Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas
Perfect New Year’s Day Recipe!
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 a delicious bowl of black-eyed peas or black-eyed peas soup!
Featured Comment
This is a great recipe!! Easy Peasey! My first time cooking dried black-eyed peas in instant pot. Made these today for New Year good luck and it’s a keeper recipe for sure. Thank you for this yummy, easy version. Simple to customize to your taste. ~Michelle
Key Ingredients and Tips
Black-Eyed Peas – use dried black-eyed 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
Prep the Peas & Bacon:
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.
Sauté Bacon Until Fat Renders:
Set Instant Pot to Sauté (Normal). Add chopped bacon and cook, stirring, until most fat renders and edges are lightly crisp, 5-7 minutes. Make sure to cook until the fat is rendered, otherwise the bacon will turn soft/soggy during pressure cooking.
Soften Aromatics (Don’t Brown the Garlic):
Smash and mince garlic, stir in with the bacon and sauté just a few seconds until fragrant. Don’t cook it too long or it can turn bitter.
Load Peas & Seasonings:
Add the rinsed peas and stir. Pour in water and chicken stock, then add garlic powder, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper (go light on salt since bacon is salty). Stir to combine.
Pressure Cook 30 Minutes, Then Natural Release 10-15Min:
Close and latch the lid, set valve to “Seal,” and cook on High Pressure for 30 minutes (it will take a few minutes to come to pressure). When finished, natural release 10-15 minutes, then quick-release any remaining pressure.
Finish & Serve
Fluff peas with a spoon and serve. For extra creaminess/thickness, mash a few peas back into the pot as you stir.
Lyuba’s Expert Tip: You can 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.
Protein Variation (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.
Seasoning profiles (pick one):
- Cajun & Smoky: Add 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, ½ tsp smoked paprika, and a pinch of cayenne before pressure cooking. Finish with 1 Tbsp butter for gloss (optional).
- Herby Garlic-Thyme: Add 1 tsp dried thyme, 2 bay leaves, and 2 extra minced garlic cloves. Finish with 1-2 Tbsp chopped parsley.
Serving – my jalapeno cornbread would be fantastic with this black-eyed 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.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, there will be liquid left in the pot after the beans are done but that is actually a good thing. As you mix the beans, some will start to break and mix with the liquid, which will give the side dish a creamy consistency. If you don’t want your side to have too much liquid, you can also use a slotted spoon and strain off some of the liquid.
Keep in mind that many people do prefer the black-eyed peas to have some of this flavorful cooking liquid with the beans. When storing the cooked beans, store them with the liquids. They will be even better the next day.
If you soaked your black-eyed peas before cooking them, cut the cooking time by about half. Soaked black-eyed peas cook faster. Pressure cook on High for 12-15 minutes, then natural release 10 minutes. Texture check: 12 minutes – firmer, 15 minutes – very tender. Reduce the liquid by about 1 cup since they already absorbed some water while soaking.
No, the cooking time will not change if you double or half the recipe. The cooking time is determined by the size of the food and how long it takes to cook through not the amount of food.
Yes, scale all ingredients 1:1 and keep the pressure-cook time the same. Important safety note: don’t fill the Instant Pot above the 1/2 line for beans/legumes. If a double batch approaches that line, use a larger pot (8-qt) or cook in two rounds.
Frozen black-eyed peas do not require soaking, as opposed to dried. So treat them like already soaked beans and cook them for 10-15 minutes at high pressure and then do a natural release for 10-15 minutes. (Note that 10 minutes will yield slightly firmer black-eyed peas and 15 minutes will make them softer.)
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Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp olive or avocado oil
- 16 oz bacon
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 lb dry black-eyed peas (1 lb bag usually has 2-2 1/4 cups of peas)
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt to taste
- fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse peas and set them aside.
- Dice raw bacon into small pieces. Make sure your knife is sharp and bacon is cold to make it easier to cut.
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute and let it heat up. Add a little bit of oil to the bottom of the pot and add bacon. Saute bacon until browned.
