Mimosa Salad (Layered Tuna Salad)
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This Mimosa Salad is so satisfying. Everything is grated finely, making the texture so delicate and pleasant that it’s hard not to overeat. One of my readers, Liliana shared this recipe with me. I had never tried the mimosa salad but I was very intrigued. My words to my husband after trying it for the first time, “Where has this salad been all our lives?” We wolfed down half of the salad between the two of us in 5 minutes.
We were hungry, and it’s THAT GOOD! It’s a keeper. It’s not just a keeper, but it’s a “sharer.” You might as well just print a bunch of recipe copies so you are armed when you take this Mimosa Salad to your next party. People will ask for the recipe.
Liliana, I’m so happy you shared this with me. I’m going to make it again on Sunday for our family dinner and I’ll take copies of the recipe with me ;).
Ingredients for Mimosa Salad:
2 (5 oz) cans tuna in oil, drained
6 large hard boiled eggs* (whites and yolks separated after boiling)
2 large carrots, boiled* and peeled
1 medium or 1/2 large onion
4 medium potatoes, boiled* and peeled
1 cup mayo + 2 Tbsp mayo, divided
1/4 cup extra light olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Tomato or dill for garnish, optional
How to Cook Potatoes, Carrots & Eggs:
*Tip: I like to pre-cook my carrots, potatoes and eggs so there’s no waiting for them to cool down. You can even cook them 1-2 days ahead of time, let the cool to room temp then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Then it’s really easy peasy and read for quick assembly.
1. Add whole unpeeled potatoes and carrots to a medium pot and fill with water. Bring to a light boil and cook for about 30 minutes, or until knife pierces them smoothly. Don’t let them get too soft. Let cool to room temp then refrigerate. Cold veggies grate best. Peel veggies just before grating.
2. In a separate pot put eggs into cold water. Click here for a quick tutorial on perfect hard boiled eggs. Once eggs are cooled, peel and cut eggs in half separate whites from yolks.
How to Assemble Mimoza Salad:
1. Mix 1 cup mayo with 1/4 cup light olive oil and stir together until well blended and smooth. Transfer mixture to a zip-loc bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag. You will be squeezing the mayo in thin strips over the salad layers.
2. Mix drained tuna with 2 Tbsp mayo and a sprinkling of pepper. Spread tuna mixture over the bottom of a glass baking dish (9×9 square, 9×11 rectangular, or in a trifle dish). Drizzle a light layer of mayo over the tuna.
3. Finely grate the egg whites evenly over the tuna and season lightly with salt. Drizzle a light layer of mayo over the top.
4. Finely grate carrot evenly over the salad, sprinkle lightly with salt and drizzle on another thin layer of mayo.
5. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Finely chop onion and boil for 5 minutes. Drain well and rinse with cold water to cool it faster. Spread onion evenly over the salad and top with a thin layer of mayo.
6. Finely grate potatoes evenly over the salad, season with salt and pepper and drizzle on remaining mayo. Spread mayo gently and evenly over the top with a spatula.
7. Top with finely grated egg yolk along with fresh dill and tomato roses for garnish if using. Liliana even shared an easy tutorial for how to make the roses here. And the rose seemed like such a Ukrainian thing to do; I couldn’t resist! 😉
Mimosa Salad Recipe (Layered Tuna Salad)
Ingredients
- 2 5 oz cans tuna in oil, drained
- 6 large hard boiled eggs*, whites and yolks separated after boiling
- 2 large carrots, boiled* and peeled
- 1 medium or 1/2 large onion
- 4 medium potatoes, boiled* and peeled
- 1 cup mayo + 2 Tbsp mayo, divided
- 1/4 cup extra light olive oil
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Tomato or dill for garnish, optional
Instructions
How to Cook Potatoes, Carrots & Eggs:
-
Add whole unpeeled potatoes and carrots to a medium pot and fill with water. Bring to a light boil and cook for about 30 minutes, or until knife pierces them smoothly. Don’t let them get too soft. Let cool to room temp then refrigerate. Cold veggies grate best. Peel veggies just before grating.
