Simple and hearty black eyed pea salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh herbs, pomegranate, and a lemony dressing. Keep it vegan or add a sprinkle of creamy feta to finish!
I will confess a little love for black eyed peas. These small savory beans are nutrient-dense, packing antioxidants and a good amount of fiber and protein. Happily, they are also cheap and convenient!
As someone who’s written and tested countless Mediterranean bean recipes, I can tell you black-eyed peas are underrated. Their snappy texture and earthy flavor make them just as delicious in a black eyed pea salad as they are in a cozy stew. If you’ve enjoyed my kidney bean salad or three bean salad, you’ll love this one too!
As an added bonus, this easy salad keeps well in your fridge. I make it often for meal prep, either for a quick and healthy lunch, or as a side to protein for dinner. Heck, I would throw a fried egg on top and call it breakfast!
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
Black eyed peas are the star ingredient here, but it’s the fresh veggies and tart dressing that really makes them shine. You’ll need:
- Black eyed peas: Swap with other mild canned beans, like white beans, butter beans, or chickpeas.
- Tomatoes: I like sweet grape tomatoes, but swap with any juicy ripe tomato, or even red bell pepper.
- Cucumber: English or Persian cucumbers have tender skin. If you’re working with a standard slicing cucumber, peel off the skin. Or swap with celery.
- Pomegranate seeds: The packaged kind work great, or see my guide to cutting pomegranates.
- Green onions: Swap shallots or chives.
- Mint: Substitute with fresh parsley or basil.
- Feta: Totally optional. Feel free to leave it off, or swap with goat cheese.
- Pomegranate molasses: Adds an addictive sweet-tangy layer to the dressing, giving this simple black eyed pea salad a Mediterranean vibe.
- READ MORE: Learn all about this Mediterranean pantry hero, and how to make it yourself, in our guide.
- TRY IT: Find all natural pomegranate molasses at our shop.
- BEST SUBSTITUTE: Balsamic reduction, or balsamic vinegar and a touch of honey.
- Lemon juice: Trade with fresh lime juice.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I recommend our rich and peppery Greek Early Harvest EVOO with this recipe.
- Garlic: Adds a bold peppery quality to the dressing. Simply leave it off if you don’t like raw garlic.
- Kosher salt and black pepper enhance the flavor.
How to Make Black Eyed Pea Salad
There are only three easy steps to this black eyed pea salad recipe:
- Mix the black eyed pea salad. Drain and rinse 1 (15 ounce) can of black eyed peas. Add to a large mixing bowl, along with 6 ounces halved grape tomatoes, 1 chopped English cucumber, 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, 2 chopped green onions, and about 20 chopped mint leaves.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (or balsamic reduction), the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 minced garlic clove, and a good dash of salt and pepper.
- Dress and serve. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well to combine. Finish with a sprinkle of feta cheese, if you like.
What to Serve with Black Eyed Pea Salad
I like to make a big batch of this hearty salad to enjoy all week–just like with my other healthy bean recipes. But it’s also the perfect packable salad for BBQs and picnics. Here’s how I would make it a party:
- More veggies! This grilled vegetable platter would be beautiful alongside.
- Skewers: Pork souvlaki or chicken kabobs.
- For dessert: Try grilled watermelon or mango.
Black Eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 15 ounce can black eyed peas drained and rinsed
- 6 ounces grape tomatoes halved
- 1 English cucumber trimmed and chopped
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds from about 1/2 pomegranate
- 2 green onions chopped
- 20 mint leaves chopped
- Feta cheese optional
For the Dressing
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (see note)
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Mix the black eyed pea salad. In a large mixing bowl, combine the black eyed peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, pomegranate seeds, onion, and fresh mint.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the pomegranate molasses (or balsamic reduction), lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and a good dash of salt and pepper.
- Dress and serve. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well to combine. Finish with a sprinkle of feta cheese, if you like.
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and pomegranate molasses used in this recipe.
- Best pomegranate molasses substitute: Balsamic reduction, or balsamic vinegar and a touch of honey.
- Storage: Leftovers will keep well, covered in the fridge, for 3-5 days or so.
- To cook the black eyed peas from scratch:
- Soak 1/2 cup in plenty of water overnight.
- Drain, then put in a pot and cover with water by 4 inches.
- Simmer, covered, for 1 hour, then drain and let cool.
Nutrition
Try our Authentic Pomegranate Molasses
This 100% natural Pomegranate molasses from Lebanon provides an intense burst of sweet and tart flavor.
*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
Question – the nutritional information doesn’t include a serving size- is this for 100g or the whole salad, or something else? Thanks!
Hello! This particular recipe can be divided by 6 to get the approximate “serving size”. The nutrition info here is our best effort and we use a program that calculates that for us based on the ingredient list. The exact serving size measurement (by grams, cups, etc) is another layer that’s harder for us to precisely calculate at the moment, but we’re working on it!
Thankyou for responding, next time I make it I will weigh everything and work it out. It was delicious though- big Thankyou from my whole family
We loved this. We do like spicy food, so I added some jalapeños to the recipe, but otherwise it is perfect.
I’m telling you this is one of the best salads I have made! In addition to being perfect for New Years because of the black eyed peas, it is so fresh tasting and flavorful! The combination of mint and cucumber and pomegranite seeds is fantastic. This will be a yearly mainstay in my good luck New Years dinner but also anytime of the year I need a delicious, nutritious salad. The Pomegranite molasses could only be found at Whole Foods and was about $9.00. However, it truly makes the dish!
Thank you for such a fabulous recipe!
Hi
90% of the time I cannot get fresh mint leaves. Is there a substitution you suggest? Thank you
Hi, Sue. You can simply omit the fresh mint, or try substituting with dried mint. If using dried mint, I’d just start with a few teaspoons and adjust from there to suit your taste. Enjoy!
Great combinations
Love this recipe!!! Very easy to make and really great flavor! My husband is already asking for it again!! Thank you Suzy!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is oh so delicious , and nutritious!!! 💕💕💕
Hi pomegranates are out of season, what else could I use?
Hi, Janet. You can simply omit them here when they are out of season. They are just an optional ingredient.
This black eye pea salad was delicious. I made it for New Years Day. Beautiful colors too!
Thanks, Sally!
This was delicious! I have made it twice now.
Thanks, Meredith!
Perfect timing, I have been searching for alternate black-eyed pea recipes that didn’t have meat. I will definitely be trying this salad and your Greek-style black-eyed peas recipe too.
Awesome! Can’t wait to hear what you think of both!
We don’t have pomegranate molasses. Any substitute?
Balsamic Vinegar should work!