Black Eyed Peas and Ham Recipe

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This no-soak Black Eyed Peas Recipe shows you how to make black eyed peas with cooked ham in the Instant Pot or stove. Savor these creamy black eyed peas for New Year's day or any weeknight dinner!

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Here's an easy, creamy black-eyed peas recipe we like to make with leftover holiday ham and a few pantry ingredients. This no-soak recipe can be made via stove or oven, and is a favorite in our Instant Pot recipe collection. Everyone needs an easy, scrumptious black-eyed peas New Year's recipe to eat for good luck.

Black eyed peas recipe ingredients

• uncooked black eyed peas
• chicken broth (or water)
• leftover ham
• dried onion flakes (or onion powder)
• salt and pepper
• bay leaf

Black eyed peas New Year's tradition

Eating black-eyed peas for the new year is a Southern tradition that's believed to bring luck and prosperity in the coming year. I'm not superstitious, but I'll take all the luck I can get. I happen to also love to share food and any excuse to see people on the first day of the new year.

Do black eyed peas need to soak?

It's really not necessary. Dry black eyed peas cook in about an hour without soaking, which is perfectly reasonable. If you cook them in the pressure cooker, they'll cook even faster!

How to cook black eyed peas in the Instant Pot

1. Place the inner pot in the Instant Pot base and plug in the unit.
2. Add BLACK-EYED PEAS, DRIED ONION, SALT, PEPPER, BAY LEAF, CHICKEN BROTH (or water), and DICED HAM to the Instant Pot.
3. Select the "Manual" function on the control panel and press "+/-" buttons to display 12 minutes on the LED (or 20 minutes for very soft beans). Toggle the "Pressure" function to set pressure indicator light to "High Pressure". Allow the cook cycle to run.
4. When the cycle is complete, the cooker beeps and LED display reads "0". Allow the cooker do natural pressure release (NPR) until the 'float valve' drops (about 10 minutes). The cooker then goes into "Keep warm" mode. At this point, your black eyed peas are ready to enjoy.

How to cook black eyed peas on the stove

1. In a 3-quart, heavy soup pot (with lid), combine BLACK EYED PEAS, DRIED ONION, SALT, PEPPER, BAY LEAF, HAM, and CHICKEN BROTH (or water).
2. Cook over high heat until it reaches a rolling boil for about 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the black eyed peas 60-90 minutes, or until beans are softened to your liking. (optional) Near the end of the cooking cycle, you can add kale or spinach to this recipe.

How to cook black eyed peas in the oven

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. In a 3-quart, heavy soup pot (with lid), combine BLACK EYED PEAS, DRIED ONION, SALT, PEPPER, BAY LEAF, HAM, and CHICKEN BROTH (or water).
3. Cover with a heavy lid and bake for 60 minutes. Near the end of the cooking cycle, you can add kale or spinach to this recipe.
4. Carefully remove pot to check for doneness; Note: if liquid level has fallen below bean surface, add enough to slightly cover beans if the beans need more cooking time.
5. Return covered pot to the oven for 15-30 minutes until beans are fully cooked; carefully remove when done.

How to serve black eyed peas

Black eyed peas are often served with collard greens and cornbread. I love them with my French bread too! Serve black eyed peas with rice, as is quite popular with Hoppin’ John recipes.

Recommended Tools

• chef's knife (to cut ham...or tear in pieces with hands)
• colander
• 6 qt Instant Pot or dutch oven with lid
• measuring cup
• serving ladle

Related posts

If you want to serve black eyed peas as an appetizer or side dish, check out my Black Eyed Pea Salad that's very similar to cowboy caviar.

Check out my other post on How to Cook Dried Beans in 2 Hours...and look at the testimonials under the recipe. People swear by this method!

📖 Recipe

Black Eyed Peas Recipe

This flavorful black eyed peas recipe shows you how to cook black eyed peas without soaking using the Instant Pot, stove, or oven method. They're juicy, tender, and ready in under an hour.

Prep TimePrep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook TimeCook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total timeTotal Time: 50 minutes mins

Yield 8 cups

Author Traci

5 from 48 votes

Print Pin it for later 📌

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Video

Note about scaling

When scaling (2x or 3x), the light gray ingredient amount doesn’t scale. Please adjust those accordingly.

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 pound Dried Black Eyed Peas, *see footnote for canned or frozen beans
• ▢ 6 cups Broth or Water, or more as needed to adjust consistency
• ▢ ½ pound Diced Ham, or smoked turkey
• ▢ 1 Smoked Ham Hock or Ham Bone, or smoked turkey leg
• ▢ ¼ cup Dried Onion Flakes, or ½ large onion diced
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Sea Salt, plus more to taste
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• ▢ 1 Bay Leaf

Instructions

NOTE: Soaking is NOT REQUIRED for this recipe 🎉

• Add dried BLACK-EYED PEAS, BROTH, HAM, HAM HOCK, DRIED ONION, SALT, PEPPER, and BAY LEAF to your cooking vessel of choice (Instant Pot, soup pot, or dutch oven).

  Alternatively, you can wait to add the ham until the after the black eyed peas are fully cooked.

Instant Pot Method

• Secure the lid and set the pressure release valve to "Sealing." Select "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" on HIGH pressure for 12 minutes. Allow a 15-minute natural pressure release (NPR), then carefully turn the valve to "Venting" to release any remaining steam.

Stovetop Method

• Bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are softened to your liking.

Oven Method

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Cover the dutch oven and bake for 60 minutes, or until the beans have softened to your liking. Add more liquid if needed during cooking.

Serving and Storage

• Discard the BAY LEAF and remove the HAM HOCK. Shred any ham from the ham hock and return it to the beans. Taste and adjust SALT by adding more in small amounts as needed.

Storage

• Store leftovers in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 90 days (longer if vacuum-sealed).

Did you make this? We'd love your feedback!!Please rate and review it here or below ⤵️

Recipe Notes

If using canned or frozen black-eyed peas

Reduce broth by half and cut cooking time in half for all cooking methods listed above. You can always add more time, but you can't rescue overcooked beans.

Do you have to soak black-eyed peas?

It's not necessary to soak dried black-eyed peas, but soaking will reduce the cooking time by half using any method.

What if I already soaked my black-eyed peas?

Easy! Just cut the cooking time in half using any cooking method above.

What if black-eyed peas aren't soft enough after cooking?

This happens occasionally. Simply add more cook time until they're soft to your liking.

What should I serve with black-eyed peas?

Serve black-eyed peas with cornbread, French bread, greens, or salad.

FLAVOR ADD-INS

Ham bone: Add a ham hock or leftover ham bone from this spiral ham recipe. You can add a frozen ham hock without thawing first. Always remove the ham hock along with any gristle before serving.

Bacon: fry ½ pound of bacon and add to the cooked black-eyed peas before serving.

Sauteed onions: dice ½ medium onion and sauté with a tablespoon of olive oil at the beginning of the cook cycle.

Sauteed vegetables: collard greens, carrots, celery, or bell pepper will add texture, flavor, and nutrients to black-eyed peas.

Hot sauce or Tobasco: This adds a spicy kick to black-eyed peas.

Equipment

• colander to rinse black eyed peas
• measuring cups and spoons
• 6-quart Instant Pot for pressure cooker method
• 4.5-quart dutch oven for stove or oven method
• stirring utensil
• airtight storage container(s)

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 2.73g | Saturated Fat: 0.76g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.51g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.83g | Cholesterol: 19.8mg | Sodium: 1283mg | Potassium: 799mg | Fiber: 6.4g | Sugar: 5.91g | Vitamin A: 34IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 0.49mg

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

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