-
In a separate pot put eggs into cold water. Click here for a quick tutorial on perfect hard boiled eggs. Once eggs are cooled, peel and cut eggs in half separate whites from yolks.
How to Assemble Salad:
-
Mix 1 cup mayo with 1/4 cup light olive oil and stir together until well blended and smooth. Transfer mixture to a zip-loc bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag. You will be squeezing the mayo in thin strips over the salad layers.
-
Mix drained tuna with 2 Tbsp mayo and a sprinkling of pepper. Spread tuna mixture over the bottom of a glass baking dish (9x9 square, 9x11 rectangular, or in a trifle dish). Drizzle a light layer of mayo over the tuna.
-
Finely grate the egg whites evenly over the tuna and season lightly with salt. Drizzle a light layer of mayo over the top.
-
Finely grate carrot evenly over the salad, sprinkle lightly with salt and drizzle on another thin layer of mayo.
-
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Finely chop onion and boil for 5 minutes. Drain well and rinse with cold water to cool it faster. Spread onion evenly over the salad and top with a thin layer of mayo.
-
Finely grate potatoes evenly over the salad, season with salt and pepper and drizzle on remaining mayo. Spread mayo gently and evenly over the top with a spatula.
-
Top with finely grated egg yolk along with fresh dill and tomato roses for garnish if using. Liliana even shared an easy tutorial for how to make the roses here.
Recipe Notes
*Tip: I like to pre-cook my carrots, potatoes and eggs so there's no waiting for them to cool down. You can even cook them 1-2 days ahead of time, let the cool to room temp then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Then it's really easy peasy and read for quick assembly.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Yummy! This salad reminds me the Russian Shuba salad, delicious!
Very similar! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Mariolis!
Ive always been too afraid to make this salad and shuba.
We were pleasantly surprised how good it was and it definitely is worth the time. I’ve used the same long flat garlic grater for the whole salad and it turned out super soft/fluffy.
I am so glad you finally gave it a chance! I hope you love every recipe that you will try in the future.
No family party goes without this salad when I am in Moscow ( rare occasion nowadays , it’s been 4 years since we visited and had to cancel this year’s trip …. anyways today is Orthodox Easter and I wanted to make something Russian … my brother’s American wife told me that he is making Mimosa for them! So I got very excited and inspired to find the recipe! Of course I checked your site first and you wouldn’t believe how happy I was to see that your recipe doesn’t have Salmon ( my family always use that) but Tuna! Meaning I don’t have to go shops ! Thank you
I’m so glad Vika! Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
Very good salad especially for new year. I like to add shredded butter to it
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
What do you use to grate the egg white & yolks without them breaking up?
Hi Rikki, a portion of them will break up especially when you get to the end of the egg while grating but a good, sharp, small hole grater will help 🙂
Thank you for helping me feed my husband!
Happy to help Natalia!
Will it make a big difference if you use tuna in water vs tuna in oil?
Hi Jess, it will still work but I think tuna in oil tastes better.
Thank you for the recipe Natasha! Why do you need to boil onions? Cant you just use raw onion? thanks!
Raw onions are very overpowering both in the smell and taste in the salad, so I prefer this method. It helps to balance out the salad. I think it would work to add raw onion if you enjoy it that way but you might use a little less.
Is this like silodka pad shuboy?
Elizabeth, this is a different recipe but I have Shuba recipe as well.
I tried this salad recently at a friends house and we went back to eat more after dinner and dessert!! Lol between her and I we ate the whole 6″ plate! She made hers with canned salmon and green onions instead of regular. I made the salad tonight with canned chicken breast since that’s all I had… Hope it will be just as good! Thank you Natasha and to your hubby of course for all your hard work! May the Lord bless you!!
Lena, thank you for the great review on the recipe and blessings to you and your family 😀 .
Love all your recipes.
