• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Auntie's Favorites
  • Holidays
    • New Year's
    • Valentine's Day
    • St. Patrick's Day
    • Easter
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • Subscribe

crinkledcookbook.com logo

menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Favorites
  • Subscribe
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Favorites
    • Subscribe
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Quick and Easy

    Dec 31, 2020 · Modified: Jul 30, 2022 by Melinda O'Malley Keckler · This post may contain affiliate links · this blog generates income via ads.

    Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    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. This is a classic Cowboy Caviar, but served with salad greens for a crunchy and refreshing twist. It's delicious served any time of year. But did you know that black-eyed peas are often associated with luck? They are said to offer good luck when eaten on New Year's Day. Let's serve with salad greens or tortilla chips and enjoy a little 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

    • black-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.

    Top Tips and FAQ

    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.Black-eyed pea salad in a bowl with lettuce greens.

    Are black-eyed peas really peas?

    It's a little confusing isn't it? Like a chickpea, it's a bean that's got pea in the name, but black-eyed peas are in fact a bean, or a legume. And like all legumes these little "peas" are very nutritious.

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

    Olive Oil Please

    Some versions of Cowboy Caviar call for adding vegetable oil. But the olive oil used here will give your salad (or dip for those tortilla chips) a much lighter texture to the dressing 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.

    Serve with Salad Greens or Chips

    While salad looms large in the name of this recipe, it's essentially Cowboy Caviar or Texas Caviar tossed with leafy greens.

    The flavor combination is fantastic with tortilla chips and served as a dip.

    That's why I also suggest ditching the lettuce greens and serving this with your favorite chips as an appetizer or snack. This recipe is a crowd pleaser every time I serve it.

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

    Hot and Spicy

    Call it a salad or Cowboy Caviar, but this recipe has some spicy kick to it.

    The good news is 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.

    Cowboy Caviar Resting Time

    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.

    1. Crunchy Cole Slaw
    2. Creamy Pea Salad
    3. Refrigerator Pickles
    4. Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

    Be sure to give a star rating to the recipes you make from the Crinkled Cookbook. I always love hearing from you. Sharing is great too! Use the buttons after the recipe to text it with just one click or send it to family and friends on Pinterest and Facebook. Enjoy.

    Close shot of the salad ingredients.

    Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad

    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.
    4.99 from 114 votes
    Print Rate Pin Recipe
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 0 minutes
    Refrigerate to Combine Flavors: 2 hours
    Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
    Servings: 8 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.
    Did you make this recipe? Scroll up and leave a star rating.Tap @crinkledcookbook and follow me today.

    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.

    Pin Recipe Share on Facebook

    More Quick and Easy

    • Easy Mediterranean Edamame Salad
    • Easy Creamy Chicken Stroganoff
    • Peanut Butter Pies
    • Chili Relleno Casserole

    Looking for something?

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. James Strange says

      July 31, 2022 at 6:58 pm

      5 stars
      Easy and delicious.

      Reply
      • Melinda O'Malley Keckler says

        August 01, 2022 at 5:06 pm

        Thanks for the five star rating James! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Liz says

      July 31, 2022 at 6:40 pm

      5 stars
      I made this to eat for lunch last week and it was scrumptious!! It will go on my salad rotation---thank you!

      Reply
      • Melinda O'Malley Keckler says

        August 01, 2022 at 5:06 pm

        Wonderful, thanks Liz!

        Reply
    3. maureen calhoun says

      July 31, 2022 at 2:29 pm

      5 stars
      Very Good! 🙂

      Reply
      • Melinda O'Malley Keckler says

        July 31, 2022 at 3:38 pm

        Wonderful! Thanks for the five star rating Maureen. I'm happy you enjoyed this recipe!!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Melinda with corndogs

    Hello friends! Welcome. I'm Melinda. I'm a home cook and I've been creating recipes for more than 30 years. I'm excited to share recipes and techniques to help you enjoy cooking too. I'm a former TV journalist and a two-time breast cancer survivor. Stick around and click around and let's make great meals at home!

    Meet Melinda→

    Logos from websites that feature the Crinkled Cookbook.

    Meatless Recipes

    • Easy Mediterranean Edamame Salad
    • The Best Sweet Potato Lasagna
    • Tomato Basil Soup
    • Starbucks Copycat Egg Bites

    Melinda's Favorites

    • Sweet Corn Pasta Salad
    • Blueberry Rhubarb Muffins
    • Cougar Gold Cheese Quiche
    • Sunday Gravy (Spaghetti Sauce)

    Auntie's Favorites

    • Homemade Brownie Mix
    • Old Fashioned Chocolate Pound Cake
    • Zucchini Stuffing
    • Ivar's Copycat Fried Cod

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    Logos from websites that feature the Crinkled Cookbook.

    About

    • Meet Melinda

    Contact

    • Sign up for emails and recipes!
    • Contact

    Disclaimers

    • Privacy Policy & Terms
    • Comment Policy

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2019 - 2023 Crinkled Cookbook LLC