Chicken Olivye (Chicken Potato Salad)
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Olivye (sometimes spelled olivier) is a potato salad that is ridiculously popular among Slavic people. This salad has been and always will be a staple at our church potlucks. If you’re used to traditional American potato salad, you’re definitely in for a treat with this olivye.
I got the idea to use chicken in leu of kielbasa from a birthday party this past weekend. P.S. Don’t miss our quick and easy method of making the carrots and potatoes. With the right tips and shortcuts, you’ll have this salad done in no time!
Ingredients for chicken potato salad:
1 lb or about 2 medium chicken breasts (or use store-bought rotisserie chicken)
3 medium/large russet potatoes, peeled
3 large carrots, peeled.
2 cups of thawed frozen peas
5 large eggs, boiled and diced (click for quick how-to)
12 baby dill pickles (2 cups diced)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 cup mayo, or to taste
1/2 tsp Salt or (to taste)
1/4 tsp Pepper or (to taste)
How to Make Chicken Potato Salad:
1. Place chicken breasts in a medium sauce pan (cut large breasts in half), cover with water, add 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15-20 min or until cooked through. Drain and let rest until cool enough to handle then dice. If using rotisserie chicken, remove skin and dice the chicken meat. Place in large mixing bowl.
2. Peel and finely dice carrots, then peel and dice potatoes the same size as carrots (we use the “chop wizard” with the smaller blade attachment for the potatoes and dice carrots by hand). Place carrots and potatoes into a medium pot and cover with water. Add 1 tsp salt and bring to boil. Continue cooking uncovered for 10-12 min or until tender then rinse with cold water and drain. Transfer to paper towels to remove any excess water. Transfer to mixing bowl.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl: 2 cups peas, 5 diced eggs, 12 diced baby pickles, finely diced onion, 1/4 cup fresh dill. Stir in mayo, salt and pepper to taste.
Chicken Olivye (Chicken Potato Salad)
Ingredients
- 1 lb or about 2 medium chicken breasts, or store-bought rotisserie chicken
- 3 medium/large russet potatoes, peeled
- 3 large carrots, peeled.
- 2 cups of thawed frozen peas
- 5 large eggs, boiled and diced
- 12 baby dill pickles, 2 cups diced
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 cup mayo, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp Salt or, to taste
- 1/4 tsp Pepper or, to taste
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a medium sauce pan (cut large breasts in half), cover with water, add 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15-20 min or until cooked through. Drain and let rest until cool enough to handle then dice. If using rotisserie chicken, remove skin and dice the chicken meat. Place in large mixing bowl.
- Peel and finely dice carrots, then peel and dice potatoes the same size as carrots. Place carrots and potatoes into a medium pot and cover with water. Add 1 tsp salt and bring to boil. Continue cooking uncovered for 10-12 min or until tender then rinse with cold water and drain. Transfer to paper towels to remove any excess water. Transfer to mixing bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl: 2 cups peas, 5 diced eggs, 12 diced baby pickles, finely diced onion, 1/4 cup fresh dill. Stir in mayo, salt and pepper to taste.
P.S. Here’s a peek at our classic, original olivye. Is there anything unique that you put into your potato salad?
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I love this recipe, my favorite one so far. I’ve been making this salad for most of my life, but never thought about dicing potatoes and carrots before boiling. It makes preparation so much easier, and salat holds better together. Now I have a question, did you try to dice your vegetables before boiling for Venigret salad?
Hi Mila, I haven’t tried dicing before boiling, but it may work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Tastes exactly like my Russian mother-in-law makes ❤️ Now I don’t have to wait for special occasions to have this yummy salad. I love your recipes, Natasha!
Aww, that’s so great! I’m so glad you found our recipe and loved it! Thank you for your great review, Meg!
Natasha, thank you for all your recipes!
You are my go to when looking for a good recipe whether baking or cooking a meal .
Sone of my favorites are ; blueberry crumble
Shrimp tacos
Caramel sauce
There are many
Please continue!
Hi Denise, thank you for sharing with us! It’s always nice to hear what some of the favorites are.
Our school Evans High School in Evans, GA made potato salad using drained Albacore Tuna and served on lettuce leaves with saltine crackers. It was DELICIOUS!!!
Donna Christian
Do you have the original kielbasa potato salad recipe?
We love kielbasas in our home.
I do not, but I have a roasted potato and kielbasa recipe you could try, https://natashaskitchen.com/roasted-potatoes-and-kielbasa/
Can you use anything other than peas? I just hate the little buggers 🤢
Hi Kristi! This is a classic with peas, but one of our readers made this substitution: “I had no peas so I added 4 stalks of celery, diced, perfect addition.” I hope that helps!
