Southern Black Eyed Peas

Black-eyed peas recipes are said to bring luck and prosperity in the new year, if enjoyed on New Year’s Day: Peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold.

This southern black-eyed peas recipe is cooked with bacon and sausage until creamy and flavorful and spiked with creole seasoning. Hoppin John recipes can be served over rice and with corn bread for a complete Southern tradition.

This Black-Eyed Peas New Year Recipe is a great way to use up leftover holiday smoked ham, smoked turkey or even smoked turkey wings.

Best Black-Eyed Peas Recipe

If you’re looking at eating black-eyed peas to ring in the New Year, this is the best black-eyed peas recipe to make. Dry black-eyed peas (or canned or pre-cooked Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas) combine with bacon (or diced ham), sausage, chicken stock (Instant Pot Bone Broth), collard greens, bay leaves and spices for a classic southern recipe.

Dried Black-Eyed Peas

This soul food black-eyed peas recipe with bacon uses dried black-eyed peas as we like controlling the texture, taste, and most importantly, sodium content. Take a look at the sodium content of canned beans; it’s outta control. Of course not everyone has access to dried black-eyed peas or the extra time required to cook. You can absolutely use canned black-eyed peas in place of the dried beans.

To use canned black-eyed peas: drain and rinse the beans in a colander to remove excess liquid and salt. When the recipe calls for adding the beans, just add the canned beans instead. As canned beans cook much faster than dried beans, you just need to simmer on medium for about 10-15 minutes.

Like making Instant Pot Beans Recipe? Check out our Instant Pot Black Beans, Instant Pot Kidney Beans, Instant Pot Pinto Beans, Instant Pot Refried Beans and Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice.

Do Black-Eyed Peas Need To Be Soaked?

Negative. It will cut down on cooking time, however it isn’t necessary to soak black-eyed peas overnight.

Variations:

• Vegetarian Black-Eyed Peas Recipe – Omit the bacon and sausage and replace the chicken broth with vegetable stock (or water) to make this Black-eyed Peas recipe vegetarian. To beef it up a bit, add some veggies like carrots, green bell pepper and more celery.
• Leftover Protein – Have leftover holiday ham (or ham hock), chicken or turkey? This is the perfect recipe to use up any leftover meats. We know people love a good black-eyed peas recipe with ham.
• Like Spicy Foods? Add a diced jalapeno, red pepper flakes, more creole seasoning, hot sauce, cayenne pepper or chili powder for a touch of heat.

Hoppin John Recipe Tips

• Black-eyed peas should be tender with a slight bite, not mushy.
• If your black-eyed peas aren’t softening it’s likely your beans are old. Keep cooking and they’ll soften up. It’s best to purchase fresh black eyed peas in  when making bean recipes.
• How to Make Black-Eyed Peas Thicker – this healthy black-eyed peas recipe is suppose to have some creamy liquid. If you find you want “less” of the creamy goodness, either strain out the liquid or smash some of the beans and stir. The smashed beans will combine with the liquid to thicken it up.
• Use a large pot for this beast of a recipe. It makes a ton! We utilize our handy large dutch oven.

Can I Make This In Advance?

Yes ma’am! You can cook black-eyed peas up to two days in advance and store in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to eat, just put it back on the stove over medium heat until warmed throughout.

How To Cook Southern Black-Eyed Peas

Black-eyed peas can be made on the stove top, instant pot or slow cooker. All three are ridiculously easy to make. The below recipe cards details the stove top recipe, so here are the instant pot black-eyed peas recipe and the slow cooker black-eyed peas recipe:

Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas

To cook black-eyed peas in the Instant Pot, heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil on the sauté mode. Add the bacon and sausage and brown for 4-5 minutes. Add the onions and sauté until softened. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Stir in black-eyed peas (soaked or un-soaked), bay leaves, seasonings and broth. Do not exceed the max fill line. Close the lid and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. Once the timer beeps, let pressure release naturally. Check for tenderness and cook longer if need be. Turn the sauté mode on remove 1/2-1 cup of beans and smash before returning to the Instant Pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer until your desired consistency and tenderness is achieved. Discard the bay leaves, adjust seasonings and serve!

Slow Cooker Black-Eyed Peas

To cook black-eyed peas in the slow cooker, complete steps 1 and 2 of the recipe (browning the meat and aromatics in olive oil). Transfer the browned meats and aromatics to the slow cooker and add the black-eyed peas, bay leaves, seasonings and broth. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours (or high for 4 to 5 hours). Check for tenderness and cook longer if need be. Remove 1/2-1 cup of beans and smash before returning to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 more minutes, or until the broth thickens to the desired consistency. Discard the bay leaves, adjust seasonings and serve!

What To Serve With Black-Eyed Peas

White Rice
Jiffy Corn Casserole
Biscuits
Hot Sauce