and nut-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
- 4 medium (about 600 g) waxy potatoes, scrubbed
- 2 medium carrots, scrubbed
- 4 eggs
- 300 g doktorskaya kolbasa (doctor’s sausage) or plain bologna, the Soviet-standard sausage is pork and beef made with milk and egg; boiled chicken breast is the other classic choice
- 3 medium brined dill pickles (not sweet)
- 1 cup green peas, tinned and drained or frozen and thawed
- 1/2 small onion, very finely chopped
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- 1 small bunch fresh dill sprigs
Instructions
- 1Put the potatoes and carrots, unpeeled, into a pan of cold salted water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until just tender to a knife. Lift the carrots out first if they are done sooner. Drain and cool completely.
- 2Meanwhile hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, cool them in cold water and peel.
- 3Peel the cooled potatoes and carrots. Squeeze the pickles lightly, then dice the potatoes, carrots, eggs, pickles and sausage into small, even cubes about the size of a pea.✎ Chef’s noteCut everything the same size and the salad eats as one thing rather than a pile of pieces. Dice only cold vegetables: warm potato breaks up and goes gluey.
- 4Put the diced ingredients in a large bowl with the peas and the onion and toss gently. Cover and keep chilled until shortly before serving.
- 5Fold in the mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper, and chill for 30 minutes. Serve heaped in a bowl, topped with dill.
Russian home tradition (New Year zakuski).
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Good to know
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it a Russia meal
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Frequently asked questions
What is Salat Olivye (Olivier Salad)?
Finely diced boiled potato, carrot, egg, dill pickle, green peas and doctor’s sausage folded through mayonnaise, the salad that crowns every Russian New Year table.
Where does Salat Olivye (Olivier Salad) come from?
Salat Olivye (Olivier Salad) is a Russian dish from Moscow, Russia.
Can Salat Olivye (Olivier Salad) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Salat Olivye (Olivier Salad) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Salat Olivye (Olivier Salad) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Salat Olivye (Olivier Salad) take to make?
About 1 h 35 min in all: 35 minutes prep and 30 minutes cooking, plus 30 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 8.
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