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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
Instant Pot Collard Greens
Instant Pot Pork Carnitas
Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans
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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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This black eye pea recipe was absolutely delish. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The best part is I could make in my instant pot. Such a time saver. I love the symbolism that goes along with the food. Definitely going to be a new New Year tradition.
The one ingredient I added was 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke which added to the Smokey flavor from the ham hocks and bacon.
Hat’s off to you! I am from the South and didn’t have time to cook my Black Eyed Peas for hours today for New Years Day, so I found your recipe and decided to try it. I can say these are the most delicious Black Eyed Peas I’ve ever had (and I’m a pretty good Southern cook!) Even my whole family mentioned how tasty they were! And because it was so quick and easy, I can even make these as a regular side dish any other time of the year as well! Thank you from Alabama!
That’s so great! Happy New Year!
First thing this was my second dish using the instant pot, That being said it was the best version of blackeyed peas and ham. The recipe was so easy to follow and was wonderfully surprised with how good this turned out. I would not change a thing! My husband ranted and raved all throughout the meal. Thank you!
I’m so happy to know you both enjoyed it! Here’s to a much better year!
I used the bottom end of my Christmas spiral ham to cook with the black-eyed peas; everything else was the same. Best New Year’s meal we’ve had in a long time. Great recipe!!
I’m new to instant pot cooking. I’ve had many fails with it. This recipe was the most perfect that I’ve done. I was a little nervous to try it on a life-long tradition such as New Years black eyed peas. Thank you! This is the recipe that I will be using from now on! Have a Happy New Year!
So good!!! I forgot to soak my black eyed peas and this recipe saved New Years 🙂 Absolutely delicious as is!
Delicious! I followed your instructions for the Southern BEP version, omitting the thick sliced bacon. My husband is not a black-eyed pea fan and he LOVED them. I didn’t add any salt at all. this will be my go-to recipe from now on. Thank you for sharing and happy New Year!
My husband and I agree, this recipe is delicious!
I’ve probably made this 15 times by now, and every time it’s delicious. I always add collards. The only change I make is cutting back a bit on the salt. I also increased the cooking time to soften the beans a bit more. Usually I end up boiling off some of the extra liquid at the end. My wife and I usually get 2 meals out of every batch. Thanks so much for this great recipe!
Thank you for a great recipe. I have tried other Instant Pot recipes for black eye peas, but they never lived up to my “old fashioned sit on the stove for several hours” tried and true recipe. My modifications to your recipe were 1) using smoked turkey instead of the ham hocks and bacon (because that’s what I had), 2) adding 1 celery stalk, 1 green pepper, 2 carrots (all rough chopped) and 3) an additional 1/2 cup of water due to the additional vegetables. I think I could have gotten away without the additional 1/2 cup.
Now I need time to delve into your other recipes for the instant pot!
Super simple basic ingredients awesome