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!
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
- Place the inner pot in the Instant Pot base and plug in the unit.
- Add BLACK-EYED PEAS, DRIED ONION, SALT, PEPPER, BAY LEAF, CHICKEN BROTH (or water), and DICED HAM to the Instant Pot.
- 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.
- 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
- 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).
- Cook over high heat until it reaches a rolling boil for about 5 minutes.
- 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
- Preheat oven to 375°
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
Instant Pot Black Beans and Instant Pot Chickpeas are both efficient ways to pressure cook beans for multiple uses.
Black Eyed Peas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb Dried Black Eyed Peas, *see footnote about using canned or frozen beans
- 7 cups Chicken Broth, or water
- ½ lb Ham, or ham hock (can be used frozen)
- ¼ cup Dried Onion Flakes, or 1/2 large onion diced
- ½ tsp Sea Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Bay Leaf
RECIPE VIDEO
Instructions
- Sort and rinse the beans to remove any unwanted particles.
How to cook black eyed peas in the Instant Pot
- Stir together DRIED BLACK EYED PEAS, BROTH, HAM and/or HAM HOCK, DRIED ONION, SALT, PEPPER, and BAY LEAF in the Instant Pot.
- Secure lid and turn the pressure release valve to "Sealing" position. Select "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" on HIGH pressure for 12 minutes.
- When cook cycle completes, allow the cooker to sit undisturbed for a 10 or 15 minute natural pressure release (NPR).
- Carefully turn the pressure release valve to the "Venting" position to release any remaining steam. Skip below to serving instructions.
How to cook black eyed peas on the stove
- In a 3-quart, heavy soup pot, combine DRIED BLACK EYED PEAS, BROTH, HAM and/or HAM HOCK, DRIED ONION, SALT, PEPPER, and BAY LEAF.
- Bring everything to a boil for 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer the black eyed peas 30-45 minutes, or until beans have softened to your liking, stirring as needed. Skip below to serving instructions.
How to cook black eyed peas in the oven
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a 3-quart dutch oven, combine DRIED BLACK EYED PEAS, BROTH, HAM and/or HAM HOCK, DRIED ONION, SALT, PEPPER, and BAY LEAF.
- Cover and bake for 60 minutes. For softer beans, add small amounts of liquid and more time in the oven as needed.
Serving and storage
- Discard the bay leaf and remove the ham hock along with any bone or gristle that may have fallen off. Feel free to remove ham from the hock and add it back to the beans.
- To store, allow to cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days or freeze up to 90 days.
Recipe Notes from TKG
- Ham hock: add a ham hock or ham shank to this recipe. You can add a frozen ham hock without thawing first. Always remove ham hock and gristle before serving.
- Bacon: fry 1/2 lb of bacon slices and add to the cooked black eyed peas before serving.
- Sauteed onions: dice 1/2 medium onion and sauté with 2 Tbsp olive oil at the beginning of the cook cycle.
- Other sauteed vegetables: diced carrots, celery, and bell pepper will add texture, flavor, and nutrients to black eyed peas.
- Hot sauce or Tobasco: serve black eyed peas with your favorite spicy condiments.
Nutrition
Nutrition data provided as courtesy estimates using unbranded ingredients from a nutrition database. Please consult preferred resource for precise data.
Myrna says
Traci, this is a great recipe. The cook time was perfect which is sometimes challenging with beans/legumes in the Instant Pot. I took some of your ideas and uses the sauté option to sauté 1 diced jalapeño, 1/2 an onion, garlic, and turkey bacon. The peas came out perfect and flavorful. I’ll never make them on the stove again.
The Kitchen Girl says
Yayy! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 Yes, black eyed peas are so easy and I love your flavor add-ins. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback. I appreciate it!
RiRi says
I tried this recipe in the Insta Pot with a few tweaks. I sautéed the ham with chopped onions, I also added garlic powder, coriander and a teaspoon of garam marsala. I only used 1 cup of black eyed peas. It turned out delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
The Kitchen Girl says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback 🙂
Nanette says
Your blackeyed pea recipe for the stove was awesome! It was easy & the peas were perfectly cooked. The only change I made was to use two smoked turkey necks instead of ham since my hubby does not eat pork. A keeper recipe. Thank you so much!
The Kitchen Girl says
Yayyy Nanette! So glad to hear it! Yes...smoked turkey works wonders in black eyed peas. Glad you enjoyed this recipe and Happy New Year
John Cam says
I haven't tried your recipe yet, but it sounds almost exactly the way I cook BEP, the way my Mom taught me 50 years ago (or so). We frequently had peas or pinto beans when I was growing up, and Mom never soaked either one, and they always turned out delicious. Thank you for dispelling the myth that soaking is necessary!
The Kitchen Girl says
Awww you're so welcome, John 🙂 And I love hearing that you were taught that way...I lovvvve pinto beans like these too! My fav way to cook pintos ... in the oven! Thanks for the feedback and have yourself a happy new year!!!
Al says
I make this black eyed peas recipe every new year. It's delicious, reliable, and couldn't be easier. Thanks for always keeping things easy for me in the kitchen! Happy New Year, KG!
The Kitchen Girl says
Awesome, Al! So glad you are among the many who enjoy the black eyed peas New Year tradition 🙂 Its' one of my favs! Thanks for the feedback
MARY L MAILLOUX says
I made these from beans we grew this year in the garden and threw them together in minutes and used about 6 slices of bacon instead. Had to add more liquid but the taste was DIVINE! Ate them over brown rice and was FANTASTIC flavor! Saved this for more beans over the winter. Will be trying this using other kinds of beans we have!
The Kitchen Girl says
Awesome, Mary! I'm so glad to hear it and happy to inspire your black eyed peas dinner 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to let me know
Natasha says
Thank you for this recipe. I followed your stovetop method and they turned out delicious and took less then an hour.
The Kitchen Girl says
Awesome, Natasha! Glad you enjoyed them...and they are so quick for beans 🙂
Rosalee says
I fixed them stove top in an enamel coated cast iron sauce pan, large.
I used 1/2cup with a 10oz can of chicken broth and McCormick garlic/herb mix (no salt).
I watched them carefully after they began to simmer and had to add abit more liquid (water only).
They were finished in an hour.
I set them aside while I fixed a large mixed green salad to accompany them. I also
served the peas with a slice of blueberry corn bread.
What a marvelous lunch
They were amazing.
So delicious and so simple to fix.
Traci Antonovich says
So glad to hear it Rosalee! Yep, stove method is great too for these. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience...much appreciated! 🙂