It's Southern tradition to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's, but in our family we eat them all year round. My favorite way to cook them is in the Instant Pot. Being able to skip the soaking step is a big plus, but I also think the peas have a better texture when cooked under pressure.
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Black-Eyed Peas in the Instant Pot
Here's a quick rundown of steps so you can see how easy it is.
- Use the Instant Pot's sauté mode to cook a few slices of bacon with some onions, celery and peppers.
- Add rinsed peas, broth and spices, then cover and pressure cook for only 12 minutes with a quick release of 15 minutes. If you like softer beans you can cook them for 15 minutes and do a 15/15 but I like a 12/15.
- Remove lid, drain and save the liquid and remove the spent bacon.
- Serve beans alone or make some rice with the smoky bean broth and serve your beans over rice Hoppin' John style!
Black-Eyed Peas Seasonings
Consider my recipe a basic template because there are so many ways to season black-eyed peas. Growing up, my family used minimal spices because my dad liked the earthy flavor of the peas. We're smoked paprika fiends, so of course I use it in the Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas. The bacon just adds more smokey flavor, but I take it out before serving because it tends to get soggy. If you want some meat in your peas, use country ham. It's like bacon in ham form.
Flavorful Smoky Broth
The leftover 2 cups of flavorful liquid is such a culinary gift, and the best way to use it is for rice. Refrigerate overnight, skim the fat if you like and use it in place of water with your favorite type of rice. We use basmati, which I also cook in the Instant Pot. I use 1 cup of liquid, 1 cup of long grain basmati, cook for 6 minutes and slow release for 10. The rice is perfect every time. If there are leftover black-eyed peas, they might get served on top.
Recipe
Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 slices bacon
- 1 small onion (5 oz), diced (about a cup) (140 grams)
- ⅔ cup diced bell pepper (green or use different colors) (114 grams)
- 2 large celery ribs, diced (about ½ cup)
- 1 cup black-eyed peas, rinsed
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons minced garlic or 1 tsp powder
- 2 medium bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper adjust to taste
- 3 cups Swanson vegetable broth (full sodium) or use a low sodium broth and add salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon each white pepper and ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Set the instant pot to Sauté/High. When the pot is hot, add the oil, then add the bacon slices (don't chop), onions, peppers and celery and saute for about 5 minutes.
- Hit the Off button. Add the rinsed raw black-eyed peas, all the spices and the broth. Close the Instant pot and set the valve to the middle to seal.
- Set the instant pot for 12 minutes (manual, 12, manual)
- When cook time is complete, do a slow release for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn valve and let steam escape.
- Remove lid and stir. Remove bacon and drain and save the liquid.
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