Thank you Dora 🙂
Awesome recipe
Thanks so much Lisa! 🙂
Hi Natasha! What is the name of this glass bowl. I can’t seem to find one similar to it
It is called a Trifle dish. Mine doesn’t have a brand name on it, but I found it at TJ Max. I’ve seen them at Fred Meyer as well.
Natasha can u make this salad the night before or it has to be done of when you are serving it?
Liliya, you can make this salad the night before, it will taste just as good :).
Love that with each recipe, you provide a picture tutorial!
Looks delicious, thank you!
Thanks Lexi. 🙂 It’s definitely more work to post a recipe that way and takes long for us, but I’m so glad it’s helpful 🙂
Would hellmanns squeezable bottle mayo work?
You’ll still probably get too much mayo at a time. You want thin strips. It’s really very fast to do it in a ziploc bag.
Made your Mimosa salad for the baby shower last Saturday – it was a hit!! Got eaten before any other salad, people asked for recipe. And I thought it’s well known! Thanks so much for posting it! Btw, I made the rise according to the tutorial out of a large tomato and it turned out so beautiful! My kids didn’t believe me it was made out of tomato lol! I posted it to Instagram and linked to you!
I’m so happy to hear it was a success! 🙂 I bet it was really pretty cut out of a large tomato! That’s sweet that your kiddos were impressed too! 🙂 What is your instagram screen name. I don’t want to miss it! 🙂
Hi Natasha:) this looks amazing can I use fresh onions instead boiled? I don’t like boiled onions. Or without onions do you think it will taste the same way?
I think it would still taste good without the onions. Boiling them gets rid of some of that crunch for a more even texture.
Hi can I use pink salmon in water
Other readers have said that salmon works well, I just haven’t tried it myself.
Yumm. I just made this salad using your recipe, and now we are eating it with the plov from this blog as well.
Oh how awesome! I’m so happy you liked it 🙂
This looks very beautiful and yummy natasha. I will try this soon.
Thank you Maya, I’m definitely making this salad again :).
I usually make Mimosa with canned sardines from the Russian store. I take off the fish tails and mash the fish with a fork. Since the fish is in oil already, I don’t add olive oil. My favorite fish to this salad is “saira” from the can, although it’s more expensive than tuna or sardines. I also add a layer of grated cheese when making Mimosa and it turns out soooo good!
Thank you for sharing your version of the salad Anna. I will look for the canned sardines in the Russian store next time I’m there :), you made me curious.
Hi, do you also mix saira with Mayo like in her recipe? And when do you add cheese? Thanks !
This salad really is a staple. I even remember it being sold in my college cafeteria when I was a student 🙂 It is very often prepared for special occasion dinners – I guess all the prep work makes it a special occasion salad, along with Olivie.
I think it is a special occasion salad; just like shuba – another one of my favorites! Where did you go to college?
I went to college in St. Petersburg, Russia. Shuba is a great dish! I definitely wanna try to make it with smoked salmon one of these days 🙂
Usually I make this salad with canned salmon, my mom uses any canned fish- sardines, salmon or tuna. But my favorite version is with lightly cured salmon. Just can’t stop eating until there is nothing left.
I love shuba with smoked salmon so I bet that would be great! Where do you get your salmon?
Natasha, I make it myself.
Yum!! I am trying to quit mayo, which is insane, but I bet this would be awesome with Greek yogurt!
That is a tough one, but it’s a reasonable goal :). I haven’t tried with Greek yogurt but if you do give it a try, let me know how it worked out.
I make this salad, my family loves it. I use tuna or salmon or both if I don’t have enough of each. If I’m using tuna in water, I drain it, then add as much oil as it needs to be moist, and salt so it doesn’t taste bland, and then I start layering. I keep the onions raw, just chopped tiny because that’s how we like them. Great salad for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
That makes sense about the tuna. My only bite about the tuna in oil is that the oils used aren’t idea; soybean oil and vegetable oil. I love the idea of mixing in your own olive oil or whatever you want. Thanks so much! 🙂
I love Mimosa! I am not a big fan of Russian mayo salads, the only ones I will eat are Shuba and Olivie, about twice a year and this one is one of my favorite salads. You described it so well too – delicate and tender, but so flavorful too.
