Mimosa Salad (Layered Egg and Cheese Salad)
Mimosa Salad (Layered Egg and Cheese Salad): elegant, festive, appealing to an eye and delicious in taste! This salad is simply gorgeous! Everything is finely grated, every ingredient scattered equally throughout the salad making this salad look so decadent. That elegant egg yolk finish just puts this dish over the top!
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We had always used herring in this salad because we love the salty and tangy taste of herring in such salads. The main ingredients of mimosa are: cheese, eggs, fish, onion and mayonnaise. We also add carrots for a bit of contrast and taste, and little bit of pickles to make it less bland and bring a bit of tang to it.
Mimosa Salad (Layered Egg and Cheese Salad) had been a staple at our family at every major holiday, for as long as I can remember. I don’t know about nowadays, but when we were kids, people had mimosa salad as one of the dishes at every wedding. This salad is so easy to make, but a little timely, especially if you want it to look elegant and so perfect.
Using Mayo in Layered Egg and Cheese Salad:
Every layer of different ingredient is separated by a very light layer of mayo. The mayo amount in ingredients below might differ for you because if you use a smaller plate or bigger plate, you will end up needing less or more. No matter what size plate you use, remember this: spread enough mayo to cover the previous ingredient. Use light amount of mayo and gently spread with a dull knife. It might sound like a lot of mayo, but it’s not much. We dislike salads that are lacking dressing. Also, I make this dish maybe 3 times a year. A little more calories for holidays is nothing. After all, Christmas calories don’t count!
Another little tip! If you have Eggland’s Best eggs, use them! Their egg yolks are so yellow, I don’t think there are any other brand with such beautiful yolks. Your mimosa salad will look amazing, bright and yellow. I always use this brand when I need to show off those egg yolks in my cooking or baking! 🙂
Mimosa Salad Ingredients:
- Herring
- Yukon potatoes – cooked and peeled
- Medium carrot – cooked and peeled
- Kosher dill pickle – grated
- Mozzarella cheese (2 strings)
- Boiled eggs – separated when boiled
- Mayo
- Distilled white vinegar
- Finely grated yellow onion
- Ground black pepper for garnish
How to Cook Vegetables for Mimosa Salad:
Do not peel the vegetables. In a medium pot, place 1 medium Yukon potato and 1 medium carrot. Cover with water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook carrot for 15-20 mins and take out with kitchen tongs or couple forks and continue cooking potato for 10 additional mins, until you can easily pierce potato with knife. Drain water and let the vegetables stand at room temperature to cool before peeling or refrigerate for faster cooling. Boil 5 eggs according to this post “Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs” (click on link).
How to Make Egg and Cheese Salad:
1. Take 2 herring slices from the package and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Pat herring with paper towel to remove excess oil. Cube herring into 1/4” cubes. In a 5-6” diameter salad plate, spread herring in circle in the center of the plate, pressing gently down with a fork. Drizzle 1/4 tsp white distilled vinegar and 1/4 tsp finely grated onion.
2. Using a cheese grater, finely grate 1 medium potato evenly over the herring and gently press down with a fork. With a dull knife, spread 1 1/2 tbsp mayo over potatoes. Using same cheese grater, finely grate 1 medium carrot over the salad, press down with fork and cover with 1 1/2 tbsp mayo.
3. Into the sieve, grate 1 kosher dill pickle, squeeze out the juice and spread evenly over carrot. Cover with 1 1/2 tbsp mayo. Grate 2 strings of mozzarella cheese onto cheese grater and evenly spread over the salad. Gently press down with fork and cover with 3 tbsp mayo. Separate boiled egg whites from egg yolks. Grate 4-5 egg whites onto cheese grater evenly over the salad. Press down with fork and cover with 3 tbsp mayo. Using grater, top with finely grated 3-4 egg yolks along with fresh parsley and sprinkle with ground black pepper. (Be very gentle with egg yolks so you don’t squeeze and mash them. You want the grated egg yolks to fall onto mimosa like snowflakes). Cover with plastic food wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
This salad is good refrigerated for 3-4 days.
