Ultra creamy and fresh Easy Olivier Salad (Russian Potato Salad) is a traditional Russian recipe made with cooked vegetables, eggs, sausage, pickles, and mayonnaise. Bring it to your holiday celebrations or to a family cookout.

Jump to Recipe

Overhead view of a yellow potato salad with sliced eggs on top in a large white bowl

This fresh and Easy Olivier Salad (Russian Potato Salad) is a colorful meal to enjoy for your holiday celebrations. A traditional Russian recipe, this salad is made with small cubes of cooked potatoes, carrots, peas, pickles, meat, and mayonnaise. It’s such a flexible recipe, you can add in or take away anything you like!

Once all of the ingredients are chopped up, this potato salad is a breeze to put together. All you have to do is mix the veggies, eggs, and meat together with the mayonnaise and herbs and serve to the whole family! As a bonus, freeze the leftovers for months and enjoy them when you need a simple side dish in a pinch.

For extra special occasions, boil a few extra eggs as you make this salad and serve my Fully Loaded Deviled Eggs on the side.

Pickles, eggs, peas, mayo, potatoes, scallions in individual bowls. Slicing ham on a wood cutting board.

What is Olivier salad?

This potato salad originated in Russia and is made with chopped potatoes, eggs, mayonnaise, pickles, peas, carrots, meats, and herbs. There are no true rules with this recipe and most families like to mix up the ingredients or techniques to make it their own. Russian families will usually enjoy this creamy dish on holidays like New Year’s Eve, Christmas, or Easter.

Olivier salad, also known as ‘olivye’ in Russian, got its name from the chef who invented the recipe, Lucien Olivier. Some of the original ingredients included grouse, veal tongue, and smoked duck, but the list has (luckily) been modernized since its invention.

Chopped vegetables and meat in a large speckled bowl with mayonnaise on top

Ingredients you need for olivye

This easy salad recipe has common, inexpensive ingredients so you can stick to your budget and whip it up in no time. This is what you need:

Yukon potatoes
Carrots
Hard-boiled eggs
Dill pickles
Green scallions
Sausage
Peas
Mayonnaise (storebought or homemade)

Mixing together a large batch of yellow potato salad in a large spotted bowl

How to make Olivier salad

Chopping all of the vegetables, eggs, and sausage is a bit time-consuming, but I promise that’s the hardest part. Once everything is in cubes, you’re ready to put the potato salad together.

The step by step instructions are easy:

Boil the veggies and eggs: Place the carrots, potatoes, and eggs into a large pot of cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer. Remove the eggs after 10 minutes, and the potatoes and carrots are ready when fork tender.
Prepare everything else: While the veggies and eggs are cooking, dice the scallions, cut the sausage and pickles into small cubes, and thaw the peas.
Put the salad together: Cut cooled veggies and eggs into small cubes and add them and the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl. Fold everything together until well combined, then season with salt. Serve and enjoy!

Close up of a yellow potato salad with sliced eggs on top in a large white bowl

Tips and substitutions

Make your own homemade mayonnaise for full and fresh flavors.
Replace the mayo with Greek yogurt or a creamy salad dressing.
Want to add more meat? Olivier salad can be made with cooked shredded chicken, rotisserie chicken, smoked ham, bologna, or omit the meat entirely to keep it vegetarian.
If you replace the sausage with another meat, taste the salad before adding more salt. Bologna or ham can be naturally salty.
Dry the pickles thoroughly to prevent the salad from being runny.

Can you make Russian potato salad ahead of time?

This is the best recipe to prepare way ahead of time. All you have to do is cook and chop the vegetables and eggs, then keep them in separate containers in the fridge until you’re ready to make the salad. Don’t mix everything together until you’re ready to serve.

Storing and freezing tips

Don’t let the potato salad sit out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours or else it could go bad. It’ll stay fresh in the fridge and can be stored away in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You might need to mix in a little more mayo to make the leftovers more creamy.

You can also try freezing the leftovers in a sealed ziploc bag or container for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before eating.

Yellow potato salad with sliced eggs on top in a large white bowl

More traditional Russian and Ukrainian recipes

Enjoy these warm and comforting recipes from my home country:

Did you try my Easy Olivier Salad recipe? Let me know what you think! Leave a comment or rate this recipe below. Don’t forget to take a picture and tag me on Instagram! I love to share all of your recreations.