Have you tried baking the potatoes and carrots in the oven?
One of my elderly clients said it’s better. 🙂 I’m tempted to try.
Hi Julia, yes like this Roasted Carrots recipe.
Amazing! I just made this for New Years and your borscht! Ukrainian in-laws are shook this American girl can cook….only thanks to you 🥳
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
This is the best! We just made this for out Ukranian/Russian themed Christmas lunch and it was fantastic. The only change we made was the meat – we used diced bacon steaks (lightly fried) as one of our sons is not a fan of chicken (but I would still like to try it). We are still enjoying it on Boxing Day. Thank you so much, Natasha from Ipswich, Australia.
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Hi! What mayo are you using? In Holland our regular mayo is rather sweet. Do you use a sweet one or a more sour one?
Hello Berber, this is the Amazon affiliate link for the exact Mayo that I am using.
My mom ( we are from Saint Petersburg) taught me to mix myo and sour cream ( I get a Russian smetana) from the middle eastern store here in Irvine. Or, as an alternative you could make your own myo, but for me its too much work. Love, your recepy, Natasha. I have a question can you freeze this salad (also named Debef)before your add the myo and fresh herbs? thank you
Yummy! So delicious, my Ukrainian husband approves this recipe because we do not eat pork. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome, Melissa! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Thank you so much for “Jump to recipe” button! I love it as much as all your recipes!
It’s one of my favorite features! I’m so glad its been helpful!
Very delicious version of Oleviye. I used canned chicken breast and it tastes amazing. Making this recipe for thanksgiving this year.
I’m so happy to hear you liked that! Thank you for the awesome review, Alina!
Just made this! Yummy
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I am so curious why you suggest in this recipe to boil the carrot and potato after it was cut and not before as you do in your original olivye salad. I tried it this way and it turned out great, but wondering what the difference may be?
Hi Olga, it is simply a time saving thing. It cooks much faster but it can be done either way 🙂
I usually use Russian colbasa called Arbatskaya and its giving a delicious taste On every party i have friends are asking me what type of meat i use.You can try it.
I will have to give that a try. Thank you for sharing that with me!
Does this do well being made ahead of time? Perhaps 2 days in advance?
Hi Chelsea, You are welcome to cook and chop the ingredients ahead of time but I would not add the salt, mayo, peas, or any wet ingredients until the day you are ready to serve.
Have kept this in the frig for 2-3 days still think it taste great, I always give it a gentle fold or 2 to blend but my family never has a problem eating any leftovers. If I’m taking this to a party I will make it the night before, but I like to leave my carrots & potatoes a little aldentay
Thank you so much for that note!
That’s the mayo I use as well, from all the mayos I tried, I love that one the most 🙂 something about it makes any salad delicious 😋
Our favorite for these salads also. Thank you for sharing your awesome review with me!
Love this recipe
So happy you enjoyed this recipe, Ashleigh!
I usually add sour cream along with my mayo.
Great suggestion Nancy, thanks for sharing!
A previous comment stated on how the dill pickle made this salad taste so good. Dill pickle and pickle juice are my unique ingredients to my potato salad. It’s always been a hit. My mom and I have fixed it this way for over 50 years! 🙂
You gotta love dill pickle! I’m glad your family enjoys that addition as much as mine does! 🙂
Do we cook the peas too ? Or raw ?
Hi Ckay, we usually thaw and rinse them under cold water but you can heat them until steaming then cool them down or just cook them if you feel safer doing so, but add them to the salad chilled 🙂
This salad is AMAZING! I love potato salad and have wanted to make Olivye for a while, but I was a little hesitant about the pickles. After one spoonful of this salad, I am convinced that I have been wasting my time on lesser potato salads😂 The pickles just *make* this salad!! So addicting!!
I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe Emily! Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!
Hi Natasha! Can this salad be made ahead, or will the dressing become watery over time (I’m wondering if the liquid from the pickles might water it down)? I’ve always wanted to make olivye but never had all the ingredients on hand until now!
Hi Emily, the pickles won’t water it down as long as you drain them well before chopping. Also, my best advice for making this ahead so it lasts, is to make the salad and do not add the mayo until serving. You can stir everything together without adding mayo, cover and refrigerate overnight. We have also kept leftovers of this salad up to 3 days after mixing in the mayo.
Thanks for the advice! Can’t wait to make it!
