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Southern Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas is a delicious, good old fashioned dish that is popular for New Year’s Day feasts. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s is a tradition, and is said to be lucky. Make a pot of pressure cooker black-eyed peas to ring in the New Year, or any time you want a super flavorful meal!
Southern Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is said to bring good luck. The swelling of the peas signifies prosperity. Cooked with pork, because pigs root forward, and served with greens, symbolizing money.
My Number 1 piece of advice for the BEST tasting Instant pot Southern Black-Eyed Peas is to make sure your ham hock (or whatever meat you use) is SMOKED.
The smoky flavor makes all the difference in the amazing flavor of this recipe!
do I need to Soak the black-eyed peas before cooking them?
No you don’t. These will cook pretty fast, so no soaking needed (but do rinse them well first).
If you do soak them, or use canned black-eyed peas, you can cut the cook time in half, though the ham hock will not get soft enough in that short amount of time.
I would start the ham hock cooking in some water, about 10 minutes, then cook the rest of the dish, adding the ham hock back in.
This is how my mom made black-eyed peas, and I love them!
Southern pressure cooker Black Eyed Peas can be made any time of the year. They are so delicious!
Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas
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If you make this delicious Southern pressure cooker black-eyed peas recipe, please leave me a comment and a star rating below. I would like to know how you liked them!
Southern Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 large Onion, chopped
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 6 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 lb Dry Black-Eyed Peas (rinsed & sorted)
- 1 lb Smoked Ham Hock (make sure it is smoked, for best flavor)
- 4 slices Thick Cut Smoky Bacon (chopped, uncooked)
- 5 cups Water
- 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Ham Base (or Chicken. Low sodium)
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
Sauté the Aromatics
- Turn on the Sauté setting. When hot, add the oil and the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to turn translucent.1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, 1 large Onion,
- Add the bay leaves and the garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for 20 seconds.2 Bay Leaves, 6 cloves Garlic,
- Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Cancel the sauté setting.1 lb Dry Black-Eyed Peas, 1 lb Smoked Ham Hock, 4 slices Thick Cut Smoky Bacon, 5 cups Water, 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Ham Base, ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Pressure Cook
- Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button, and then the +/- button to select 16 minutes. High Pressure. Press Start if needed. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
Natural Release
- When the cook cycle has finished, turn off the pot and let it sit undisturbed for a 15 minute natural release. Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to release the remaining pressure.
- When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid.
Finish and Serve
- Remove the bay leaves and discard. Then remove the ham hocks and get the meat off of the bones. Add the meat back into the pot.
- Taste and add a little salt, if needed.
- Serve alongside some cornbread. You can also serve over rice for a Hoppin' John style meal.
Notes
- This recipe can be made in a 3 qt by reducing ingredients by 1/3. Keep the cook time the same.
- This can be a "Dump and Start" recipe if you don't want to do the sautéing steps.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hello Sandy, I’ve been using your recipe as the guide to my own recipe, and it turns out perfect every time. I do like to soak my beans in a salt water brine over night, so (per your instructions) I cooked my smoked ham shank the first half of the allotted time before adding my beans. Timing was perfect! Thank you for sharing your talents!
AWESOME!!!! I soaked the peas and cooked the ham hock separately; I then used the “hock water” as part of the 5 cups of water.
Followed directions and added 2 carrots and two ribs of celery.
Everyone loved it.
These black eyed peas turned out fabulously! The only alteration I made was swapping out the Better than Buillon to their roasted garlic flavor instead of their ham or chicken varieties. Oh, and I also added a tsp of cayenne pepper to heat things up a bit. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Great recipe! We loved it.
I made the Southern style Black Eyed Peas for New Year’s Eve, delicious.
I’ve made this multiple times for my husband for New Year’s, he’s a southern boy.
He was amazed how fast it cooked in the instant pot and how delicious it was.
It’s a family favorite for sure.
I used smoked pork neck instead of hocks, since my husband and I like it more meaty