Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Name: Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 140 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup red wine vinegar; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 3 tablespoons hot sauce; 3 tablespoons cilantro (fresh, chopped ); 2 cloves garlic (crushed or pressed); 1 teaspoon salt; 3 15.5 ounce cans black-eyed peas (drained and rinsed, you'll need roughly 4 cups of black-eyed peas); 1 very small red onion (about 1/2 cup of diced onion ); 1 10 ounce can original Rotel tomatoes, drained (or substitute with one large, diced tomato ); 1 green pepper (diced into very small pieces ); 6 cups lettuce greens (optional, if serving as a salad)

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Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad is super easy, a little spicy and full of fresh flavor. The peas are coated with a vinaigrette-style dressing that's full of garlic and fresh cilantro. It's delicious any time of year, but black-eyed peas have "lucky" in the name because they are said to offer good luck in a new year when eaten on New Year's Day. Serve with salad greens or just tortilla chips and enjoy "good luck" any time of year.

Black-eyed pea salad in a bowl with lettuce greens. — Bright and full of flavor, this salad is a refreshing option to a traditional green salad.

Ingredients to have on hand

b lack-eyed peas
red wine vinegar
hot sauce
fresh cilantro
green pepper
red onion

Diced onion, green pepper and cilantro on a cutting board. — Chop the ingredients into very small pieces.

Can I use dry black-eyed peas instead of canned?

I have done it that way, but the extra step of soaking the beans adds considerable time to the process. One other difference my family and I noticed when I used the dried black-eyed peas is the beans had a sturdier texture than those from the can. That's not a bad thing, but I prefer the softer canned variety of black-eyed peas for this recipe.

Salad ingredients in a bowl, not mixed together. — This sure looks like clean eating.

Olive Oil Please

There are countless versions of a dressing to toss salad ingredients and Some versions call for adding vegetable oil. But the olive oil used here will give your salad (or dip for those tortilla chips) a much lighter feel and you'll notice the subtle taste of the olive oil too.

Vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. — There's plenty of fresh cilantro in this vinaigrette.

Lucky Black-Eyed Peas

I love the history behind the idea that eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day offers good luck for the entire year! Southern Living magazine has a great article about the origins of this long-held tradition. While it's one rooted in the southeast part of the country, according to the article, there is also some evidence that folks ate black-eyed peas for luck as early as 500 A.D.

Similar to Cowboy Caviar

While salad looms large in the name of this recipe, it's very, very similar to a recipe that's called Cowboy Caviar or Texas Caviar and served with tortilla chips. That's why I also suggest ditching the lettuce greens and serving this with your favorite chips as an appetizer or munchie.

Salad served as a dip with tortilla chips. — No need for salsa when you serve this salad as an appetizer with tortilla chips.

There's some kick in there!

This salad has some spicy kick to it, but you can control the heat factor by using whichever brand of hot sauce your family or guests prefer. I like this one (plus the name is familiar!), plus the canned Rotel tomatoes have some green chilis and also add some heat to the end result.

One can of tomatoes and a jar of hot sauce on a counter. — You control the heat, based on the tomatoes and type of hot sauce.

Give the salad time to rest

It's oh so tempting to mix this together and dig in right away, but it's important to let the flavors have a chance to "mingle." A little time in the refrigerator also gives the black-eyed peas time to soak up some of that delicious vinaigrette. I recommend at least two hours of refrigerator-time before serving, but overnight is ideal for bringing out the best flavor.

Black-eyed pea salad in a bowl, from the side. — Fresh and delicious every time!

More veggie packed ideas

This recipe is full of fresh veggies and of course the black-eyed peas are full of fiber and protein so there are lots of great reasons why this is a good choice for your menu. Here are some other veggie packed recipes that I think you'll enjoy.

This recipe is super easy, a little spicy and full of fresh flavor. It's delicious any time of year, but black-eyed peas are said to offer good luck when eaten on New Year's Day.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Refrigerate to Combine Flavors: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Servings: as a side dish

Calories: 58kcal

Author: Melinda O'Malley Keckler

Ingredients

¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons hot sauce
3 tablespoons cilantro fresh, chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed or pressed
1 teaspoon salt
3 15.5 ounce cans black-eyed peas drained and rinsed, you'll need roughly 4 cups of black-eyed peas
1 very small red onion about ½ cup of diced onion
1 10 ounce can original Rotel tomatoes, drained or substitute with one large, diced tomato
1 green pepper diced into very small pieces
6 cups lettuce greens optional, if serving as a salad

Instructions

Make Vinaigrette

In a small bowl, whisk together the first six ingredients: red wine vinegar, olive oil, hot sauce, cilantro, garlic and salt, creating a vinaigrette.

Combine Black-Eyed Peas and Veggies

Place the drained and rinsed black-eyed peas in a large bowl, add red onion, green pepper and one can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilis. As an option, you can substitute the canned tomatoes for one large fresh tomato, diced.
Add the vinaigrette ingredients from the small bowl to the black-eyed peas and other veggies and mix well.

Refrigerate

Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight.
Serve on top of lettuce greens in a large bowl or with tortilla chips for dipping.

Nutrition

Calories: 58kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 1gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 421mgPotassium: 53mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 73IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 1mg

Please note, the nutrition details are estimated using a food database and are offered here only as a guideline for informational purposes.

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