Do you love salads for dinner? Then make this easy black-eyed peas salad recipe and serve it with mashed potatoes or pasta for a quick weekday dinner or a calming New Year party. This vegan and gluten-free salad is easy to make and can be carried for lunch.
I love bean salads as they are easy to make and keep us full for a long time. I like to add steamed or baked potatoes or sweet potatoes to this salad and pack it as a lunch box item.
Ingredients
- Black-eyed peas: I used home-cooked black-eyed peas to make this salad. You can quickly cook the dried peas at home. You can also use canned black-eyed peas to make the salad. If using canned peas, drain them and rinse them once in clean water.
- Veggies: Fresh veggies like cucumber, tomato, and red onion will give the salad the perfect texture and taste.
- Salad dressing: Lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, pepper powder, and salt act as a salad dressing for this quick recipe. I have added a little cumin powder to make it more flavorful. Add chopped jalapenos or red chili flakes to make the salad spicy.
- Cilantro leaves: Cilantro adds a fresh, lemony, and slightly peppery note, complementing the other ingredients beautifully.
- Sunflower seeds (optional): These add a nutty crunch, elevating the texture profile of the salad.
- Boiled potato cubes (optional): Potatoes add a comforting, starchy component to the salad, making it more filling.
How to make Black-Eyed Peas Salad
Step 1: Cook the black-eyed peas
- Soak the black-eyed peas for 6 to 8 hours. (optional)
- Wash the soaked or dried black-eyed peas and add them to the Instant Pot inner pot.
- Then add water and salt. Close the Instant Pot with its lid. Seal the pressure valve. Use 2 cups of water for soaked peas and 3 cups for dried black-eyed peas.
- Select manual or pressure cook mode and cook it for 5 minutes on high pressure for soaked black-eyed peas. Cook it for 16 minutes on high pressure for dried black-eyed peas.
- Once the Instant Pot finishes cooking, wait 10 minutes and manually release the pressure. Strain the cooked peas and keep them aside.
Step 2: Prep the ingredients
- Boil, steam, or bake the potatoes and keep them aside. I use boiled and diced potatoes in this salad recipe.
- Finely chop onion, tomatoes, cucumber, and cilantro.
Step 3: Make the black-eyed peas salad
- Take a mixing bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and freshly ground black pepper powder to the bowl and whisk together.
- Add finely chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro leaves, and potato cubes (if using).
- Mix it well so the salad dressing is coated well with the veggies.
- Then goes boiled black-eyed peas and sunflower seeds.
- Mix everything well and serve the delicious black-eyed peas salad immediately.
Tips, Variations & Substitutions
- Don't like black-eyed peas? Then, make this salad recipe with chickpeas, black beans, or kidney beans.
- For a crunchier salad, add the cucumber and tomatoes just before serving. And if you like a softer texture, let the salad marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours.
- Do you want to exclude potatoes? You can easily omit potatoes and have this peas salad as a side dish.
- Instead of potatoes, you can also use cooked pasta to make this black-eyed peas salad.
- If you do not like the taste or smell of raw onions, you can safely skip them.
- Additional Vegetables: You could use different veggies like steamed cauliflower, broccoli, and green beans. I sometimes use raw veggies like red bell peppers and carrots.
- Diced avocado and steamed or grilled sweet corn will also taste good in this salad.
- Are you out of cilantro leaves? You can omit the leaves. Other herbs like mint, dill leaves, basil leaves, and green onions will flavor the salad.
- Add salt and sunflower seeds to the salad just before serving. Salt will release water from the veggies, and the salad will become watery.
- Spice Adjustments: Adjust the amount of pepper powder and cumin to suit your taste preferences. A little bit of chili powder can also add a nice kick.
Serving suggestions
If you use potatoes to make this salad, you can serve the salad as the main dish or as a standalone meal. And this will be a filling meal also.
If you skip potatoes in this recipe, serve the black-eyed peas salad as a side dish with pasta, mashed potatoes, or toasted sourdough bread.
Mix this salad with cooked millet or quinoa for a hearty, filling meal or lunch box item. I also use leftover salad in wraps and tacos.
Storage
I enjoy this salad fresh, as the cucumbers and tomatoes can release water over time, changing the texture. But this salad keeps well in the refrigerator for a day. And I highly recommend skipping onions if you intend to store the salad in the fridge as onions might smell bad.
I do not freeze this salad as the texture will change significantly. Instead, freeze the cooked black-eyed peas and make this salad when needed.
FAQ
Yes, we can use canned black-eyed peas to make this salad recipe.
Yes, this salad will taste good when it is cold or warm. However, add salt before serving so veggies will not release water into the salad.
Yes, potatoes are optional in this recipe. You can skip them or use cooked sweet potatoes to make this salad.
Yes, you can prepare this salad ahead of time. However, add ingredients like cucumber, tomatoes, and salt closer to serving time for the best texture.
To make it more filling, add boiled potato cubes, as suggested, or mix in some cooked quinoa, cooked millet, or pasta.
If you don't have lemon juice, you can substitute it with lime juice or a mild vinegar like apple cider for a similar tangy flavor.
Have you tried this recipe? Provide your feedback by giving a star rating and/or leaving comments. And don't forget to share the recipe with others on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter.
Recipe
Easy Black-Eyed Peas Salad - Lobia Salad - Cowpea Salad Recipe
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Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried black eyed peas 3 cups canned peas
- 2 cups water for cooking peas
- 1 cup cucumber chopped
- ½ cup tomatoes chopped
- ¼ cup onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon cilantro leaves chopped
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds optional
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin optional
- ½ teaspoon Pepper powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup boiled potato cubes optional
Instructions
- Cook the black-eyed peas and keep them aside. You can use canned black-eyed peas as well to make this salad. If using canned peas, drain, wash, and keep them aside.
- Finely chop onion, tomatoes, cucumber, and cilantro leaves and keep them aside.
- Cook the potatoes and keep them aside. (If using)
- Take a mixing bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper powder to the bowl and mix it well.
- To this salad dressing mixture, add chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumber, and potato cubes. Mix it well so that the salad dressing is coated well with the veggies.
- Now add boiled black-eyed peas, chopped cilantro leaves, and sunflower seeds.
- Mix everything well and serve the black-eyed peas salad immediately.
Melinda fritz says
I made it ..it seems super easy.
It's really good
Sravanthi says
Thank you so much 🙂