This vegan cowboy caviar is a salad that’s chock full of flavor, and simple to make. The dressing that you add to the salad is sweet, savory, and tangy all at the same time and melds perfectly with your vegetables and beans. This recipe is easy to adjust to what you have in the fridge. Don’t be afraid to substitute tomatoes for cucumber if that’s what you have on hand, or a different type of beans. Black eyed peas are often used for this recipe, but I used pinto beans as it’s what I had on hand. I always feel that working with what you have is fine as long as the result tastes good!
It’s really inexpensive to make, too, especially if you use dried beans to make this recipe with. To soak beans, leave them in a bowl with water for the day or overnight, and then rinse and cook them for around an hour with the lid off (the lid on makes the beans a bit softer, and you will want them on the firmer side for this recipe). If you want, try adding a bay leaf and some garlic to the water as you cook the beans for additional flavor.
When you dice up vegetables for this recipe, you will want to make them somewhat small, about the same size or just slightly larger than the beans you use in the recipe.
If you have leftovers, you can keep them in the fridge in an airtight container for at least a few days.
Savory, sweet & spicy vegan bean salad (Cowboy caviar)
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup corn fresh, canned or frozen – roughly one can
- 1 cup black beans cooked, or canned drained and rinsed
- 1 cup pinto beans or black eyed peas cooked, or canned drained and rinsed
- 1 cup celery 2-3 stalks
- 1 cup tomatoes fresh, any kind
- 1 cup yellow bell pepper about 1 pepper
- 3/4 cup red onion
- 1/4 cup jalapeño deseeded and stemmed, if desired
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro more to garnish
Instructions
- Chop the celery, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and jalapeno into small pieces.
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, except cilantro.
- Mix dressing ingredients together well using a whisk.
- Combine the salad with the dressing, and let sit in fridge for 1 hour for flavors to meld and enhance.
- Remove from fridge, and mix in chopped cilantro with portion you serve. Garnish with additional cilantro if desired.
Notes
This salad is as healthy as it is colorful! The salad is very low in saturated fat and low in sodium. As with many whole food plant based recipes, you will find a high amount of dietary fiber. It’s also very high in vitamins B6 and C, and also magnesium and potassium.
Substitutions for this salad
Most types of beans will work in this dish, so if you don’t have black or pinto beans you don’t need to worry. Navy beans, white beans, and many more are great substitutions for the ones in this recipe.
There’s a chance that you don’t like cilantro – and it’s one of those “love it or hate it” herbs. You can substitute parsley or even green onions in the place of cilantro.
This is a great recipe! I served it over a mix of spinach and romaine and also added some walnuts. Really delicious and easy, and the jalapeno adds some great flavour.