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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.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas Recipe and More
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I am not usually a fan of black eyed peas but my 20 year old son loves them and begged me to make some. I found this recipe and my son raves about it and so I tried it too. It was awesome.. so much so I’ve had to make it for him ( double) batch “2” more times… he can’t get enough… and my S/O also.
I’d like to try the next batch w chicken. Definitely 5 stars and goes in my Thumbs up file!
Best Black-Eyed peas ever….I did add a can of diced tomatoes, but other than that exact! I always considered myself to be an expert on Black-Eyed peas, but these blew me away! At New Years, we always serve with fresh cilantro, fresh flour tortillas, and cabbage rolls. These are the bomb!
This recipe is fantastic! I didn’t have collard greens or jalapeño so didn’t use. Used regular paprika. I didn’t have a ham hock either so I used extra bacon and sautéed it with the veggies. I grew up having Black-Eyed Peas with salt pork but it’s hard to find now. I added fresh chopped Roma tomatoes. It was a little thin so I hand blended a portion to increase texture.
Seriously, this is crazy delicious over rice!
Next time I make it I think I’ll add smoked sausage.
This is a winner! Worthy of SIX stars.
I love smoked paprika, but not in this recipe. I want to taste the black eyed peas and ham hock when I make this meal. I left out the jalapenos, and I should have gone with my gut feeling and left out the paprika. SMOKED PAPRIKA OVERLOAD!!!
Thank you for the recipe! This was our first time cooking black eyed peas. I asked for split peas and my husband couldn’t find them. Worked great in the instant pot on dark, rainy day.
Hi there,
I want to make this but only hand canned black eyed peas, how do I adjust liquid and cooking time?
Thank you
Reduce the time to about 4 minutes.
This was the best black eyed peas my family has ever had! We loved them so much, we will be eating them more often, rather than once a year!
My family loved this recipe. I would rate it a 5 but would not allow me. I purchased smoked pork pieces and boiled them to generate a nice pork stock and use the meat in the soup. I also put one potato to be used after the cooking. I cooked 4 strips of bacon on the stove to get the crispiness. i cooked the soup 3 minutes longer. Once the soup is complete, I mash the potato with the juices from the soup and added it to the soup to make it more creamier. Next time i will use cabbage instead of collard greens. A little different approach.
The best black-eyed peas ever! And so easy. I didn’t have a ham hock so diced up a ham steak and omitted the bacon. Directions were perfectly clear and worked like a charm.
I can’t get the star rating to work, but these are a 5 star! My family loves my black eyed peas and I just got my first Instant Pot for Christmas; I was looking for a recipe that had similar flavors to what I make. I hate having to soak my peas because I never remember to do it in time and when I use the quick soak method, they usually burst. The peas came out just right with your recipe. I cooked mine the full 17 minutes and they were perfectly cooked; but not too mushy. I didn’t have smoked paprika so I had to use regular. I can imagine what a nice smoky flavor the smoked paprika would’ve given this recipe. We also skipped the jalapeño because not everyone in my family likes spice; but I’m definitely going to try it next time I make for just my husband and myself. I love cooking with dried beans, but don’t do it often because of the time it takes. With my Instant Pot, I’ll be able to make homemade beans anytime! Thanks for the recipe.