This Beef Salad, also known as Salata de Boeuf in Romania, is a traditional salad made for Easter, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. It can be served as a side dish, or a meal on its own. You can make it with beef, turkey or chicken, potatoes, peas and lots of mayo. It’s like a potato salad gone wild!
Bet you’ve never had this salad before and I can literally say I’ve never had this anywhere else or seen it on any menu. But it is the most traditional salad in Romania for all holidays. If we didn’t make this, it just wouldn’t feel like Christmas, or New Year’s Eve.
Sometimes I like to give you guys a glimpse into Romanian cuisine, since I get asked about it often. It’s not as known as other cuisines like Italian or Chinese, but we do have some interesting recipes like this salad. We call this “salata de boeuf” and boeuf isn’t even a Romanian word, it’s actually French for beef, so this literally means beef salad. The funny thing is my mom almost always makes this with turkey breast or chicken because she doesn’t even eat beef.
I think the reason this salad is only made around the holidays is because of all the chopping required. Growing up I was always in charge of cutting up all the meat and vegetables. It was my favorite thing to do and I took my job as a sous chef quite seriously.
Now that I’m married to a Romanian, I almost always make this with beef. However, turkey, chicken, beef, it will all work. The salad is quite delicious and if I were to compare it to any kind of American salad, I’d say it’s probably the closest to a potato salad.
Ingredients
- Meat – stewing beef, turkey or chicken, either will work. I’ve never tried this with pork but pork loin would work as well.
- Veggies – potatoes, carrots and frozen peas. I usually use Yokon Gold potatoes or Russets. Canned peas will work as well, just drain them and place them in a bowl lined with paper towels to dry them up as much as possible.
- Pickles – lots of pickles, this salad wouldn’t work without pickles.
- Mayonnaise and mustard – lots of mayo and lots of mustard. You can’t skip the mustard, it will give it a nice tang that is a must in this salad.
- Salt and pepper – to taste.
Other Ingredients You Can Add
Although using the above ingredients is the only way I’ve ever made this salad, there are lots of other ingredients you can use. Here are some suggestions:
| Meat/Protein | Veggies | Garnish |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | Celery | Roasted red peppers |
| Chicken | Onion | Olives |
| Pork loin | Parsnips | Hard Boiled Eggs |
| Hard Boiled Eggs | Mushrooms | |
| Salmon | Olives |
How To Make Beef Salad
- Cook the beef: Add the beef to a pot of boiling water and cook it for about 2 hours. You can also use an Instant Pot to cook it faster. If using an Instant pot cook it on high pressure for 35 minutes. Transfer the meat to a bowl and let it cool before chopping.
- Cook the potatoes and carrots: Add the potatoes and carrots to a large pot and cover with water. Season with the tsp of salt. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes and carrots until they are fork tender, should take about 15 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
- Prep the veggies and meat: Chop the meat, potatoes, carrots and pickles; they should all be small pieces about 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch. Drain all the juice from the diced pickles and the peas. I usually place them in a paper towel lined bowl to soak up all the extra liquid.
- Make the salad: Add all the veggies and meat to a big bowl, then add the mayo and mustard, season with salt and pepper and mix everything together. You will end up with a big bowl of salad, traditionally we smooth out the top of the salad with a knife and spread more mayonnaise and smooth that out.
- Serve: Serve salad cold, do not warm it up.
How To Serve
Typically we serve this as a side dish with our roast turkey or even as a starter before our main meal. We also, believe it or not, have it for breakfast on Christmas morning or Easter Sunday. If we have it for breakfast we serve it with bread.
So the great thing about this salad is that it can be served as a meal on its own or as a side. You’ll love it, it’s so filling and comforting.
Some Tips
My mom never uses a recipe to make this. She always says that the quantities for the ingredients should be somewhat equal. However, here are some things to keep in mind:
- Make sure you use enough pickles. Usually I use a whole jar of pickles.
- Place the peas and pickles in a bowl lined with paper towels to make sure you soak up all the extra liquid. If you don’t do this, as the salad sits, it will release liquid at the bottom of the bowl, which is not nice, but if it does just throw out the liquid or soak it up with paper towels.
- Use a butter knife to even the top so that it’s shaped like a dome. Traditionally we top it with mayonnaise then decorate it with hard boiled eggs, roasted red peppers, and olives to make flowers.
How To Store Leftovers
This salad will last up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. If stored in a bowl, make sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
This salad does not freeze well, so I wouldn’t recommend freezing leftovers.
More Must Try Romanian Recipes:
- Cabbage Rolls
- Stuffed Peppers
- Walnut Roll
- Meatball Soup
- Chicken Potato Soup
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Eggplant Dip
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Beef Salad (Salata de boeuf)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef or turkey or chicken, white or dark meat
- 2 pounds potatoes peeled
- 1 pound carrots peeled
- 1 1/2 cups pickles chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Cook the beef: Add the beef to a pot of boiling water and cook it for about 2 hours. You can also use an Instant Pot to cook it faster. If using an Instant pot cook it on high pressure for 35 minutes. Transfer the meat to a bowl and let it cool before chopping.
