Black Eyed Peas Recipe

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This best Southern Black Eyed Peas recipe makes a flavorful, classic dish everyone loves. Made with dried or canned black eyed peas with instructions for stovetop, slow cooker, and Instant Pot! Delicious year-round, it’s a Southern tradition to serve black eyed peas for New Year’s Day to bring luck.

Versatile: This recipe is easy to make using your choice of stovetop, slow cooker, or Instant Pot cooking method and dried or canned black eyed peas! I also provide options for using canned and frozen black eyed peas. Since you’ve not added other overwhelming ingredients such as sausage and aromatics, once you have your cooked peas, you can use them in any number of soups, salads, dips, or as a main dish or side dish!

Flavorful and nutritious: Properly prepared black eyed peas are tender and delicious and are a nutrient-dense source of fiber, protein, and folate.

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

Black Eyed Peas, a variety of cowpeas, are a common legume that you can find growing in various locations 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 nourishing both to people and animals that eat them and to the soil where they are grown. Nutritionally, they are a great source of vegetarian protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. For the soil, they are nitrogen-fixing plants, which means they convert the nitrogen from the air to help “fix” the soil where they are planted by drawing nitrogen into the ground, preventing the need for additional fertilization before another crop is planted. They are an easy-to-grow crop that is generally ready for harvest in around 70 days from planting from seed.

There are numerous varieties of black eyed peas available. The “eye” of the pea may be black, brown, green, red, or pink. They are green when first harvested and turn a beige or buff color 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 an heirloom pea (cowpea) that has been passed down through generations. Of course, we think it is the best! If you are looking for an all-around delicious variety to try, I suggest the Purple Hull Cowpea.

Thankfully, they are one of the easiest, most budget-friendly, nutrient-rich dishes to prepare.

Why do people, especially in the South, eat black eyed peas for New Year’s day?

They are believed to bring good luck and prosperity. They are always paired with collards or turnip greens in my family as they are believed to bring luck too. I round out the meal with cornbread and other favorites, as in my Southern New Years Menu.

Time after time, my grandmother prepared a simple meal of black eyed peas, cornbread, and milk for my grandfather. She’d keep her peas simmering on the stove for that night’s supper throughout the afternoon. I always thought he didn’t know what he was missing by not eating whatever she’d prepared to go along with it for the rest of us.

Now that I’m older, there are many nights that a big bowl of these peas on top of a hunk of southern cornbread and a little bit of pepper sauce is all I want for supper, too. Thankfully, my whole family enjoys it. I guess that’s one more thing I should’ve listened to my grandparents about.

I’ve included stove top, slow cooker, and Instant Pot methods for cooking them! Regardless of which method, you’ll want to take a couple of steps for the best southern black eyed peas!

You’ll want to rinse and pick over your dried peas to ensure they are clean and prepped! Place them into a colander under cool running water. Rinse the peas and move them around in the colander with your fingers. As you are rinsing, remove any overly darkened peas and any other items from the peas that don’t belong.

Two soaking methods for peas work perfectly: overnight soaking and quick soaking. I suggest that you soak the peas before cooking because soaking rehydrates the dried peas and allows them to digest more easily.

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

You’ll need just a few ingredients for these delicious Southern Black Eyed Peas:

You’ll use a pound of dried black eyed peas that have been cleaned and soaked (except if using the Instant Pot method), a ham bone or thick sliced bacon or salt pork, and salt and pepper.

Use one of the following three methods and instructions to cook black eyed peas:

Add your peas to your stock pot and cover with water, plus about 2 inches. Add in your ham bone, bacon, or salt pork. See variations for making without meat. Set over medium-low heat on your stove. Bring black eyed peas to a simmer and continue to keep at a low simmer, adding water and occasionally stirring as needed, until the black eyed peas are fork tender, about two hours. Remove the ham bone and serve.

Add your peas to your slow cooker and cover with water, plus about 2 inches. Add in your ham bone, bacon, or salt pork. See variations for making without meat. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours. Remove the ham bone and serve.

There is no need to soak your black-eyed peas using the Instant Pot, making them even easier. Of course, if you would like to soak them anyway, you certainly can.

Add your peas to your Instant Pot and cover with water, plus about 2 inches. Add in your ham bone, bacon, or salt pork. See variations for making without meat. Cover and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally, about 20 more minutes. Remove the ham bone and serve.

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

To make ahead. Prepare the peas following your cooking method of 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 in the microwave until reheated throughout.

To freeze. Cool prepared peas and store them in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top 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 reheated throughout.

Here’s my black-eyed peas recipe for the stock pot, slow cooker, or Instant Pot! Regardless of your method, I hope you love them as much as we do!

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2011.

Categorized as: All Recipes, By Cooking Style, By Special Diets, Cooking, Egg-Free Recipes, Essentials, Freezer Friendly Recipes, Gluten-Free Recipes, Grain-Free Recipes, Holiday and Occasion Recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Make-ahead Recipes, New Year Recipes, Pantry Staples, Recipes, Side Dish Recipes, Simple Recipes, Slow Cooker Recipes, Southern Favorites, Sugar-Free Recipes, Vegetable Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

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Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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I totally LOVE every recipe I have from you!! They are absolutely delicious and I love to cook!!!! Merry Christmas to you and Happy New Year to you and family!!! Audrey

Thank you, Audrey. i’m happy that you love these recipes.

can you use turkey meat in cooking black eye peas?

Alfred, you can cook the black eyed peas with turkey. Hope you enjoy!

I was browsing BEP recipes to see variations, been making them for years. Any time I cooked them 2 hours (expecially after soaking) they turn into a pudding texture. I only cook mine about 45 minutes to an hour without soaking. In your picture they look delicious..just wondering

When I cook black eyed peas on the stovetop, Micki, I cook them on simmer. I don’t let them boil. They do not get mushy for me when I cook them as the recipe instructs.

What is the reason for discarding the bacon or other pork? Thanks.

That is just a personal preference of mine but you can leave it in if you want.

This recipe was listed under Vegetarian. It has ham bone and bacon. Was this an error in listing it under Vegetarian? Please don’t tell me “just don’t put the meat in”. Just list it correctly, please and thank you.

In the recipe instructions for each cooking method for these peas, I state “If you prefer a vegetarian method, use 2 tablespoons olive oil.” Therefore, it could be a vegetarian option.

My husband wants to cook the onions and garlic in butter 1st, and the ham bone then add the peas and water. Will that effect the taste?

I really like the vegetarian alternative and the different cooking alternatives, I used the slow cooker technique for my New Year’s Day dinner

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook delicious and easy recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

Black Eyed Peas Recipe - Add a Pinch