Love your recipes! We lived in Odessa from 2002-2015 and remember some of these foods! I’m writing a blog post about Christmas and New Years foods, and I’m directing my readers to your blog for your recipe. Thanks a million! 🙂
My pleasure Karen! I’m glad to hear how much you’re enjoy the recipes. Thanks for following and spreading the love! 🙂
Well now, how do I begin? Absolutely brilliant salad! I can only give 5 stars here but this is worthy of 10 stars.
I used two large chicken breast at about 650 grams, made a quart of stock as well.
I seen the photo of your chopper, I used a french fry cutter on the potatoes and carrots, I leave skin on however. Cut them them into ‘fries’ then a knife to cube them. Cooking the potatoes and carrot together, another brilliant idea that I will remember. They were perfect.
When I boiled the chicken, I added a carrot, 1/2 onion, and a stalk of celery (Trinity) and made quart of broth that is is in the fridge for a Vietnamese soup in a day or two. I did let the chicken cool in the water and it is juicy and tender.
I had no peas so I added 4 stalks of celery, diced, perfect addition.
Thank you again for a wonderful recipe.
You’re welcome Lee! I’m happy to hear how much you love this recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!
This looks amazing! Do you use sweet pickles or baby dill?
Thanks😊
Hi Janet, sorry I missed that! They are dill pickles. Thank you for asking! 🙂
Are you using dill pickles or sweet?
Hi Darlene, these are dill pickles. I will clarify that in the recipe. Thank you for asking!! 🙂
I plan on making this very soon, sounds and looks very good! After I make it I will come back and rate it.
As a variant, I may dice up a daikon and add that.
One suggestion (I only state this as I am retired so I have plenty of time on my hands) is to let the chicken cool down in the pot and in the water they are cooked in to room temp, results in much juicier chicken.
Great suggestion Lee! Please let me know what you think!
this is really good .i usually make it when i make chicken soup .that way i can use the chicken meat that i boil for the soup.i also boil the carrots and potatoes whole then i diced them.i also put canned peas .i totally love the taste of canned peas .and i use homemade mayonnaise..yummy
Great idea Emilia! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
Hi Natasha!
I was going to make a regular basic chicken salad, but realized I had all the ingredients to make olivye so I opted to make that instead. Yay! Although I didn’t have fresh dill 🙁 the Trader Joe’s dried dill seasoning worked just as good! I added a can of the Costco canned chicken rather than all the work of the chicken breast and it that worked out PERFECTLY! I also had diced up radishes as a side, and that tasted great. All in all I absolutely love this Russian/Ukrainian/Slavic chicken salad. Thank you!
I used mayo, and small cornichons pickles from Trader Joes’s. What do you use?
💛
You are welcome Tami 😀. I used mayo and dill pickles from Costco.
Hello Natasha! Happy 4th July and Happy Birthday to your husband! I made your Chicken potatoe salad, using your shortcut, and it was so easy and turned out absolutely delicious. Thank you for taking your time and add every little detail to all of your wonderfull recipes. I trust all off your recipes and my goal is to try them all. I also shared your potatos and carrots cooking trick with my mom and she was quet amazed since she was cooking them the old fashion way for past 30 years, but your way is so much better. No more mushy potato salads for us😊Thank you again! Happy cooking!
Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed the holiday as well! It really is my pleasure to be able to share my recipes and tips! Thanks for following Saniya and sharing your thoughtful comments!
I had never eaten this with chicken before, and I had never made any version of it. I will certainly make it again, though, as we loved it!
Angie, I’m so glad you gave it a try and thank you for the wonderful review 😬
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Looks like the potato salad we ate in Kazakhstan.
Stephanie, let me know how it turns out 😀
I made the Chicken Olivye (Chicken Potato Salad) over the weekend.
I had been looking at this recipe for several days, possible weeks, wondering how my family would like this. I knew I would but, was not sure of the rest of the crew.
Well, I am here to tell you, they loved it!! We all thought it was really good.
Did not deviate at all from the recipe and it made a huge batch. Interesting combination of ingredients that really go well together. My only correction I would use for next time is maybe add just one more chicken breast. That was a nice touch to this salad.
Loved the flavors and how easy it was to make and prepare.
Thank you for your great recipes and very simple and understandable directions. Can’t wait to keep cooking/baking, etc.
You’re welcome Cindy! I’m happy to hear how much you love the recipe! Thanks for the tip 🙂
Hi Natasha. I’m thinking to make this salad tomorrow and I was wandering if it’s ok to use fresh peas… ? The nearby Trader Joe’s has fresh peas but I never used fresh peas in salads. Back in my Country we maked Olivye slitely different… But I like your version… So want to give it a try. Thanks.
