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Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas are so delicious, and they are a fast cooking bean! Don’t even bother soaking them, just season them with great ingredients, and have a fortuitous bowl of good-luck-bringing, pressure cooked black-eyed peas. Don’t forget the collard greens, this recipe has them as a tasty option! Make pressure cooker black eyed peas and Steam in the New Year!
Originally published 12/29/2017
Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas
A long held tradition in the Southern United States is eating black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year’s Day for good luck. The more black-eyed peas you eat, the more luck you will have.
The peas (actually beans) swell when cooked, so they symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion (according to Wikipedia).
This tradition is very popular, and black-eyed peas appear in recipes such as Cowboy Caviar in Texas, to Hoppin’ John in Alabama, to Peas with Ham up in North Carolina (according to Southern Living).
The Black-Eyed Peas are usually cooked with some kind of pork, for flavor, and though I was told that a good Southerner does not cook collard greens with the black-eyed peas, I did anyway. I’m from Seattle (Mom from the South).
This Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas recipe is fast cooking, for a dry beans recipe, so it makes sense, and tastes great, to cook the collards with the beans. However, if you do not like that method, I have a fabulous Instant Pot Collard Greens recipe that you can make separately!
If you like a more traditional version of black-eyed peas, try my Southern Black-Eyed Peas recipe
Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas with Collard Greens (or without) are a delicious meal to enjoy any time of the year!
This has been a fun and also challenging year for me, and I’m curious to see what the next year will bring!
I want to thank you all for reading my blog posts, trying my recipes, and supporting Simply Happy Foodie in this first couple of years of being an official food recipe blog. If you ever have ideas or requests, please reach out to me. You can find me on Facebook, Pinterest, or leave me a comment here.
Happy New Year!
Southern Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
Instant Pot Collard Greens
Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup
Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice with Sausage
Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
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If you make this amazing pressure cooker black-eyed peas recipe, please leave a comment with a star rating below. I’d love to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 small Onion, chopped
- 2 Celery Ribs (Stalks), diced
- 1 Bell Pepper, red or green
- 2 small Bay Leaves
- 2 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried
- 3 tsp Smoked Paprika
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Coarse Salt, or 3/4 tsp table salt
- 4 cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 Jalapeño Pepper, seeded and diced small
- 3 ½ cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1-2 slices Bacon, chopped
- 1 small Ham Hock (or meaty ham bone)
- 1 ¼ cups Black-Eyed Peas, dry*
- 2 cups Collard Greens, (optional) chopped in 2" pieces
Instructions
- Turn the pressure cooker on to the Sauté function. When the display reads Hot, add the oil.
- Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper, and bay leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to turn translucent.
- Add the thyme, smoked paprika, pepper, and salt. Stir.
- Add the garlic and jalapeño. Cook for about 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Add the broth, balsamic vinegar, bacon, and ham hock.
- Stir in the black-eyed peas, and collard greens, if using.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker, locking it in place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. Cancel the Sauté function.
- Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button (or dial) and use the + or - button (or dial) to select 17 minutes (for firmer beans choose 14 minutes). High Pressure.
- When the cooking cycle has ended and the pot beeps, let it sit undisturbed for 15 minutes (15 minute Natural Release), then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to release the remaining steam/pressure.
- When the pin in the lid drops down, open it and give the contents a stir. Discard bay leaves and ham hock (the ham hock won't be tender, it is for flavor, but if you can get some meat off of it, add it to the pot!).
- Serve over rice for a Hoppin' John, or as is. Enjoy with cornbread to sop up that yummy broth! Happy New Year! Or, any time of year!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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We looooove this recipe. Make it every year. This year I couldn’t find dried black eyed peas, just fresh, which I’m excited about, but I need some tips on how to cook this same recipe, get the same intense flavors, but without the pressure. Any ideas? Any one used the same ingredients list with fresh peas?
Thanks! HNY!
You can reduce the cook time by a few minutes. Maybe reduce the liquid a little. Add more if you think it needs it.
I made this today and just finished my first serving with cornbread, and it is amazing. I appreciate your step-by-step directions. It helps me a lot. I took half of it out before adding the meat for as I won’t be eating meats in the next few days, but I can still enjoy this flavorful goodness.
Tried this recipe and loved it. Cooked my peas a few minutes longer.
These were the most amazing black eyed peas I have ever eaten! Thanks for the great recipe and step-by-step instructions.
I got home from work late and didn’t think I would have time to make traditional black eyed peas and greens for new years – this recipe is better than what I was going to make and came together so fast. I substituted 6 oz of salt pork since the store was out of ham hocks. Delicious!
This is a great recipe; especially if you don’t like traditional black eyed pea recipes and my family prefers this one over all others. I leave out the bacon and ham hock. In place I use good quality ham that I cut into cubes. I’ve made it dozens of times and it always comes out delicious. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I’m so happy you like this version! I wanted something different, so I came up with this, which my family also prefers!
Holy cow! These beans are awesome! I grew up in the Deep South and this recipe is leagues beyond any black-eyed dish I’ve ever had.
Truly extraordinary.
Should I soak the beans first and for how long
No need to soak them
Where are the peas? I started making this before I noticed the small quantity of peas. I proceeded anyway. When it was done it was very loose. I’m going to cook up a batch of plain black eyed peas and add them.
It is 1 1/4 cups. Look towards the bottom of the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in the order of adding them to the recipe.
Good seasonings. Had to cook an additional 15 minutes
Sandy, this was absolutely delish! I doubled the recipe in total and ended up using 2 full cartons of broth – which was perfect. I’m Southern, but I do not like collard greens, so I added 4 cups of kale. No ham hocks could be found, so I added 8oz of cubed all natural humanely raised ham. I did not increase the cooking time.
I love beans, so I’m going to try this with navy beans and maybe pintos as well.
Thank you!
I received an instant pot for Christmas and this was the FIRST recipe I chose due to the New Years tradition. WOW! Not only was this absolutely delicious, please note I followed it EXACTLY, but your instructions were perfect!!! I was intimidated by this pot as I am an old school crockpot gal, however that old thing will now be retired! I cannot believe I was able to create such an amazing dish in such a short amount of time!! I cannot thank you enough for sharing! I will be making this again soon! Now on to searching your other recipes!!! DELICIOUS!!!!!
I love this recipe! I used 3 cups black eyed peas (soaked overnight), added 2 extra cups water, a little bit knorr chicken flavor and only small chunks bacon ends i had…. 7 minutes and done. So delish!
This recipe is delicious and I originally learned from a good southern cook. My husband loved it and I didn’t change a thing. It doesn’t need it. Tons of flavor and with bisquits and ham it is a meal in itself.
Best black eyed peas that either of us have ever had! I couldn’t spoon this into my mouth quick enough!
I used spinach instead of collard greens and didn’t have a bell pepper on hand. I also sautéed the bacon with the onion.
This recipe deserves to be made year round, not just on New Years. Thanks for sharing!
Do I need to double the broth amount when using a whole bag of BEP?
Yes, if you are using double the beans, the double the liquid. You may need to increase the seasoning as well.