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 are so delicious, and they are a fast cooking bean! Don't even bother soaking them, just season them with great ingredients. Don't forget the collard greens, this recipe has them as a tasty option!
- 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 ½ tsp dried
- 3 tsp Smoked Paprika
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Coarse Salt, or ¾ 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
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Turn the pressure cooker on to the Sauté function. When the display reads Hot, add the oil.
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Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper, and bay leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to turn translucent.
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Add the thyme, smoked paprika, pepper, and salt. Stir.
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Add the garlic and jalapeño. Cook for about 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
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Add the broth, balsamic vinegar, bacon, and ham hock.
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Stir in the black-eyed peas, and collard greens, if using.
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Place the lid on the pressure cooker, locking it in place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. Cancel the Sauté function.
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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.
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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.
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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!).
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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!
*If you soaked the Black-Eyed Peas, reduce the cook time by about half. You can always add time if you need to.
This recipe doubles nicely. Don't double the cooking time.
If you want a more traditional black-eyed peas recipe, Try my Instant Pot Southern Black-Eyed Peas recipe.
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Winn L.
This is awesome! I did make a few changes because I was trying to clean out the freezer. But I have an abundance of black eyed peas and plenty of freshly harvested collard greens.
I made half a recipe. From the freezer ...I used 1/2 cup leftover bulk Italian sausage, very small smoked ham bone smoked turkey wing bone, From the pantry I added big pinch of quinoa and 1/4 cup toasted buckwheat for bulk. I used 1/4 tsp of dried grounded home grown blend of very spicy chilis (birds eye, habanero, Hawaiian and pequin). It was way spicy! I used plain paprika. Hahahaha. It was delicious!!!
Marsha
Wow, this recipe for black eyed peas is THE BEST! In fact, it was so good I am making it a week later to share with my neighbor. I used chopped ham instead of a smoked ham hock as that is what I had on hand; otherwise, everything else was according to the recipe including the collard greens. It was so delicious and even more so 3 days later. My husband also loved it. Than you!
Tee
This is my second time using the recipe, my family absolutely love the black eye peas!
Toby
I have now made this recipe three time.. Didn't change a thing. Perfection! The only way I will make black eyes in the future!
Al
This the second time I have made this recipe. On a scale of 1 to 10 this is easily a 20. HOLY COW!!!!!
I cannot stop eating this!!!!!!!
This recipe is now in my permanent file ..... Fantastic!!!
Carolyn
Hi, I just wanted to say that these were absolutely delicious! The recipe was clearly written and easy to follow. My family totally enjoyed the black eyed peas. The dish was delicious and I will definitely be making it again. Thank you so much for taking the time to put it out there.
Donna
Amazing! I never made black-eyed peas before, this recipe was excellent and easy to follow. I didn't have a couple of minor ingredients, but included some pork jowl (which I was also cooking for the first time and added in my own ideas. I had soaked the peas overnight so I cooked them for a shorter time. When they were finished there was too much liquid (for what i wanted) so I put the pot on saute and cooked it down. Delicious! My husband is not really a fan of beans, but he ate the last two servings over the next day or two. I will definitely use this recipe again and will make sure I have all the ingredients next time
Sandy
Great! Yes, if you soak the beans you will need to reduce the liquid a bit.
Jayna Whiddon
I made these black eyed peas for New Years Day. They were incredible. The recipe was easy to follow. This was the second recipe I cooked in my new Instant Pot. These peas made me fall in the love with my new toy. Thank you for such a great recipe.