Hi Michelle, as long as they are younger peas (not overly ripe/too large/hard and no longer sweet). If they are sweet and tasty, they will taste great in the salad 🙂
I haven’t yet made this salad, but my husbands mom always added diced cucumber and sliced radishes to the potato salad.
I haven’t tried those add-ins. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I love the idea of dicing the potatoes and carrots prior to cooking! So much easier and cleaner, thank you!
You’re very welcome! It is definitely a time saver 🙂
I’ve made olivie salad before but never cooked carrots and potatoes this way. I have to say it is much easier then trying to cut cubes with cooked potatoes which usually sticks or breaks. I loved how much easier it was to make olivie this way and family loved it so this is definitely going to be my to go recipe for my olivie salads from here forward. Thank you Natasha, so much for sharing this trick and all your hard work as it is much appreciated:).
Oksana, you are very welcome. I love how this method simplifies the process and cuts down on the prep.
I love trying new variations of potato salads. Love the idea of adding chicken too.
I hope you love it! 🙂
I’ve never made the Olivie with chicken before. I usually make it without any meat, and my mom also makes it meatless but adds apples. Adding chicken makes this a meal. My husband and I both took it to work for lunch. I had mine with bread, and he had his with crackers. Very satisfying, and you can’t eat too much because it is so filling. This recipe makes a huge bowl, enough for a party, but we have been eating it for a few days now and it tastes as good as the first day i made it.
Love the fresh green peas in it, instead of the traditional canned peas. Adds such a beautiful bright green color, and the peas are less mushy.
Love the shortcut of chopping veggies before cooking! I made it even faster by using baby carrots and chopping them in my chopper whole. (My chopper is not Wisard, but just as good). Great time saver not having to peel/ slice carrots by hand !
Also, i added the chopped onions to the potatoes and carrots for the last minute of cooking. It made them soft and took the raw onion taste out (my family does not like raw onions).
Excellent recipe, 5 stars !
Hi Marina, thank you so much for your awesome and detailed review! I’m so happy you like the recipe. It really is like a meal and I also love that it just lasts and lasts for several days without losing flavor. 🙂
What type of pickles are the baby ones? Are they dill? Or sweet Gherkins? Or something else? I’d like to try making this salad but want to make sure I’ve got the correct ingreds. Thanks!
I used baby dill pickles. I hope you’ll like it 😀.
I finally made this with chicken. It was amazing. I cooked the potatoes and carrots using the usual boiling method, I completely forgot to try it your way. My husband and two little ones ate the whole thing in two days. Will definitely make it again. It’s even better with home made mayo. 5 stars.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! We did it that way (boiling the carrots and potatoes) for years and it works great. We only recently discovered this shortcut. 🙂
Awesome recipe… Keep up the good work!!!
Thank you :).
Hi Natasha,
I normally don’t leave comments, but this is overdue! I love your website, and your recipes. At first I thought it was strange to cook potatoes and carrots this way, but it turned out the best oliv’e I’ve made! (I know it is sad lol) I tried a lot of your recipes, and love them all. Please keep them coming! Enjoy the Labor Day weekend!
Thank you for sharing your awesome review! I’m so happy you wrote in. It really is so encouraging for me to read comments like yours! I hope you have a great weekend also.
Hi Natasha,
Love the new website design and everything looks great on my iPhone. It’s great you making our soviet classic😉
Thank you so much Katerina 🙂
Just looking at your photos makes me want to go and make a large bowl of Olivier right now. That’s how ridiculously popular this salad is among our kind! 😉 By the way, my mom only ever made it with chicken and that’s what I do as well. I usually get rotisserie chicken from a grocery store and I am good to go. When my husband and I were visiting Russia years ago a waitress at a restaurant told my non-Russian speaking husband that this is “a salad dla mushin” or salad for men because it’s so hearty but to him it sounded like “salad de machine” and that’s what it’s known as in our house! 🙂
lol that’s pretty funny! Haha. It’s so true though it’s very hearty. 🙂
Hi natasha, so i tried to make this salad and bought frozen peas and the package says that product must be cooked before consumption. Does urs say the same and what shall i do in this case?
You can hear them until steaming then cool them down or just cook them if you feel safer doing so.
We did try to make with chicken before too. It is good. Only thing, we always use the green onions or chives (esp now convenient that it’s growing in our garden). Never tried with frozen peas before, it looks so much more “fresh”. Also, my mom (and I do it now too sometimes)when she would run out of mayo, will add part sour cream. Only problem is, if you add too much sour cream the salad doesn’t taste right, kind of bland? Mayo is definitely the way to go.
