Oriental Potato Salad with olives, eggs and red onions! An easy, delicious and hearty potato salad ready in only 30 minutes!
Every once in a while I’ll share a recipe with you that I grew up with, and this oriental potato salad is one of those. Not really sure why it’s called oriental potato salad, but that’s what my mom always called it, so that’s what I’m calling it. This was the kind of salad that my mom would always make whenever she was really busy and tired after a long day at work.
This salad was her go to meal for such times because all that’s really required is to peel some potatoes, then boil the potatoes and the eggs and just toss everything together. It was easy, but still a very satisfying dinner for us. Packed full of savory olives, perfectly boiled eggs, it’s also great if you’re looking for a satisfying meatless dish.
Potato Salad
There’s just something about potato salad, the quintessential side dish. Packed full of Yukon gold potatoes, bright and fresh red onions, and sprinkled liberally with herby parsley, this scrumptious salad is a flavorful twist on a classic. If you’re looking for a way to switch up a standard side, this is the perfect way to do exactly that!
Ingredients In Oriental Potato Salad
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Potatoes – Cut into cubes and boiled, medium sized if you please.
- Onion – We’re using fresh bright red onion today for color and flavor.
- Eggs – 5 eggs are required for this potato salad recipe, I’ve included a section detailing how best to boil eggs below.
- Olives – Black olives sliced up and pitted.
- Olive oil – Choose a nice heavy oil with a well rounded flavor, olive oil will be your best bet.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
- Parsley – Fresh and chopped up fine.
How To Make Oriental Potato Salad
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Prepare the potatoes: Peel the potatoes and cut them up in small cubes. Boil them for about 20 minutes or until they are tender when you stick a fork in them.
- Incorporate the eggs: Boil the eggs and cut them up in smaller pieces.
- Finish the dish: Mix all the ingredients together gently and garnish with parsley.
How Long To Boil The Eggs
- Put up a pot of water to boil. Once the water’s boiling, use a large spoon to gently lower the eggs into the water. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat and let eggs cook for 9 to 12 minutes, depending on the size. If using very fresh eggs, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water to help the eggs peel easier.
- Once ready, drain the hot water and run cold water over the eggs until the shells are cold. They’re ready to peel!
What Else Can I Use In Oriental Potato Salad?
I like to keep this recipe close to its roots, similar to how mom used to make. But if you’d like to have some fun with it and experiment with some of your favorite flavor combinations, I won’t stop you! Here’s some of my favorite additions.
- Celery
- Corn
- Cherry tomatoes
- Shredded or chopped chicken
- Nuts or seeds (slice almonds, chopped pecans, pepitas, poppy seeds, etc.)
Tips For Making The Best Potato Salad
- I like to chill my potato salad before serving, it really allows the flavors to hang out and get to know each other. I recommend popping this covered in the fridge for 4 hours before eating.
- Be sure to use a waxier potato to ensure it soaks up all that dressing, other potato varieties can leak water and result in a runny dressing.
- Salt your water while the potatoes boil. Just like pasta, potatoes soak up the salt and add some flavor to our dish.
Storing Leftover Potato Salad
Store this salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 5 days. This recipe should not be frozen- the texture and color of potatoes after freezing and thawing is not very appetizing.
More Must Try Romanian Recipes:
- Meatball Soup
- Stuffed Peppers
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Cabbage Rolls
- Pasca – Romanian Easter Bread
- Romanian Meatballs
- Eggplant Dip
- Walnut Roll
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Oriental Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 6 medium potatoes cut into cubes and boiled
- 1 small red onion chopped
- 5 eggs boiled
- 1/2 cup black olives sliced or whole
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut them up in small cubes. Boil them for about 20 minutes or until they are tender when you stick a fork in them.
- Boil the eggs and cut them up in smaller pieces.
- Mix all the ingredients together gently and garnish with parsley.
Recipe Notes
- Store this salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 - 5 days. This recipe should not be frozen- the texture and color of potatoes after freezing and thawing is not very appetizing.
- Please note that nutritional information can vary greatly based on products used.
Ahhh… salate orientale .. the best, my beautiful Romanian mom made it with vinegar and oil.. Tu esi uimitoare !
Yes my mom adds a bit of vinegar to hers as well. 🤗
Loved it thank you!
Genius! Love love love the idea of an oriental potato salad. Another recipe to add to the list of pot-luck/party go-tos!
Looks like a version of Salade Olivier, which I learned as a vegetarian “russian” potato salad with potatoes, eggs, pickles for salt (instead of your olives) and carrots and peas for veggie (instead of your onion) but there are tons of variations worldwide.
Yeah I think this is quite a popular salad in Eastern Europe so you’re right, I’m pretty sure the Russian version is quite similar.
Yes, in fact it is what the cookbooks call Russian Salad and I think we call it “oriental” either because of a snobbish touch or due to expression “borș rusesc-Russian borscht” by which we understand a “clumsy” dish with all the available ingredients in it.
However, it’s yummy and I am glad you show the people there a “small piece” of Romania.
The Russian salad, is another recipe that in Romania is called “Beouf salad” and is with mayonnaise.
This is delicious and more halthy 😉
Oh, I haven’t had salata orientala in years, I should make it myself soon. And you can definitely cannot change the name, even if it doesn’t have anything oriental in it (like suggested above), that is the original name and it has to stay like that. 🙂
Thank you, I totally agree with you. This is what it’s called in Romania, which is why I’m not changing the name of it.
Wow this is a really cool idea for potato salad! It’s always fun to bring something a little surprising to a picnic or potluck =)
Hi Jo,
Thanks for sharing another great recipe. I love your blog and enjoy receiving new recipes every morning. With all due respect to both you and your mother, may I ask you to consider renaming this salad, given the reasons for the name, “Oriental”, are unknown and the recipe doesn’t seem to call for any typical Asian ingredients? If it’s Romanian, maybe that makes more sense…? Thank you!
Coleen, the name of the actual dish is Oriental Salad. It’s not Joanna’s job to rename old dishes for your modern sensibilities. It’s a Romanian dish, don’t know why it’s stuck with this name, but alas, it is what it is.
I love the idea of olives in a potato salad… need to give this a try