Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

I’ve spent years perfecting this recipe to ensure the black-eyed peas come out tender and flavorful every time. This simple, no-soak method is a go-to in my kitchen, because like so many other people, I always forget to soak them! So, thanks to the pressure cooker, you can have perfectly tender black eyed peas with tons of bacon flavor ready in under an hour.

If you’re not familiar with the Southern tradition, it’s believed to be good luck to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day. Some people believe that black eyed peas symbolize coins, so eating them on the first day of the year can bring forth financial prosperity for the days to come.

Whether it’s all true or not, I’m not sure… What I do know is that you certainly don’t have to twist my arm when it comes to eating this side dish!

Key Ingredients and Tips

Black Eyed Peas – use dried black eyes peas and make sure to rinse them first. No need to soak them though!

Chicken Stock – Store-bought stock will works well, I would just recommend you get “low sodium” or “no salt added” to have full control over saltiness of the dish. Plus, bacon is already quite salty. You can also use homemade chicken stock for the best flavor.

Bacon – I like to use regular pork bacon for the best flavor. It releases a good amount of fat while cooking, which flavors the rest of the dish. However, you can certainly use turkey bacon if you’d prefer but note the flavor will not be the same.

Garlic – fresh garlic cloves add the very best flavor to this dish. Together with some garlic powder, you will get the best aroma and garlic flavor.

Can You Cook Dry Black-Eyed Peas Without Soaking?

Yes! This is what my recipe is all about. While it is believed that soaking the beans first will improve their texture by making them more tender, creamy, and easier to digest. It also shortens cook time by several hours. Personally, I haven’t noticed too much difference in tenderness, but in cook time.

Over the years, I’ve forgotten a few times to soak beans, or peas, or lentils before cooking them. It has not affected my final result with more cooking time.

Although, in this recipe, that doesn’t really matter! Why? Pressure cooker shortens hours of time and yields wonderfully tender results.

How to Make Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

Rinse peas under cold running water to wash away possible debris and set them aside. Dice raw bacon while it’s still cold into small pieces.

Lyuba’s Expert Tip: Make sure your knife is sharp and bacon is cold to make it easier to cut. 

Turn Instant Pot to sauté and let it heat up. Add a little bit of oil to the bottom of the pot and add bacon. Sauté bacon until browned and all the fat is rendered. If the fat is not all rendered, it will get soft and soggy while cooking and that will be unpleasant.

Smash and mince garlic and add it to the pot. Mix and let it sauté for a few seconds, until fragrant. Don’t sauté garlic too long or it could get bitter.

Add peas to the pot and mix.

Pour in water, chicken stock, garlic powder, some salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. Don’t add too much salt since bacon is salty!

Stir and close the lid and make sure it’s latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure cook mode for 30 minutes. Remember, it will take the pressure cooker a few minutes to build up the pressure and start cooking.

When done, let it do a natural release for 10-15 minutes and then open the valve to release the remaining pressure. Fluff up peas with a spoon and serve.

Lyuba’s Expert Tip: You can also mash a few peas using a wooden spoon as you mix them to create a creamier, thicker consistency.

Storing and Reheating

Make sure to cool the black eyed peas before you store them. Store them in an airtight food storage container, in the refrigerator, for 4-5 days. Store them with the liquids they were cooked with! This will help with reheating.

Reheat in a pot on stove-top over medium heat or for a few seconds in the microwave.

Keep in mind that you can easily freeze cooked black eyed peas.

Variations, Serving Suggestions, and Tips

Add some vegetables – You can keep this dish simple or add some veggies! You can choose some onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, bell peppers, and/or collard greens to add some more flavor to the beans. To do that, sauté the veggies with the bacon, when bacon is about half way done, and then proceed with adding beans and finishing as the recipe suggests.

Ham or turkey – you can add some diced ham or some leftover turkey meat in addition to or instead of the bacon. It’s a great way to use up leftover holiday ham and turkey.

Make it vegan – simply omit the bacon and use vegetable broth.

Serving – my jalapeno cornbread would be fantastic with this black eye peas recipe! You can also use simple buttermilk cornbread or buttermilk biscuits. This is a great side dish for pork main dishes like beef chili, pork loin and BBQ pulled pork.

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Enjoy More Instant Pot Recipes

I love making beans in an Instant Pot because it’s always so fast and tender, much like my Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup and Instant Pot Split Pea Soup!

You can also make many main dishes in the pressure cooker like Beef Stew In Instant Pot and Instant Pot Spaghetti.

Soups are also great and fast in an Instant pot like Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup and Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup.

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in December, 2018.