Some people call this Redneck Caviar or Hillbilly Caviar, but I’m not especially fond of either name. It doesn’t do it any justice. I just like to call it what it is – Black Eyed Pea Salad. This is one of my favorite appetizers. Black eyed peas, onion, cucumber, olives, feta cheese, jalapeno (to name a few ingredients), tossed in a red wine vinaigrette.
Black Eyed Pea Salad – A New Version
I’ve made so many versions of this, but now I think I’ve nailed this one down as my favorite. This time I added celery and olives, omitted the tomatoes and added a luscious honey-red wine vinaigrette.
Yes, I omitted the tomatoes, but not intentional to begin with – I was making it and forgot to add them.
Like an idiot.
However…
I tasted it before adding them and I LOVED it!! ♥
Now with the addition of celery and olives, I realized that I love this version more even without the tomatoes, and I definitely didn’t see that coming.
The Red Wine Vinaigrette is fantastic – it brightens it a little and rounds the flavors out.
But the feta.
And the olives. it’s just a little different and so good.
After you make this, put it in an air tight container in the fridge and it will keep for 3-5 days. When you take it out of the fridge you’ll probably need to freshen it up and moisten it with a little dressing.
If you feel that it needs more liquid but don’t want to overseason it with too much dressing, low sodium chicken broth is a perfect solution.
I have a serious affinity for anything that even resembles an appetizer – if you didn’t know that about me go here, here and here.
As you can probably tell, I LOVE salty, sharp cheese. Sharp white cheddar, Manchego, Blue, Gouda, etc. – the sharper, the better.
Keep in mind you can add the tomatoes if you want to; that definitely couldn’t hurt it.
Just try it first before you do.
Ways To Serve Black Eyed Pea Salad
- Obviously, as a salad
- A scoopable dip
- On top of fish (salmon comes to mind…)
- On a burger
- In in chicken or fish tacos
Here’s your printable-

Black Eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno, diced
- 1/4 cup black olives, diced
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tbsp seasoned salt
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/4 cup cucumber, diced
Instructions
Combine peas through feta cheese.
Whisk together the olive oil, basil, vinegar, salt and honey; pour over pea mixture.
Refrigerate until ready to serve with pita chips, Fritos, or whatever!
You may only want to use a 1/2 to 3/4 of the dressing, but save the rest. It will refresh the salsa if you have leftovers.
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Want more Black Eyed Pea Salad love?
French Onion Black Eyed Peas – Ally’s Kitchen
Southern Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas – Southern Bite
Black Eyed Pea Salad – Simply Recipes
This post was originally published on 01/22/2014, and updated for content 08/20/2021.