Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

If you’re looking for a delicious and easy way to cook black-eyed peas, look no further than your Instant Pot! This handy pressure cooker can cook black-eyed peas into a tender part of your meal quickly and easily. Enjoy this Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas recipe for your New Years Day or as a side dish next to any protein. 

Black-eyed peas are a type of legume that is often eaten on New Year’s Day in order to bring good luck for the coming year. They have a nutty flavor and have lots of fiber and nutrients.

There are many different ways to cook black-eyed peas, but the instant pot is a great option because it is quick and easy.  Pressure cookers have come a long way since the days of your grandmother’s old-fashioned pressure cooker. The instant pot is a modern pressure cooker that can cook food to perfection in a fraction of the time.

To make traditional southern style black-eyed peas cooked in the instant pot, simply add some black-eyed peas to your pressure, along with water or broth and some seasonings, and some bacon and ham hock for an extra smoky flavor. Set the pressure and the instant pot does all the work!

You can make this recipe without the meat to make it vegetarian.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Black eyed peas in the instant pot are perfect for winter meals or for good luck at a New Years Day dinner on January 1st. 
• There is no need to soak the peas which saves you time.
• The instant pot makes cooking black eyed peas easy as the pressure perfectly cooks the beans in under one hour without needing to watch the pot.

What You’ll Need

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Helps cook down the vegetables and release their flavor.
• Garlic & Onion –  Garlic and onion are two flavorful ingredients that add depth of flavor to the cooked beans.
• Celery –  Adds a nice texture and subtle flavor.
• Paprika –  Paprika is an earthy spice that adds a touch of smokiness. Use smoked paprika for even more smokey flavor.
• Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper – Salt brings out the flavor of ingredients. Black pepper is a classic ingredient that can be added to almost any type of dish. It adds a spicy flavor.
• Bacon & Ham Hock – These two flavorful ingredients add smokiness to the dish. You can omit them from the recipe, if desired.
• Chicken Broth – The chicken broth is a flavorful, low-sodium alternative to water. You can also substitute with water or vegetable broth to make this recipe vegetarian.
• Dry Black-Eyed Peas -Black-eyed peas are a type of legume. They are dried and split before cooking.
• Collard Greens  – Collard greens are a type of leafy green vegetable. They’re a common ingredient in southern cooking and are often used in black-eyed peas recipes.

Equipment needed: You will need a pressure cooker or Instant pot for this recipe.

How to Make Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

1. Saute the vegetables and bacon: To the Instant Pot insert, add the olive oil, and press the SAUTE button. Once the oil is shiny and hot, add the onion, celery, and garlic. Then sprinkle the salt, pepper, and paprika on top to flavor. Saute the vegetables until they are beginning to soften. This should take about 3 minutes.
2. Add bacon. Add in the bacon pieces and saute for another 3 minutes to release their smoky flavor. 
3. Pressure cook the black-eyed peas: To the vegetables and bacon, add the broth, black-eyed peas, and then add the ham hock inside. Secure the lid and make sure the top is pushed to sealing. Cook on MANUAL high pressure for 15 minutes. 
4. Remove and serve: Once the cooking has finished, use a natural release to release the pressure from the pressure cooker until the lid can easily be released. Remove the ham hock with tongs and ladle the beans into a serving dish or onto a dinner plate while hot. 

Expert Tips

1. Rinse the black eyed peas. When you purchase a bag of black-eyed peas, it’s important to give them a good rinse. You’ll also need to look through them carefully to sort out any rocks or impurities that may have come into the bag during harvesting and packaging. 
2. You can adjust the cooking time for the instant pot black eyed peas for firmer or softer beans. For a firmer bean, cook for 15 minutes. For softer beans cook for 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Replace the broth. We suggest using chicken broth as the best alternative to water for cooking black-eyed peas, but you can use veggie broth or beef broth to add a different layer of flavor.
4. Use tongs to remove the ham hock from the instant pot as the contents will be very hot!
5. If there is any meat left on the ham hock, shred it up and add it back to the peas for texture and flavor. 
6. Add other seasonings. You can easily adapt this recipe to fit your taste by adding other seasonings like bay leaves or thyme.

Variations

• To make vegetarian black eyed peas recipe: Ham hock is a delicious way to add depth of flavor to your instant pot black-eyed peas, but it’s not necessary. You can skip the meat if you don’t have any on hand or for vegetarian black-eyed peas. To make them vegan, substitute the chicken broth for water.
• Add a sweet tart flavor by adding cranberries. This pairs well with the smokiness of the peas.
• Swap the bacon for turkey bacon to make this a bit lighter with the same smoky flavor.
• Use other greens. If you’re not a fan of collard greens, you can use another type of green vegetable in this recipe, such as kale, spinach, or chard.

You can easily adapt this pressure cooker black eyed peas recipe and enjoy eating black eyed peas any way you like.

FAQs

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