More Salad Recipes to Enjoy:

Mimosa Salad (Layered Egg and Cheese Salad)
Ingredients
- 2 herring slices
- 1 medium Yukon potato – cooked and peeled
- 1/4 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon finely grated onion
- 1 medium carrot – cooked and peeled
- 1 kosher dill pickle – grated
- 2 oz mozzarella cheese, 2 strings
- 4-5 boiled eggs – separated when boiled
- 11 tablespoons mayo, give or take
- ground black pepper for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the vegetables: do not peel the vegetables. In a medium pot, place 1 medium Yukon potato and 1 medium carrot. Cover with water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook carrot for 15-20 mins and take out with kitchen tongs or couple forks and continue cooking potato for 10 additional mins, until you can easily pierce potato with knife. Drain water and let the vegetables stand at room temperature to cool before peeling or refrigerate for faster cooling. Boil 5 eggs according to this post “Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs” (click on link).
- How to Make Mimosa Salad:Take 2 herring slices from the package and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Pat herring with paper towel to remove excess oil. Cube herring into 1/4” cubes. In a 5-6” diameter salad plate, spread herring in circle in the center of the plate, pressing gently down with a fork. Drizzle 1/4 tsp white distilled vinegar and 1/4 tsp finely grated onion.
- Using a cheese grater, finely grate 1 medium potato evenly over the herring and gently press down with a fork. With a dull knife, spread 1 1/2 tbsp mayo over potatoes. Using same cheese grater, finely grate 1 medium carrot over the salad, press down with fork and cover with 1 1/2 tbsp mayo.
- Into the sieve, grate 1 kosher dill pickle, squeeze out the juice and spread evenly over carrot. Cover with 1 1/2 tbsp mayo. Grate 2 strings of mozzarella cheese onto cheese grater and evenly spread over the salad. Gently press down with fork and cover with 3 tbsp mayo. Separate boiled egg whites from egg yolks. Grate 4-5 egg whites onto cheese grater evenly over the salad. Press down with fork and cover with 3 tbsp mayo. Using grater, top with finely grated 3-4 egg yolks along with fresh parsley and sprinkle with ground black pepper. (Be very gentle with egg yolks so you don’t squeeze and mash them. You want the grated egg yolks to fall onto mimosa like snowflakes). Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- This salad is good refrigerated for 3-4 days.
Anna says:
Hi! Here in Moscow, we usually use canned salmon for the fish, and a sharper cheese. Thank you for the thorough instructions! Everyone should get to enjoy this lovely treat!
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Thank you for sharing that with us, Anna!
Olivia says:
I made this salad for one of our family gatherings couple weeks ago. I did exactly how the recipe states. It turned out beautifully and everyone enjoyed it. Who knew something like this even existed. This recipe went straight into my bookmarks.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Thank you for the great review, Olivia! So glad everyone enjoyed it.
Jenna says:
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’m already planning my Christmas menu and this salad will be there! Thanks for sharing
sassiebrat says:
It seems there are as many recipes for this salad as there are people who make it. I’m 71 and have never heard of it.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
It’s actually a very popular salad in Ukraine until this day. It was served at every wedding, every major holiday back at least 23 years ago before my family came to US 🙂
Maria N. says:
This mimosa salad was a huge hit at Christmas. Our guests LOVED it! I am a huge fan of it now. So glad I discovered your blog!!!
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Thanks Maria, I’m so happy to hear your guests enjoyed this dish and welcome to Olga in the Kitchen 🙂
Alesya says:
Thank you for this delicious recipe and all of your others! I am making this for a dinner party tomorrow along with your shuba salad. I have made it for this Easter as well and fell in love with this salad. It’s definitely a piece of art at the table. Thank you Olya!
Olga in the Kitchen says:
My pleasure! 🙂 I’m happy to hear how much you’re enjoying my recipes. Thanks for following and sharing your encouraging comments!
Emily says:
This is one unique and so delicious dish. I’m starting to really love Ukrainian food. I forgot when was the last time I made our origin’s. This mimosa salad truly is amazing. I think a slice of it for breakfast is a great way to start the day. Thank you for sharing!!
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Thanks Emily! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe. Yes, it’s a breakfast friendly dish (in my world too) 🙂