Mastering Chicken olivieh: a full guide to the classic cold salad

Saturday, August 09, 2025

SAEDNEWS: A step-by-step recipe, background and tips for chicken Olivieh — the cold, Russian-origin potato-and-egg salad — plus exact ingredient amounts and serving advice.

Mastering Chicken olivieh: a full guide to the classic cold salad

Olivieh salad is a type of cold dish with origins in Russia. In other countries, it is known as Russian salad, though it often looks different. Olivieh salad was first created at a restaurant in Moscow by a chef named Olivier.

Olivie salad, typically served as an appetizer alongside a meal, is a complete dish made with eggs and potatoes and is one of the popular ready-to-eat dishes.

Olivieh salad

Ingredients

Ingredient

Amount

Potatoes

3 medium

Eggs

2 to 3

Chicken breast

half a breast

Mayonnaise sauce

4 tablespoons

Thousand Island sauce

1 tablespoon (optional)

Cooked carrot

1 medium

Pickled cucumber

250 grams

Cooked green peas

half a cup

Chicken stock

3 to 4 tablespoons

Olive oil

2 tablespoons

Onion

1 medium

Cooking directions

We put the potatoes in water with a little salt to cook; after cooking we peel them and while they are still hot we mash or grate them.

Olivieh salad

We also cook the eggs like the potatoes and after peeling them we grate them.

Olivieh salad

We put the chicken to cook along with the onion, salt, black pepper, turmeric, garlic powder and a little spice, and then we shred it.

Olivieh salad

We finely chop the pickled cucumber.

We grate the cooked carrot (although I personally never cook it — I grate it raw with a fine grater; I think that way it is tastier).

Then we completely mix together the potatoes, eggs, pickled cucumber, chicken, cooked green peas, grated carrot, sauce, chicken stock, olive oil and salt and pepper, put a lid on the container and place it in the refrigerator for 3–4 hours so their flavors meld together; after that it is ready to serve.

Olivieh salad

Olivieh salad

Olivieh salad

Olivieh salad

Olivieh salad

Notes

Note 1: You can use cold cuts (processed ham) instead of chicken, but chicken is healthier.

Note 2: The amount of ingredients and sauce is entirely a matter of taste.

Note 3: You can also use one tablespoon of lemon juice in the Olivier salad.

Food temperament

Olivier salad is among foods with a cold temperament.