I love new recipes! I fell in love with these two when family members brought them to the last couple of get-togethers that we had. They are absolutely amazing and I have modified them to be whole food plant-based.
Both of these recipes to me are a meal in themselves even though they are considered side dishes. Personally, I would be completely happy to have either one for dinner!
The Spaghetti Salad is light and has just the right seasonings to make it perfect for a hot summer night. The Cowboy Caviar is so versatile that it could be an appetizer, a side dish, or even the main course!
I’m not going to bore you with a lot of commentaries. I am sure you are ready for the recipes themselves so without further ado, here they are!
Spaghetti Salad
- 1/2 lb. spaghetti (I use whole wheat)
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
- 1 small sweet onion, chopped
- 1/2 green pepper, chopped
- 5-6 baby carrots, chopped
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2+ tablespoons dried salad seasoning (such as McCormick’s Salad Supreme)
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions, then drain and let cool.
- While the spaghetti is cooking chop up your vegetables.
- Combine the red wine vinegar, water, and seasonings.
- Combine spaghetti and vegetables in a large bowl. Add the red wine vinegar mixture.
- Stir well to mix everything together.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes to let the flavors blend.
That’s it!! I like to change it up and use different vegetables like riced squash and broccoli in place or the cucumber and carrots. Give this recipe a try and I am sure you will not be disappointed.
Cowboy Caviar
- 15 oz. can black beans
- 15 oz. can black-eyed peas
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1/2 green bell pepper
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 1 jalapeño
- 1/4 red onion
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup juice from beans
- 2 tbsp juice
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
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Drain and rinse both cans of beans reserving 1/4 cup for the dressing.
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Dice the bell pepper, tomatoes, jalapeño, and red onion. For a less spicy salad, scrape the seeds out of the jalapeño before dicing. Roughly chop the cilantro. Place the drained beans, bell pepper, tomatoes, jalapeño, onion, and cilantro in a large bowl.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the bean juice, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Pour the dressing over the salad, then stir until everything is well coated. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
- Serve with cantina tortilla chips
This is also great as filling for tacos and on top of a bed of greens. I’m sure you will find several ways to serve it too!
Changes to these Recipes
Both of these recipes normally contain oil which is something I try not to use in my whole food plant-based recipes. In the spaghetti salad I simply replaced it with water and in the cowboy caviar, I substituted bean juice. These recipes have so much flavor you don’t even notice the oil is missing!
Sugar is also called for in both recipes. I lowered the amount and replaced it with coconut palm sugar in the spaghetti salad and since the cowboy caviar is such a savory dish I completely left it out.
I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I have!
Please take a little time to read some of my other blog posts about the whole food plant-based way of eating.
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