You should definitely try using the thawed frozen peas. They add great flavor and color to the salad.
Looks delicious! Love that it has a chicken in it, full of protein. Love you pictures.
Thank you Marina :).
I love this salad. I always make it for parties, and thanks for that boiling method. Yeah we call it سالاد الويه 🙂
You’re very welcome! I think it’s awesome that this salad is made so many different ways and is popular in so many different areas of the world!
Natasha, I make this salad with chicken often as quality deli meats from the European markets are hard to find, but boiling potatoes and carrots diced? My life will never be the same! Genius!
I know, right?! This is the only way we do it now. We never get parts of the potato that are undercooked and it’s so much cleaner and easier.
Love this salad from my childhood. I also make it with chicken for years. And frozen peas are so much better than canned. I put less carrots, don’t like it too sweet.Some tips: if you don’t like the bold onions taste, then chop the onion, put in the colander and pour some boiling water on it. The taste will be mild. Add a teaspoon of mustard, it gives an interesting twist. Add some sour cream to mayo to make the taste mild, if you don’t like bold mayo taste. I have this in my fridge just now :-).
Thank you so much for sharing your tips! I’ll have to try your suggestions. I bet the mustard makes it really really yummy!
Wow, great. We have our version of this dish in Iran which we call it “salad Olivye”. It’s a popular dish here in Iran with the same recipe except that we don’t add onions and dill.
I definitely try your recipe.
Thanks for stopping by Mehrshin, is there anything else you add that’s different in to the salad?
Oh Natasha! I LOVE this salad!! We lived in Kyiv for four years and this is my favorite salad!! I can’t wait to make it 🙂
Heather
Welcome to the site Heather, I hope you’ll love it just as much you had in Kiev :).
This is my favorite salad from childhood. It yummy and tastes so good!
I agree. Did your family make it with chicken also?
Yes. Its better in taste and yummy, but sometimes when I am out of chicken I use Russian doktorska( Russian boiled sausage).
Hello Natasha,
Are there any mayo substitutes that you would recommend using instead of the original mayo called for in the recipe? I would really like to make this salad slightly healthier if possible. 🙂
Thank you,
Ella
To be honest, I think mayo really makes this salad. You might try a “healthier” mayo or just add a little less but I don’t think anything else would be quite right.
Natasha, I think making this salad with olive oil and a splash of white vinegar might not be too bad, not the same, but still good 🙂
And maybe a little bit of mustard for extra flavor 😉
Hi Ella,
If you’re looking to decrease the calories only, try blending a little bit of mayo with sour cream, however the sat. fat content will be slightly higher while calories will be lower. I never tried it, but maybe you could dress this salad with plain olive oil perhaps?
Looks great! Will make for a perfect summer potluck dish.
Just curious – why would you boil all the veggies diced?
Thank you Iryna :). Vegetables are easier to chop when raw, also they cook more evenly and you don’t have to wait for them to cool down. Hope this helps.
it ‘s great Natasha ,for your information this salad is so popular in my country with a little different cooking style.we puree the potatoes . I want to send you some picture of olivye with beautiful design but it isn’t possible . if you like to watch google this Persian word and look in picture parts “سالاد الویه”
I did the google search and I did find some stunning salad pictures! Wow!! Is there anything else you do differently? If you wish, you can post a picture of it on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/natashaskitchenpage) or email it to me directly: natashaskitchen@ yahoo. I’d love to see your version.
this looks amazing!
🙂 Thanks Trisha!
Yes, I started making mine months ago and never went back 😉
That’s awesome! I do think we’re onto something here 😉
I love the twist with chicken, a much healthier option. I will try this next time I make this salad. Have you tried making your own mayo?
I haven’t :-O. Have you? I’m sure once I do, life will never be the same 😉
Hi Natasha, I’d love to make this and can buy dairy free mayonnaise, but I cannot eat eggs at all.Will the Chicken Potato Salad taste as good without the eggs? Thank you, Heather
It will still work fine without the eggs. I hope you love it! 🙂
Tofu makes a great substitute for eggs! That’s what I recently did (didn’t have eggs on hand) and my kiddo thought it was the best salad ever! LOL
Thank you for the tip Iryna :).
Hey!! Nice job… that boiling secret for the potatoes and carrots was always our familys secret. And i love this salad, and okroshka, much better with chicken than russian baloney!!!
One of my readers shared that tip with me and it makes the salad so much easier and you don’t have the risk of having an uncooked potato 🙂
And what is the secret? I do not understand
This recipe is usually made by first boiling whole potatoes and carrots than peeling them then dies in them. The process that I shared in the recipe above is much faster and easier.