Black Eyed Pea Dip is a chunky vegan bean salad featuring avocado, green olives, corn, red bell pepper, and a tangy dressing. Enjoy this dish for luck on New Year's Day or anytime of the year.
Many cultures have traditional foods that are considered lucky to eat for a prosperous new year. For example, in some Asian countries, long noodles are eaten to lengthen one's life. And in Germany and Ireland, green cabbage is considered lucky in dishes like Savoy Cabbage Salad.
Similarly, in the Southern United States, eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day is thought to bring good luck. If you enjoy Texas Caviar, also known as Cowboy Caviar, you'll love this Black Eyed Pea Dip variation.
Enjoy it is as a chunky dip with tortilla chips or as a salad. It's hearty and delicious, and it's incredibly easy to make.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It's simple to make in 15 minutes.
- You can enjoy it as an appetizer or as a salad. Perfect for lunch!
- It's easy to customize to make it your own.
Ingredients
Hot sauce: I recommend TABASCO® Brand Pepper Sauce or Cholula, but you can use any of your favorite hot sauces.
Variations
This recipe is easy to customize to suit your taste. Here are some suggestions:
- Use any color of sweet bell peppers. Or skip them and use quartered cherry tomatoes instead.
- Substitute black olives for the green olives, or leave them out if you don't care for them.
- Add diced red onions and omit the green onions. Or include both.
- Not a fan of cilantro? Use parsley instead.
- Substitute diced jalapeño peppers, canned green chilies, or crushed red pepper flakes in place of the hot sauce.
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Instructions
To make Black Eyed Pea Dip, simply add the ingredients to a large salad bowl, then toss well to coat.
Serving suggestions
Black Eyed Pea Dip is wonderful on its own as a salad. Or you can serve it on top of mixed greens or in lettuce leaves.
It's delicious with tortilla chips or crackers for scooping. And it pairs well with other appetizers like fish-free hearts of palm ceviche and sun-dried tomato stuffed mushrooms.
For a main dish, enjoy with anything from simple rustic pasta with swiss chard and garlic to nut-free vegan macaroni and cheese to tacos with meaty walnut crumbles and fresh cherry tomato salsa.
Storing
Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. For best results, do not freeze.
Recipe FAQs
Black eyed peas are a type of bean. They are also known as cowpeas. Both beans and peas are types of legumes.
If you prefer to cook black eyed peas from dried rather than using canned, you can cook them in a pot of water using a stove top method. Or you can prepare them in an Instant Pot by pressure cooking 1 cup pre-soaked black-eyed peas in 1½ cups water on high pressure for 3 minutes -- or 7 minutes for unsoaked -- and allowing the pressure to release naturally.
Canned black eyed peas will be next to the canned beans in the grocery store. Dried black eyed peas will be found with the dried beans and rice.
More canned beans recipes
And for even more recipes, join the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Recipes Facebook group for support, inspiration, and fun.
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! ★★★★★
📋 Recipe
Black Eyed Pea Dip
Ingredients
- 2 15-ounce cans black eyed peas, (3 cups) rinsed and drained
- 1 can corn, (1½ cup) drained (or defrosted frozen corn)
- 2 red bell peppers, chopped small
- 2 green onions, sliced
- ½ cup green olives, sliced
- 1 avocado, cubed
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce, such as TABASCO® Brand Pepper Sauce or Cholula
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- salt, to taste
- tortilla chips, for serving (optional)
- extra hot sauce, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and gently toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate the dip until ready to serve. Enjoy with tortilla chips and extra hot sauce, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Roberta
This is so easy and SO DELICIOUS!! I ate it in a small bowl without any chips at all. Spicy, creamy (avocado) and crunchy. I will definitely be making this again. SO yummy and good.
Amy Katz
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Roberta!
Stephanie
So good! The substitutions worked out perfectly and were so helpful to be included. I shared (some) but otherwise devoured it mostly by myself in one day. Can’t wait to make it again!
Amy Katz
Fantastic, Stephanie! I'm so happy you enjoyed it.
Terry Keeble
I can taste it without having made it. It's going to be a HIT!
Amy Katz
Thank you, Terry!
Tara
So easy and so delicious! Thank you for this great recipe!
Amy
Thanks so much, Tara!