This easy Black-eye Bean Salad is great for a quick lunch or dinner. You can include it to your meal prep and enjoy during the week.
What do you associate legumes with? Food for the poor or a cheap meat substitute.
However, given the amazing composition of legumes, they deserve to be one of the best in the world’s healthiest food list.
Ingredients
- The main ingredient of this bean salad is black-eyed peas. I fell in love with this type of beans during my life in Cyprus, where we used to eat them with boiled zucchini and canned tuna, onions, fresh parsley and olive oil. Deliciously!
Depending on your preferences, you can use canned beans or cook them from scratch. I usually cook my beans once, and keep them in the zip-lock bags in the freezer.
2. Sweet corn gives the the salad some extra flavor and texture, as well as it increases the nutrition and color of the dish.
3. Fresh herbs add a burst of flavor and aroma to a bean salad. Some herbs that pair well with black-eye bean salad include cilantro, parsley, basil, dill and mint. To boost the nutritional value of the salad, I am using fresh parsley and dill.
4. Pomegranate molasses is a thickened pomegranate juice with a deep, fruity flavor. It has sweet and sour taste and ruby color. Pomegranate molasses will balance out the sweetness of the corn and add a touch of acidity to the salad.
Health Benefits of Black-eyed Beans
According to a small study black-eyed peas do not cause intestinal gas as much as, for example, other types of beans.
Black-eyed beans are a great source of plant protein which helps to boost your energy level. Moreover, they are low in fat and have plenty of vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, K, calcium, iron, and zinc.
Black-eyed peas contain soluble and insoluble fiber, which help the body absorb helpful nutrients.
Only ½ cup serving a day can provide you with 44% of folate (vitamin B that helps to lower the chance of brain and spinal cord defects in newborn babies).
More about health benefits of beans read in the article My Top Super-foods to Consider for Your Daily Diet.
Combinations & Substitutes
- add canned tuna or avocado;
- add some walnuts or sunflower seeds for extra crunchiness;
- cucumbers or tomatoes, olives or capers could be delicious additions as well;
- replace olive oil with toasted sesame oil or even your favorite tahini dressing;
- if you don’t have pomegranate molasses, substitute an equal amount of balsamic vinegar. It has similar sweet and tangy flavor.
Enjoy my Black-eye Bean Salad for your next lunch 🙂
Also, try my other quick and tasty Salad Recipes.
Black-eye Bean Salad for Lunch
Equipment
- 1 salad bowl
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups cocked black-eye beans 9 oz (250 g) dried beans
- 1 cup canned sweet corn or frozen
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 spring onions
- 1 small bunch of fresh parsley
- 1 small bunch of fresh dill
- 1 lemon
- 100 g pomegranate seeds
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 cane of tuna optional
- 1 avocado optional
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- If you are using dry beans, soak the beans in plenty of water for 6-8 hours. Then rinse well in a colander. Bring a pan of water to a boil and cook the beans for 30 minutes. Or until soft. Drain and place in a large bowl.
- Drain the corn. Halve the bell pepper lengthwise and remove the stem and seeds. Cut the bell pepper into cubes of about 1 cm (brunoise) and finely chop the spring onions, parsley, and dill.
- Scrub the lemon, grate the yellow zest, and squeeze the fruit. Add the corn, bell pepper, spring onion, parsley, dill, pomegranate seeds, lemon zest, and half of the juice to the beans.
- Add the oil, and pomegranate molasses to the salad and toss well. Season with salt and pepper.
Notes
- Add tuna or avocado to the salad.
- Add walnuts or sunflower seed for extra crunchiness.
- Add cucumbers or tomatoes for extra veggies.
- Replace olive oil with sesame oil or cold pressed sunflower oil.
- Serve with my Special Hot Sauce Adjika