- Cook the potatoes and carrots: Add the potatoes and carrots to a large pot and cover with water. Season with the tsp of salt. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes and carrots until they are fork tender, should take about 15 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
- Prep the veggies and meat: Chop the meat, potatoes, carrots and pickles; they should all be small pieces about 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch. Drain all the juice from the diced pickles and the peas. I usually place them in a paper towel lined bowl to soak up all the extra liquid.
- Make the salad: Add all the veggies and meat to a big bowl, then add the mayo and mustard, season with salt and pepper and mix everything together. You will end up with a big bowl of salad, traditionally we smooth out the top of the salad with a knife and spread more mayonnaise and smooth that out.
- Serve: Serve salad cold, do not warm it up.
Recipe Notes
- You can use chicken or turkey instead of beef for this recipe.
- You can use the broth from boiling the meat and veggies to make a soup.
- Roasting cuts like sirloin or chuck roast work best for this recipe.
- This salad will last up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. If stored in a bowl, make sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- This salad does not freeze well, so I wouldn’t recommend freezing leftovers.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
This is the most traditional Russian salad and we call it “Olivie”. The main difference is that we often use bologna-like sausage instead of beef (although beef is also very common) and canned sweet peas, not the frozen ones. We also add a little onion (I prefer the green onion myself). It’s delicious and I never get tired of it:)
What kind of pickles do you use please? I live with a Romanian and I have eaten this many times at many households. I make a Czech potato salad which has some similarities in the ingredients, but completely different taste. I would really like to see the look on his face if I made this. But I want to get it right. I do not make pickles, I buy them, so what would be the equivalent please? Dill pickles?
Yes! We use dill pickles! I usually have a big jar of vlasic pickles in my fridge at all times.
Hey there Andrea, when my romanian grandparents made this recipe they used self-marinated pickles (those tasted salty and sour-spicy) but it works with sweet-sour tasting pickles from the store just as much. You can use whatever you prefer, but they need to be sour in any case. Hope this helps
Hello, I’m Romanian.. I make this more often than on Christmas or Easter, I like it so much. About what you said about freezing, I think it will work only if you don’t add the mayo and the pickles.. I will actually try and let you know. Glad youare trying Romanian cuisine because it’s really good, and quite healthy if you prepare it at home. I’ve seen a variation of this salad in Polish cuisine but has too much vinegar and I don’t like that honestly.
Looking forward to making this, but have a question- if made with chicken, can I boil the chicken and veggies together? And how long should it boil for?
Thanks!
You can, if you have a big enough pot, and the leftover broth is perfect for a great chicken noodle soup. I usually boil them for 20 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
Jo, I really appreciate your love and interest in Romanian cuisine. I always boil the chicken breast and vegetables together (a whole onion studded with 4-5 cloves, carrots, parsnip, celery root, bay leaves, peppercorns- gives the meat and veggies a really nice taste) and use the broth to make a nice noodle soup.
However, I boil the potatoes separately , so the soup won’t be starchy. I make the mayonnaise from scratch and add a bit of lemon juice to the salad, if the pickles are not sour enough.
Thanks again!
Made a few times, excellent recepe. I usually add to the mix also a little mustard, about 1/4 as much mustard as mayonase. Dijon is good, but any mustard will do
Old memories from my mothers cooking (Jewish Romanian). Always loved it. Did not have it in maybe 40-50 years, but I came across your recepee a few mos back and made maybe 6-8 times since. Everyone loves it. Tastes just as recall from home! Cut back a little on carrots — too sweet. Never made but w chicken breast, will try beef next. Adorn it with sour roasted pepper strips, maybe olives. Preferably use a brown mustard — works better than Dijoun.
I am making this today. I have had it a few times but do not remember ever having meat in it (wondered about “boeuf” in name) but it did have hard cooked eggs. Hoping this is our new summer potato salad! Thank you.
I just made this recipe but I make it without meat. I’ve always wondered why they called it “salata de boeuf”. My father always made it with chunks of cooked ham.
David D.
Yeah, although the name means beef salad, we always make it with various meats too. My mom loves using turkey, so we make it a lot with turkey or chicken as well. Never tried ham though. 🙂
Of course the real recipe has parsley and celery root and no peas but I guess yours is good too.
It depends what part of the country you’re from, and everyone has their own recipe. This is my mother’s recipe.
Never heard of boeuf salad without peas and with celery.. As a Romanian myself, having eaten this salad all around Romania (because it s my favorite alongside Bean Ciorba (sour soup) with smoked pork), From Oltenia to Moldova. Maybe you got a “hybrid” and are used to it, and the traditional one seems weird… Then again.. an awesome dish is awesome and no matter how you make it as long as you enjoy it 🙂 Cheers!