Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

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.

Prep: 10

Cook: 55

Total: 1 5

Yield:8

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.

Notes

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!

Nutrition

Recipe By:Cheryl Malik