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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Wendy
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.
Sandy
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.
Pocahontas
Good seasonings. Had to cook an additional 15 minutes
Laurie
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!
Silverly
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!!!!!
Liz
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!
Diane
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.
Blair
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!
Gayle
Do I need to double the broth amount when using a whole bag of BEP?
Sandy
Yes, if you are using double the beans, the double the liquid. You may need to increase the seasoning as well.
Lynette Lazenby
Made this tonight to bring good luck. I didn’t change a thing and I’m glad I didn’t. Delish!!