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How to Make a Baked Potato Tuna Niçoise
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The flavors of a tuna niçoise are instantly recognizable. Briny olives, tender tuna, fresh herbs, olive oil, and hard-boiled eggs all come together in a way that feels timeless and satisfying. It is an iconic dish, rooted in tradition, yet endlessly adaptable. In this version, those same elements are layered over fluffy, oven-baked russet potatoes grown in California, turning a classic salad into a hearty and memorable main course.
A Familiar Classic, Reimagined with California Potatoes
This recipe takes inspiration from a traditional niçoise salad, but instead of serving everything over greens, the ingredients are piled onto crisp-skinned potatoes with warm, fluffy centers. The potatoes soak up the vinaigrette and anchor the dish, making it filling without feeling heavy. It is a familiar and comforting dish.
Why Russet Potatoes Make Sense Here
California-grown russet potatoes are ideal for this reinterpretation of the Nicoise salad. Their high starch content creates a light, fluffy interior, while the skins crisp beautifully in the oven. That contrast is important because it gives structure to the dish and balances the softer textures of tuna, eggs, and tomatoes.
California is a significant contributor to the country’s potato production, with growers supplying fresh potatoes year-round. Choosing potatoes grown in California supports farmers in the Golden State and ensures consistent quality, especially in recipes like this, where the potato is not just a side but the foundation of the dish.
Cal-Ore Produce: Good Dirt, Great Potatoes
Cal-Ore Produce firmly believes that California’s best potatoes grow in the Klamath Basin. We visited their Tulelake potato packing shed to see what happens after the potatoes come out of the ground—and why Cal-Ore potatoes deserve a spot in your shopping cart.
The Building Blocks of a Classic Niçoise
At its heart, a classic niçoise salad is about balance. Salty meets fresh. Rich meets bright. This baked potato version stays true to that idea.
Briny olives are essential. California produces more than 95% of the olives grown in the United States, and ripe olives bring depth and salinity that define the dish.
Ripe Olives: Classic, Dependable, and Grown in the Golden State
California ripe olives are one of those ingredients most of us keep within arm’s reach, and there’s a reason for that. They’re dependable, versatile, and always ready to use, which is why you’ll find them packed in cans rather than sold fresh.
California produces over 95% of the olives grown in the U.S., so choosing California-grown when you shop means you’re getting olives from a place that truly knows how to grow them well.
Harvest typically runs from early September through mid-November, using a mix of hand harvesting and mechanical harvesters. Once picked, the olives are sent to one of two multi-generational family-owned processing plants where they’re sorted, graded, and stored before curing.
Cherry tomatoes also add freshness and a touch of sweetness to this mixture, while capers reinforce the salty bite that makes a salad niçoise so distinctive.
Canned tuna plays a central role here. Oil-packed tuna adds body and richness, and when gently folded with the tomato and olive mixture, it keeps its texture while absorbing flavor. The tuna’s richness makes this dish feel satisfying and filling.
Olive Oil and Vinaigrette Do the Heavy Lifting
A good olive oil is key to tying everything together. California extra-virgin olive oil adds fruitiness and structure to the vinaigrette, helping it cling to the potatoes and coat the toppings evenly.
Instead of relying on vinegar alone, this vinaigrette uses a small amount of olive brine, which deepens the flavor and reinforces the salty notes of a traditional niçoise salad. Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil are whisked together until smooth and balanced. When spooned over warm potatoes, the vinaigrette sinks in just enough to season every bite.
A Word About California Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
Want to be sure your olive oil is fresh, the highest quality, and the real deal? Look for the COOC seal on bottles of California Extra Virgin Olive Oil to make sure you’re getting delicious 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Certified California EVOO uses stricter standards than international requirements, requiring the oil to pass chemical testing and a sensory analysis by a group of experts, called an organoleptic panel evaluation.
How This Becomes a True Main Course
What elevates this dish from side to main course is the layering. The baked potatoes are split and gently fluffed, then spread with caper-studded aioli. The olive, tomato, and tuna mixture follows, finished with hard-boiled eggs and fresh herbs.
The eggs are more than garnish. In a salade niçoise, eggs add richness and contrast, and the same is true here. Their creamy yolks soften the acidity of the vinaigrette and complement the tuna, making each bite feel rounded and complete.
Fresh herbs like thyme, tarragon, and parsley bring lift and aroma, reinforcing the Mediterranean roots of this iconic dish while keeping the flavors fresh and vibrant.
A CA GROWN Take on a Timeless Favorite
This baked potato tuna niçoise proves that a classic niçoise salad does not need to stay confined to a bowl of greens. By using California-grown potatoes, ripe olives, olive oil, canned tuna, and hard-boiled eggs, the recipe honors tradition while offering something new. It is familiar, filling, and grounded in great California ingredients, exactly the kind of cooking that feels both practical and inspired.
NEED A PLAYLIST TO LISTEN TO WHILE YOU BAKE THOSE POTATOES? CHECK OUT THIS CA GROWN SPOTIFY PLAYLIST:
Craving more delicious potato recipes? Check out our Pinterest for more CA GROWN recipes and ideas for innovative ways to use ingredients from the Golden State in your kitchen.
Do you have a favorite cabbage roll-inspired recipe that we should know about? Snap a pic and tag us with #CAGROWN—we’d love to see what you’re cooking up.
Tuna Niçoise-Inspired Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 medium russet potatoes scrubbed and patted dry
- 1/2 cup + 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt divided
- 6 oz ripe olives green, or a mix of green and black, drained, reserving 1/4 cup of the brine
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 1 TBSP dijon mustard
- 4 tsp chopped thyme divided
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes quartered
- 2 TBSP capers drained and chopped
- 5 oz oil-packed tuna drained
- 1/3 cup aioli or quality mayo
- 2 eggs hard boiled, peeled and quartered
- 3 TBSP fresh tarragon leaves torn
- 3 TBSP fresh parsley leaves torn
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
- Use a fork to pierce the skin of each potato several times. Pour 2 tsp of the olive oil over the potatoes and rub to coat evenly. Season with ½ tsp of the salt and roast until tender throughout, 50-60 minutes.
- While the potatoes cook, prepare the vinaigrette. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the reserved olive brine, minced garlic, dijon mustard, half of the chopped thyme, lemon juice, remaining salt, and black pepper. Continue whisking, slowly drizzling in the olive oil to emulsify the vinaigrette. (Alternately, you can use an immersion blender.) Adjust seasonings to taste and set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir half of the chopped capers into the aioli.
- Roughly chop the olives and add to a large bowl with the cherry tomatoes and the remaining capers. Drizzle in 4-5 TBSP of the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Gently fold in the tuna and add more vinaigrette to taste.
- Once the potatoes have cooled a bit, cut a slit across the top of each and use a small fork to gently fluff the insides. Spread a generous layer of caper aioli across each potato, then top with the olive, tomato, and tuna mixture, and sliced hard-boiled egg. Finish with a generous sprinkle of tarragon, parsley, and the remaining thyme, and a final drizzle of the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.