Great photos, as usual. I just love your pictures.
Thank you so much. I love shuba too (with smoked salmon) and olivye. 🙂
Yummilicious!!! Love the colors, will try with chicken as I don’t eat tuna.
That looks amazing!!! I was wondering how you managed add the mayo between the layers in such a clean manner but now I see its that it was done through the small hole in the ziplock bag…Cool tip! Can’t to try!
It’s such an easy method. Enjoy! 🙂
Natasha, this salad is so delicious! I never tried it with tuna, so I should defiantly try it. I make it with chicken and I marinate onions over night instead boiling. I have to try your version. I first got to try this recipe at my inlaws when we just got married. And I couldn’t get enough of that goodness. Now 8 years since I still love to make it for parties or just for any day to eat!
What do you marinate the onions in? That sounds like a great idea!
I marinate it in water and vinegar. In a small bowl place chopped onion (I use sweet onion) cover it with hot water and add 1tbs vinegar and mix. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter top over night. Once ready to use just drain the liquid and squizee as much of the liquid from them as you can. That’s it. I don’t know if it’s better than boiling. I wanna try with your method and see if I like it that way. 🙂
Awesome! Thank you! Do you use the marinated onion for anything besides this salad?
No, I haven’t used it for anything else besides this salad.
My cousin mentioned she marinates onions for green salads too; I just haven’t tried it 🙂
Oh, I used to love this salad (along with crab sticks/rise salad), but never made it here, since it was so laden with mayo. Thank you for sharing this lighter version, Natasha!
So it was like a crab salad? Interesting! 🙂
To the person who asked if its good with canned chicken — absolutly! And also with canned salmon! Tune is the lighter version though 🙂 sometimes when we don’t have tune on hand I’ll use either the salmon or chicken.
I have never heard of boiling the oinions though.. normally I just use sweet onions. Does boiling make a difference somehow?
Thanks so much for sharing that! Someone else mentioned salmon on Facebook. I’ll have to try it out! 🙂 To answer the onion question: It keeps the entire salad soft. You can still taste the onions but they aren’t as potent and don’t have the crunch. As far as I can remember, there also weren’t any onion burps, which I was really happy about! lol.
Would scallion do the trick on onion mildness?
It might. I think it would be a good substitute and the color would be pretty.
Yes, it tastes absolutely fabulous with salmon. I’m not big fan of tuna, so I’ve done it with salmon instead
Can’t wait to try it! Love how it’s all ingredients that we have on hand- score!
I hope you LOVE it as much as we do 🙂
Love this salad!!! Fabulous mouthwatering pictures!!!
Thank you so much. Inessa you’re so nice 🙂
I love this salad! Just in case anyone out there isn’t convinced yet. 🙂 I haven’t tried your recipe, but it sounds similar to others. I’m drooling now, wish I had an excuse to make it. For now we’ll have to settle for your Potato Wedges for dinner and Chebureki for breakfast. 🙂
Sounds like you’re doing some good eatin’ today! 🙂
Love this salad! I also make it with canned sardines instead of tuna and tastes delish .
Interesting; I never would have thought of that but I imagine it does taste good. Do you de-bone them first?
Oh my goodness,im drooling here lol! And its late!!! Lol!! This looks so delicious ! I lov Tuna! But what difference is it goin to make if i use regular tuna in water? N also i dont have extra light olive oil, what oil could i use instead? Will extra virgin work,since thats wat i have!! Cant wait to try this salad!
You can use canola or vegetable oil. Extra virgin will have too strong of a flavor. Tuna in oil tastes a little better but you can use tuna in water. Enjoy!
Absolutely gorgeous creation! Layered salads are hart to make pretty and you outdid your self!!!
Aww thanks 🙂 it was tough to photograph it!
This looks amazing! Do you think it would work with canned chicken is read of the tuna?
You know I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why not! 🙂