- Smash and mince garlic and add it to the pot. Mix and let is sauté for a few seconds, until fragrant.
- Add peas to the pot and mix.
- Add 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.
- Let it do a natural release for 10-15 minutes.
- Fluff up peas and serve. You can also mix the black-eyed peas and mash a few as you mix to create creamier texture.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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.
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Categories:
Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Instant Pot Side Dishes, Most Popular Recipes, New Year's Eve Recipes, Side Dishes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Delicious! I have been cooking black eyed peas for years! This is the best I have found! I do not have a instapot, cooked it in a regular pot!
I’m so glad the recipe worked well on the stovetop! Thanks for taking the time to share and leave such a kind comment.
Yes, black eyed peas and collard greens are a traditional southern dish eaten as a ritual on New Year’s for prosperity. This is because black eyed peas are native to Africa, and were brought here by enslaved Africans and paired up with the collard greens. Collard greens are very nutrient dense, and grow well even in poor, sandy soil. This was a vital source of nourishment for slaves that were often given meager rations. The ritual of consuming collard greens as a representation of paper money, and black eyes peas as a symbol of coins arose in the mixing of these cultures.
In my home, one with an African American father from the south and a mother from German and Swedish heritage, our pot was a mix of black eyed peas, sauerkraut and pork, and collards were served separately.
I plan to use my instant pot this time to make my peas, thanks for posting this recipe!
Your New Year’s spread sounds incredible, and I hope the Instant Pot makes the peas even easier this time around. Thank you again for reading, cooking, and for such a thoughtful comment. Happy New Year to you and your family!
What a great recipe! These turned out so delicious. We just loved them. Perfect flavor.
I am so happy to hear you like the recipe!
If i use two pounds of Black-Eyed Peas, how much liquid should I add to the instant pot? This is my first time making this recipe and I assume doubling the liquid contents would be too much.
Hi Molly,
I am so sorry I am just seeing your comment for some reason, next time message me on Facebook so I can respond quicker. You would double the recipe including the liquid.
This is a great recipe!! Easy Peasey! My first time cooking dried black eyed peas in instant pot. Made these today for New Year good luck and it’s a keeper recipe for sure. Thank you for this yummy, easy version. Simple to customize to your taste.
I am so glad it turned out well for you!
So delicious! We love them just like this. No onion, no garlic. Great for a chili night with cornbread! One of our favorites.❣️
I am so happy you liked the recipe! 🙂
so easy and delicious!
i toss a couple of smoked turkey parts (neck, wing, drumstick… pick your poison) in place of the bacon… 🤌🏾
Yum! I am sure that is good!
Delicious. My family loved them and it was easy! I only used 5 slices of bacon.
So glad you liked it, Sara!
Excellent, my family loved it with ham, and cornbread. So easy , delicious!
So glad it was a hit, Lynn!
Served with diced white onion either over rice or cauliflower rice.
Used 2 1/4 cups of soaked peas
3 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of water
One of air fry Turkey wing
Saute in 3 tsp of fat
After cooking too soupy, cook down until a bit thicker about 10 minutes much better
Do you know how to adjust the cook time with soaked peas?
Hi Nick,
If you can keep the same cooking time, the beans will be quite soft. If you don’t want that, cut the cooking time to about 15 minutes.
Simple and tasty. They taste just like the ones my Mom I used to make. Will make again.
Thanks, Chris! I am glad you liked it!
Entire family loved it! Easy too! I only put 3 slices of bacon and it was perfect
Glad you liked it, Kisa! Thanks for stopping by!
Recipe was easy, and super delicious!
Thank you, Natalie! Glad you liked it!
Good, Quick and EASY
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Has anyone tried this with frozen black eyed peas? I have some in the freezer to make and can’t seem to find any recipes using frozen. TIA
Hi Sara,
It’s to my understanding frozen blacked eyed peas are already cooked, so you wouldn’t need to use the instant pot. I would recommend cooking them on the stove for less time.