Black-Eyed Pea Salad is a spicy light, warm-weather twist on classic Southern comfort food. Perfect with anything you're grilling or on its own as a healthy lunch!
Spicy Black-Eyed Pea salad is a warm-weather favorite of ours that I've been making for years! In addition, black-eyed peas are more than a New Year's good-luck charm, they can be used to make this great Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Salad you'll crave all year long.
Are black-eyed peas really peas?
Though called peas, black-eyed peas are actually beans. Regardless of what you call them, they are legumes that are very good for you. Black-eyed peas are high in fiber, iron, potassium and zinc.
Tips for cooking black-eyed peas:
- If you have or can find fresh black-eyed peas, by all means, use them.
- Dried black-eyed peas cook quickly in comparison to other dried beans, so they don't require overnight soaking. Black-eyed peas can be cooked in the amount of time it takes you to prep the other ingredients for this salad.
- Don't add salt to the cooking water; it will prevent the peas from softening up--as will any type of acid.
When to use canned versus fresh peas:
Canned black-eyed peas can be used in a pinch for this Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Salad. The texture will not be as good and canned beans have to be rinsed well because they'll be very salty.
A good rule of thumb when deciding whether to use canned beans versus cooking from dry is how prominent they will be in your dish. If the beans make up a good part of the dish, it's best to start with dry beans.
If your dish has a wide range of textures and the beans are simply one ingredient, you can get away with using canned black-eyed peas.
Tips for making Black-Eyed Pea Salad:
- Fresh jalapeños are a must in this salad. Jarred, pickled peppers are convenient and deliver heat, but they taste out of place with all the other fresh, assertive flavors.
- We leave the seeds and membrane in for more heat, but you can remove them to tone down the heat. If you're not used to working with hot peppers, wear gloves, and do not touch your eyes.
- After combining the salad ingredients, refrigerate about 30 minutes for the flavors to marry.
This salad is great on its own or with grilled or otherwise simply-prepared fish, seafood, chicken, pork or beef such as a flank steak.
More summery salads you'll love:
- Tunisian Salad Platter (or Assiette Tunisienne)
- Lemony Broccoli, Barley and White Bean Salad
- Greek Orzo Pasta Salad
- Cauliflower Artichoke Tabbouleh
- Middle Eastern Vegetable Salad
- Quinoa Tabbouleh with Grilled Vegetables
- Cauliflower Antipasto Salad
- Cucumber Red Onion Feta Cheese Salad
- Greek Vegetable Salad with Marinated Feta Cheese
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
- 3 medium cucumbers
- 1 medium red onion - finely chopped
- 5 medium tomatoes - seeded and finely chopped
- 2 jalapeño peppers - finely chopped
- 1 small bunch cilantro - chopped
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Bring a saucepan of unsalted water to a boil. Add the black-eyed peas and cook 25 to 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool under running water; drain again.
- While the peas are cooking, prepare the vegetables. With a vegetable peeler, remove half of the cucumber skin, leaving thin strips of green all the way around. Cut into quarters lengthwise, remove the seeds and chop.
- Transfer to a bowl and add the chopped onion, tomatoes, jalapeño, cilantro and garlic. Add the cooled peas, lemon juice and olive oil and stir to combine.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and more lemon juice if desired.
- Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Susan@LunaCafe says
What a wonderful post, Carol! I'm always looking for interesting, filling salad ideas. Black eyed peas are so pretty, I really need to use them more often. Looking forward to exploring your blog. 🙂
pam (Sidewalk Shoes) says
What a perfect way to enjoy black-eyed peas in the summer! Mine are cooking in the slow cooker right now for all that Southern good luck!
Susan@LunaCafe says
What a wonderful post, Carol! I'm always looking for interesting, filling salad ideas. Black eyed peas are so pretty, I really need to use them more often. Looking forward to exploring your blog. 🙂
Debra @ Worth Cooking says
I have not tried black eyed peas since growing up. We had them for most new years (my mom is from VA), but that was about it. This looks delicious. I did not know they cooked so quickly!
Carol says
Hi, Debra, I've always found they cook quickly as long as there is no salt in the water. I think the reason they have a reputation for taking hours to cook is because of the ham hock, bacon, etc. that is usually added to flavor them. Acid also prevents beans from softening up. I've made that mistake before!