Cold Black Eyed Pea Salad

Did you know that eating a salad with black eyed peas on New Year's Day brings you good luck? Wouldn't it be fun to make this recipe as a part of your New Year's Eve menu? Pair it with whatever main dish you have and make your wish for the coming year. 

This black eyed bean salad is packed with fiber and protein, so it is one of the healthiest salads and you can enjoy it all year round. Make a big bowl and take it to potlucks, barbecue parties or picnics. It will be a satisfying dip or side dish for everyone.

Bean salads like this make a quick, easy and healthy lunch option as well. We find ourselves making either this black-eyed pea tomato salad or Turkish white bean salad whenever we need a quick lunch. Both are healthy, filling and so tasty.

What are black eyed peas?

Black eyed peas, also known as black eyed beans are a type of legume, more specifically a bean. The most common commercial black eyed pea you will find is California Black-Eye Pea.

These peas are a pale off-white, almost cream, color with a very prominent black spot – sometimes this spot can also be brown, red, pink, or green depending on the variety, but these aren’t as common.

Black eyed peas are most often canned or dried, both helping to extend their shelf life.

About The Ingredients

This black pea salad recipe only needs a few very simple ingredients. When combined in the correct ratios, they create a fantastic and refreshing flavor profile!

For the salad: 

• Black eyed peas: To save yourself some time, use canned black eyed peas. If you have dried black eyed peas on hand, you had better soak them overnight and boil until tender. Learn more about how to cook dried black-eyed peas and prepare them accordingly.
• Herbs: We use green onions, fresh parsley and fresh dill. You can use cilantro too if you love the flavor of it.
• Vegetables: We want to keep the salad simple, so we just add chopped tomatoes (or halved cherry tomatoes), cucumber(baby cucumbers or English cucumber) and diced brown onion (or red onion).  
• Optional Add-Ins For The Salad: If you want to add even more color and flavor to your black eyed beans salad, you can use diced red bell pepper and corn (canned or frozen) too. Pomegranate seeds (arils) make a great addition as well if they are in season. And if you love adding cheese to your salads, add some crumbled feta cheese.

For The Black Eyed Pea Salad Dressing: 

It is a simplistic dressing that is very similar to our pomegranate molasses salad dressing but without pomegranate molasses. It is a combination of lemon juice (or lime juice), vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and sumac. 

We use apple cider vinegar, but you can use whichever vinegar you like. Red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar works fine too.

We love using sumac in our salads, it gives an amazing tangy flavor. If you love it too, check out our sumac onions salad and shepherd salad too! But it is okay if you don't have it.

Optional Add-Ins For The Dressing: Add pomegranate molasses if you have it on hand. A little Dijon mustard adds another layer of tart flavor. If you want to add more Mediterranean flavors, add minced garlic, dried oregano or mint as well.

How To Make It

This is an incredibly quick and easy cold black-eyed peas tomato salad recipe that is both healthy and filling!

• Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, combine extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and sumac. Whisk them well to combine. Alternatively, put everything in a jar and shake well.
• Combine the salad ingredients: In a large bowl, combine black eyed peas, chopped green onions, parsley, dill, tomatoes and cucumber. 
• Assemble: Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. Taste and make adjustments if needed.

Serving Suggestions

Enjoy this salad with black-eyed beans on its own for a light lunch or alongside our Red Lentil Soup. Serve it at parties or on game days as a dip with tortilla chips on the side.

You can pair it with comforting meat dishes like our Lamb Stew, Beef Stew or Meatball Stew.

It is a great side dish when served with chicken dishes like Cast Iron Chicken Breast, Chicken Kabobs or Baked Chicken Legs.

Storage

To store this black-eyed pea salad, we would recommend keeping the dressing and salad ingredients separately. The dressing can be combined and stored inside a jar. Keep the jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. When you are ready to use it again, simply shake the jar to combine the ingredients again, and serve.

For the salad, keep it inside an airtight container. This will help keep the ingredients fresh for as long as possible. Store it inside the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

It is important to use only the freshest ingredients possible to make them last longer once they have been cut.

FAQs

More Bean Recipes

• Black Bean Lentil Soup
• Turkish White Bean Stew
• Easy Fava Bean Recipe

More Salad Recipes

• Bulgur Salad
• Buckwheat Groats Salad
• Roasted Eggplant Salad
• Olive Salad With Tomatoes
• Potato Tuna Salad

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