These Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas are so fast and easy — no soaking required! You’ll love this flavourful vegetarian meal.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like canola or avocado oil.
- Yellow onion – white onion or red onion would also work here.
- Celery – use carrots here instead if you don’t have any celery.
- Bell pepper – any colour bell pepper can be used.
- Jalapeno pepper – poblano pepper or more bell pepper would be a good substitute.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic has the best flavor, but jarred minced garlic can be used in a pinch.
- Cajun seasoning – use a store-bought blend or make your own.
- Bay leaves – thyme or oregano would also work, but will have a slightly different flavor.
- Black eyed peas – you can try using a different legume like lentils, chickpeas or pinto beans, but the cooking time may vary and the taste and texture will be different.
- Vegetable broth – chicken broth is the best substitute here.
- Apple cider vinegar – white wine vinegar would also be good.
- Salt – to taste.
- Collard greens – leave this out altogether or stir in some spinach or kale instead right before serving.
How to make black eyed peas in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Sauté the veggies.
Turn the Instant Pot to sauté mode and sauté the onions, celery, bell peppers and jalapenos until softened.
Step 2: Add the spices.
Add in the garlic, Cajun seasoning and bay leaves.
Step 3: Cook on high pressure.
Add in the black eyed peas, broth, vinegar and salt, then cook on high pressure for 25 mins. Do a quick release of the pressure when done cooking.
Step 4: Stir in the collard greens.
Step 5: Add the lid back on.
Let the collard greens sit in the soup with the lid on for 5 mins.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
How to serve black eyed peas
I love serving these Instant Pot black eyed peas as a delicious soup with a side of cornbread – but there are so many other ways you can serve them! You’ll just need to drain the excess liquid and skip stirring in the collard greens. Here are some different options:
- Add them to a salad for extra protein like this Mediterranean salad
- Swap them out for the lentils in this curried soup
- Use them to make black eyed pea hummus
- Serve them with a side of turkey or chicken breast
Frequently Asked Questions
The great part about making black eyed peas in the Instant Pot is that there’s no soaking required. Just add them to the pot with all the other ingredients and let the pressure cooker do it’s thing.
As long as you don’t go over the maximum line in your Instant Pot, you can definitely double this recipe. Cooking time will remain the same.
If your black eyed peas are mushy after cooking, you likely used fresh peas instead of dried peas. You also want to make sure you don’t pre-soak them, as this can cause them to over-cook.
I personally haven’t tested this recipe using fresh black eyed peas, but you can give it a try. They’ll likely need to cook for a lot less time, since this recipe was designed for the traditional dried peas.
This recipe is designed to be more of a soup, but if you want to use the black eyed peas for another recipe, you can just drain the excess liquid and skip adding in the collard greens.
Storing and reheating
You can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Keep in mind that the longer you store them, the more liquid the peas will absorb, so they might have a slightly different texture after reheating. I’d also recommending leaving out the collard greens to keep everything nice and fresh.
When you’re ready to enjoy, bring the mixture to a simmer in a pot on the stovetop or reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the collard greens, then serve and enjoy.
Freezing this recipe
This Instant Pot black eyed peas recipe is definitely freezer-friendly. Once completely cooled, transfer the mixture to freezer-safe Ziploc bags or glass bowls and freeze for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat as normal. You could also reheat straight from frozen for 4-5 mins in the microwave or in a pot on the stovetop.
More Instant Pot legume recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Here’s the Instant Pot I use.
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into your weekly lunches.
Easy Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper deseeded and minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5 cup dried black eyed peas
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 bunch collard greens chopped, optional; can use spinach or kale instead but serve immediately instead of letting it sit
- Cornbread optional side dish
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute mode and add olive oil. Saute onions, celery, bell peppers and jalapenos, seasoning with salt and pepper, for 5 minutes until softened.
- Add in garlic, Cajun seasoning and bay leaves, sauteeing another 30 seconds. Turn off saute mode.
- Add black eyed peas, broth, vinegar and a pinch of salt, then place lid on Instant Pot. Set to cook on high pressure for 25 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure when done cooking.
- Stir in the collard greens if serving, then let sit for 5 minutes with the lid on to soften. Serve with cornbread on the side if desired and enjoy!
