Easy Black Eyed Pea Salad

This easy Black-Eyed Pea Salad is packed with fresh veggies and tossed in a flavorful dressing! Paprika and mango form a sweet and spicy counterpoint.

Here’s a nice fresh salad that’s perfect for all seasons: Black-Eyed Bean Salad! Because black-eyed peas aren’t just for New Year’s Eve. You can make a healthy vegan salad full of plant-based proteins with this hearty legume. Add fresh veggies like bell peppers and scallions, and finish with a diced mango or peach for a bit of sweetness! It’s coated in a tangy dressing that will have everyone coming back for more. Alex and I love it as a healthy side dish with fish, or with a salad trio for a healthy lunch idea.

Ingredients for black-eyed pea salad

There are many ways to make black-eyed pea salad! There is no “standard” for this, just like there is for the large number of potato salad varieties. Most black-eyed pea salads pair this legume with fresh veggies and a vinaigrette-style dressing. What you need for this healthy salad:

• Black Eyed Peas: You can use canned food or cook it yourself! Canned foods are simpler and more delicate in texture.
• Green and red onion
• Pepper: Use any color
• Peach or Mango: depending on the season (see below!)
• coriander: omit if you are a hater
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• sugar or maple syrup: This helps balance the tart taste
• olive oil
• salt pepper

Simply chop all the veggies, then add the dressing and toss it all together. As simple as that!

What are black-eyed peas anyway?

Black dots aren’t actually dots at all. Those are beans! Black-eyed peas belong to the legume family, along with black beans, chickpeas, and peas. Although they are often eaten in the southern United States, they are eaten all over the world: in Africa and the Middle East, in Europe in Turkey and Portugal, in South America, etc.

One of the most popular black-eyed pea recipes in the United States is a New Year’s happiness tradition: Hoppin’ John, a dish with rice and pork. But there are so many other ways to serve them: texan caviar (like a Tex-Mex salsa with fries) or this black-eyed pea salad.

Mangoes or peaches add just the right amount of sweetness

Adding fruit to this healthy salad takes the edge off adding a sweet and savory component! Here are some notes on usage here:

• Use peaches only in peach season! You want a beautifully ripe summer peach. Since this salad has a summery vibe, it’s a great addition to a peach.
• Otherwise use mango! Mango is operational at any time of the year. You can use fresh mango and use this quick guide to cut them up. You can also use frozen mango: just hold it under lukewarm water. We stock frozen produce to make mango smoothies and mango margaritas (use leftovers to mix up a drink!).

How to cook black-eyed peas for salads

It’s sometimes hard to find canned black-eyed peas in the store (at least where we live!). So we started dry-cooking them! For the basic method we use, check out this Easy Black Eyed Peas Recipe. Here are the basic steps:

• In a large saucepan, add 1 pound of dried black-eyed peas to 4 cups vegetable stock, 4 cups water, and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt.
• Use in salads: Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until tender but still holding together. Then drain.
• Store leftover peas: Black-eyed peas use ½ pound of dried beans (3 cups cooked), so about 3 cups are left over. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or freeze for up to 8 months. Place the drained black-eyed peas in an airtight storage container, like a mason jar. It’s helpful to freeze them in increments of 1 ½ cups, which equals a 15-ounce can.

storage information

This black-eyed pea salad tastes best the day it’s made. But you can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days! You may find that it loses flavor over time, so you might want to refresh it with a little more salt or a dash of vinegar to revitalize the flavors.

How to serve black-eyed pea salad

There are so many ways to serve this Black-Eyed Pea Salad… where do you start? It’s the perfect healthy vegan side dish for a delicious meal. Here are some ideas to get you started:

This Black-Eyed Pea Salad recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.