The BEST Black Eyed Peas recipe is a tasty and classic Southern dish. Made with dried or canned black-eyed peas and provides stove, slow cooker and Instant Pot methods! Delicious throughout the year, they are traditionally served on New Year’s Day to bring luck.

Why you’ll love this

versatile recipe: This recipe is easy to make using the stove, slow cooker or instant pot cooking method and dried or canned black-eye peas! I also provide options for using canned and frozen black-eyed peas. Since you haven’t added other overwhelming ingredients like sausages and aromatics, once you have your peas cooked, you can use them in any number of soups, salads, sauces, or as a main dish or side dish.

Tasty and nutritious: Properly prepared black-eyed peas are tender and delicious and are a nutrient-rich source of fiber, protein, and folic acid.

Easy: This easy recipe requires a few minutes of hands-on preparation, while using your favorite cooking method to prepare a great meal for the whole family!

What are the Black Eyed Peas?

Black Eyed Peas, a variety of cowpeas, is a common legume that can be found growing in various places around the world. While their name includes the term “pea,” they are not a pea at all. They are a type of bean.

Black-eyed peas are an easy and beneficial crop to grow. They are feeding both the people and animals that eat them and the soil where they are grown. Nutritionally, they are a great source of vegetarian protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. For soil, they are nitrogen-fixing plants, meaning they convert nitrogen from the air to help “fix” the soil where they are planted by attracting nitrogen to the soil, avoiding the need for additional fertilization before planting another crop. They are an easy-to-grow crop that is usually ready for harvest in around 70 days from seed planting.

There are numerous varieties of black-eyed peas available. The “eye” of the pea can be black, brown, green, red or pink. They are green when first harvested and turn beige or beige when dried. The common commercially available variety used is the California black-eyed pea. Here in the south, it seems that most families have their favorite variety. My family has planted a black-eyed pea (cowpea) that has been passed down from generation to generation. Of course, we think it’s the best! 🥰 If you are looking for a delicious variety of black-eyed peas to try, I suggest the purple shell cowpea.

Fortunately, they are one of the easiest, most economical and nutrient-rich dishes to prepare

. Black-eyed pea recipe Time and time again, my grandmother prepared a simple meal of

black-eyed peas, cornbread, and milk for my grandfather. She kept her peas simmering on the stove for dinner that night throughout the afternoon. I always thought I didn’t know what he was missing out on by not eating what she had prepared to accompany him for the rest of us.

Now that I’m older, there are many nights when a big bowl of these peas on top of a piece of southern cornbread and some pepper sauce is all I want for dinner, too. I understand; Luckily, they are a dish my whole family enjoys. I guess that’s one more thing I should have listened to my grandparents of. At least now I know.

How to Prepare a Recipe for Black-Eyed Dried Peas

I have included stove, slow cooker, and instant cooker methods for cooking! Regardless of the method, you’ll want to take a couple of steps to get the best black-eyed peas!

Rinse: You’ll want to rinse and collect your dried black-eyed peas to make sure they’re clean and prepared! Place them in a strainer under cold running water. Rinse the peas and move them in the strainer with your fingers. While rinsing, remove too dark peas and any other items from peas that do not belong.

Soaking (for stove and slow cooker methods): Two pea soaking methods work perfectly: overnight soaking and quick soaking. Many wonder if you need to soak your black-eyed peas before cooking them. The answer is that you don’t have to, but soaking rehydrates dried peas and allows them to digest more easily.

• Overnight soaking method: Add your peas to a pot and cover with cold, clean water, plus about 2 inches. Leave to soak, uncovered, overnight. The next morning, pour your peas into a strainer to drain the soaking liquid.
• Quick soaking method: Add your peas to a pot and cover them with cold, clean water, plus about 2 inches. Boil the black-eyed peas and continue boiling for two minutes. Pour your peas into a strainer to drain the soaking liquid.

How to Cook Black-Eyed Peas

Once your peas have been prepared, you can proceed with your favorite cooking method

.

Stove Black-Eyed Peas

: Add your peas to your broth pot and cover with water, plus about 2 inches. Add your ham bone, bacon or salted pork. See variations to make without meat. Place over medium-low heat on your stove. Bring black-eyed peas to a simmer and continue to keep them on low heat, adding water and occasionally stirring as needed, until black-eyed peas are tender, about two hours. Remove the bone from the ham and serve.

Black Eyed Peas Slow Cooker: Add your peas to your slow cooker and top with water, plus about 2 inches. Add your ham bone, bacon or salted pork. See variations to make without meat. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. Remove the bone from the ham and serve.

Instant Pot

Black Eyed Peas: No need to soak your black-eyed peas using the Instant Pot, making them even easier. Of course, if you want to soak them anyway, you certainly can.

Add your peas to your Instant Pot and cover them with water, plus about 2 inches. Add your ham bone, bacon or salted pork. See variations to make without meat. Cover and cook under high pressure for 20 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally, about 20 more minutes. Remove the bone from the ham and serve.

Variations

:

• Vegetarian Black Eyed Peas Recipe: Substitute two tablespoons of olive oil and omit the meat from the

recipe. Canned black-eyed peas

• : Drain and rinse canned peas thoroughly to remove as much sodium and preservatives from peas as possible. Go to step 3 of the stove method. Cook until peas are hot and fork tender, about 20 minutes.
• Frozen black-eyed peas: You don’t have to thaw peas to cook them. Go to step 3 of the stove method. Cook until peas are hot and fork tender, about 20 minutes.

How to store, make in advance and freeze black-eyed peas

for storage Cool cooked peas, and then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

To move forward. Prepare the peas following the cooking method of your choice. Cool and then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. When ready to serve, reheat on the stove or microwave until completely reheated.

To freeze. Cool prepared peas and store them in an airtight freezer container or zip-lock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stove or microwave until completely reheated.

Here is my black eye pea recipe for the broth pot, slow cooker or instant cooker! Regardless of your method, I hope you love them as much as we do!

enjoy! Robyn xo

From the Add to Pinch recipe files. Originally published in 2011.