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These Instant Pot black-eyed peas are the best ever, coming from a Southerner! They’re easy to make, thanks to the Instant Pot, and are absolutely loaded with flavor from easy-to-find ingredients. Perfect for New Year’s Day or anytime you’re craving delicious black-eyed peas.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- It’s rich, hearty, flavorful and the perfect warm meal for those cold-weather months.
- The Instant Pot makes this the easiest black eyed peas recipe you’ll ever make! Other than the occasional stirring and mashing, you’ll have a delicious dinner with minimal effort.
- It’s great for freezer meals! Freeze prepared black eyed peas in covered, airtight containers for up to 6 months.
- No soaking necessary! This recipe uses dry beans and they still come out perfectly tender, which means less prep work for you!
Key Ingredients
Black Eyed Peas – Hailing from West Africa, black eyed peas are actually beans, and they are a staple in Southern soul food. A traditional New Year’s meal in the South consists of black eyed peas and collard greens – the beans symbolize prosperity and eating them on New Year’s Day supposedly brings good luck and good health in the new year. Of course, they’re perfect to eat any day – they’re a great source of fiber, protein, and antioxidants.
Bay Leaves – These herbs have a scent similar to oregano and thyme, and help bring out the other flavors and spices in a dish. Dried bay leaves have a more intense flavor than fresh bay leaves.
How to Make It
Making Instant Pot black eyed peas could not be easier! Start by sautéing bacon, onion, and garlic in oil in the Instant Pot, then add in everything else and cook on manual high pressure for 25 minutes.
Once the cooking is done, release the pressure naturally for 15 minutes and then vent the rest. Mash them with a potato masher until you’ve got the desired consistency, then sauté them again to thicken up.
Ladle a helping of black eyed peas into a bowl. Garnish with black pepper, olive oil, and Tobasco, and serve with cornbread and collard greens!
Chef’s Tips
- The age of your dried beans can affect your cook time. If you’re using black eyed peas that have been in the pantry for a while, you may need to add a few more minutes to step 2 of the cooking instructions.
- Don’t worry if there’s a lot of liquid in the pot after the beans cook – that’s what gives them the ideal texture! As you stir and mash the beans, they’ll combine with the liquid to form a creamy sauce.
- As good as they are fresh, they’re even better the next day. Reheat them on the stove top over medium heat until heated through. Add a little water if needed.
- Serve your black eyed peas on top of rice for an easy Hoppin’ John dish.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
- Southern Instant Pot Collard Greens
- Instant Pot Turkey Chili
- Sausage and Peppers in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
- Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast
- 50 Low Carb Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Carrots
- Creamy Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Instant Pot Eggs
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings
- Instant Pot Chicken Legs
Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 4 strips thick sliced bacon cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion diced small
- 4 garlic cloves sliced
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper plus more for garnish
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 8 ounces smoked ham diced into ½-inch cubes
- 2 cups water
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- olive oil for drizzling
- Tabasco or hot-pepper vinegar as desired
- cornbread for serving, optional
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to sauté mode and add oil. Once heated, add bacon, onion, and garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring, until the onion and garlic are lightly browned, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Add black pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder. Cook until entire mixture is coated in spices, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add chicken stock, ham, water, bay leaves, and black eyed peas. Stir to combine. Secure lid and cook on Manual High Pressure for 25 minutes at high pressure. It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
- After cooking is finished and Instant Pot beeps, allow pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes, then vent to release remaining pressure. Remove bay leaves, stir in salt. Using a potato masher, mash peas until desired consistency is reached.
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté mode. Let simmer 5 minutes or until desired thickness is reached. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and Tabasco to taste.
- Serve with cornbread and collard greens for a truly Southern meal.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking. Store in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days.
- Make it Vegetarian: Use vegetable broth instead of chicken stock, and leave out the ham and bacon. It won’t have quite the same flavor, but your beans will still be great!
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Awesome, easy, creamy tasteful blackeye peas!
Thanks, Sharon! So glad you enjoyed!
These were the best black eyed peas I’ve ever had. I didn’t have the smoked ham so I can’t imagine how much better it will be next time. *I rinsed my peas prior!!
Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks so much for the review, Kristan! So glad you enjoyed!
We have used this recipe several times. This New Year’s we made it with smoked hog jowls and even my very Southern mother-in-law said it was the first time she ever enjoyed eating black-eyed peas. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
That’s so great! So happy you all enjoyed! Thanks for the review!
These were delicious!! I didn’t have any cayenne but they came out great!! I put a pound of bacon in LOL, no ham. Sooooo good!!
Bacon makes everything better! Thanks so much for the review, Tami!
I made this recipe for new year’s day and it was a huge hit. The best black eyed peas I’ve ever had!
Yay, so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for the review, Tori!
Dry – what did i do wrong? No liquid
I’m so sorry, Rosalind! It sounds like the lid may not have been sealed all the way, letting the liquid evaporate as the black eyed peas cooked. Was the vent in the “sealing” position? Also, double check the silicone sealing ring inside the lid of the Instant Pot. If you use your Instant Pot frequently, or if the seal is older, it may be worn out which will keep the lid from sealing completely. If your Instant Pot is newer, the sealing ring may just be a little loose, which would also keep the lid from sealing completely.
Love this recipe!! I made these for New Years 1/2022 and they were a huge hit!.
So glad to hear it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Amazing!!!!! This was the first recipe that I made in my new InstantPot and it did not disappoint. Best black eyed peas I have had in a long time. Very flavorful, perfectly cooked, even my mom agreed and she is from Montgomery, AL.
So glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe! I’m from Alabama, so I know just how good that must have felt to have your Southern mom give her seal of approval. 🙂
The whole family loved it. They are not “bean” fans and were giving me a hard time about making it until they tasted it!
So glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Made this for our New Years gathering. These are some of the best black eyed peas ever. As the beans I had on hand were already cooked, I changed the liquid to two cups of chicken stock, and cooking time to 15 minutes with natural release. To be fair, they sat in the instant pot on warm for about three additional hours before being eaten….but were definitely a crowd pleaser!
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