Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas are so tender and flavorful made with bacon and garlic! No soaking needed in this easy pressure cooker recipe. Perfect black eyed peas in less than an hour, and they couldn’t be simpler to make.
I love making beans in an Instant Pot because it’s always so fast and tender, much like my Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup!
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Whether you’re celebrating the new year or just satisfying a craving, this Instant Pot black eyed peas recipe always hits the spot! Thanks to the pressure cooker, you can have perfectly tender black eyed peas with tons of bacon flavor ready in under an hour. No soaking required!
If you’re not familiar with the Southern tradition, it’s believed to be good luck to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day. Some people believe that black eyed peas symbolize coins, so eating them on the first day of the year can bring forth financial prosperity for the days to come.
Whether it’s all true or not, I’m not sure… What I do know is that you certainly don’t have to twist my arm when it comes to eating this side dish! Made in less than an hour in the Instant Pot, perfectly cooked black eyed peas are made flavorful with bacon, garlic, and just enough salt and pepper to make your mouth water.
Ingredient Notes
Black Eyed Peas – use dried black eyes peas and make sure to rinse them first. No need to soak them though!
Chicken Stock – Store-bought stock will works just fine, I would just recommend you get “low sodium” or “no salt added.” However, I like to keep some Homemade Chicken Stock on hand when I can just to give all of my recipes the best flavor.
Bacon – I like to use regular pork bacon for the best flavor. It releases a good amount of fat while cooking, which flavors the rest of the dish. However, you can certainly use turkey bacon if you’d prefer.
Garlic – Fresh garlic cloves add the very best flavor to this dish.
Seasonings – A simple blend of salt, pepper, and garlic powder is all you need.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and instructions.
Do you have to soak black eyed peas before cooking?
Before you jump on me for not soaking the beans first, I have to tell you that it truly doesn’t make much of a difference when it comes to cooking time and tenderness.
Over the years, I’ve gotten lazy a few times or simply forgot to soak beans, or peas, or lentils before cooking them. It has not affected my cooking time.
How to Make Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
Prepare your ingredients. Rinse peas and set them aside. Dice raw bacon into small pieces.
PRO TIP: Make sure your knife is sharp and bacon is cold to make it easier to cut.
Sauté the bacon. Turn Instant Pot to sauté and let it heat up. Add a little bit of oil to the bottom of the pot and add bacon. Saute bacon until browned. (1)
Add garlic. Smash and mince garlic and add it to the pot. Mix and let it sauté for a few seconds, until fragrant.
Add the peas. Add peas to the pot and mix. (2)
Add everything to the pot. Add water, chicken stock, garlic powder, some salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. Don’t add too much salt since bacon is salty!
Pressure cook the peas. Stir and close the lid and make sure it’s latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure cook mode for 30 minutes.
Release the pressure, then serve. Let it do a natural release for 10-15 minutes. Fluff up peas and serve.
PRO TIP: You can also mix the peas and mash a few as you mix to create creamier texture.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, there will be liquid left in the pot after the beans are done but that is actually a good thing. As you mix the beans, some will start to break and mix with the liquid, which will give the side dish a creamy consistency. If you don’t want your side to have too much liquid, you can also use a slotted spoon and strain off some of the liquid.
Keep in mind that many people do prefer the black eyed peas to have some of this flavorful cooking liquid with the beans. When storing the cooked beans, store them with the liquids. They will be even better the next day.
If you soaked your black eyed peas before cooking them, cut the cooking time by about half. So set the cook time on the Instant Pot to 15 minutes but still do the natural release for 10-15 minutes.
No, the cooking time will not change if you double or half the recipe. The cooking time is determined by the size of the food and how long it takes to cook through not the amount of food.
What to Add to the Black Eyed Peas
You can keep this dish simple or add some veggies! You can choose some onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, bell peppers, and/or collard greens to add some more flavor to the beans.
To do that, sauté the veggies with the bacon, when bacon is about half way done, and then proceed with adding beans and finishing as the recipe suggests. You can also add ham, whether it’s leftover ham or ham hock.
Storing and Reheating
Make sure to cool the black eyed peas before you store them. Store them in an airtight food storage container, in the refrigerator, for 4-5 days. Store them with the liquids they were cooked with! This will help with reheating.
Reheat in a pot on stove-top over medium heat or for a few seconds in the microwave.
Keep in mind that you can easily freeze cooked black eyed peas.
Enjoy More of the Best Instant Pot Recipes
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Instant Pot Black Eye Peas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp olive or avocado oil
- 16 oz bacon
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 lb dry black eyed peas (1 lb bag usually has 2-2 1/4 cups of peas)
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt to taste
- fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse peas and set them aside.
- Dice raw bacon into small pieces. Make sure your knife is sharp and bacon is cold to make it easier to cut.
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute and let it heat up. Add a little bit of oil to the bottom of the pot and add bacon. Saute bacon until browned.
- Smash and mince garlic and add it to the pot. Mix and let is sauté for a few seconds, until fragrant.
- Add peas to the pot and mix.
- Add water, chicken stock, garlic powder, some salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. (Don't add too much salt since bacon is salty.)
- Stir and close the lid and make sure it’s latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure cook mode for 30 minutes.
- Let it do a natural release for 10-15 minutes.
- Fluff up peas and serve. You can also mix the peas and mash a few as you mix to create creamier texture.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in December, 2018.
Sierra says
Hello, I followed the recipe by adding 3 cups water plus 3 cups chicken stock to 1 lb beans. But the water didn’t absorb in the beans. It’s like bean soup. Is that right? Am I just supposed to pour the liquid out now? I’ve never made black eyed peas before…
LyubaB says
Sierra, since it’s made in the instant pot all the water won’t absorb I prefer to drain it off then risk it burning.
Paula Hallman says
Just made these with no changes. Perfect. Great recipe. I used china doll peas.
LyubaB says
Paula, I’m so glad you liked it!
Stephanie says
Pretty tasty, but the amount of liquid just makes it a soup. I’m not sure how you got the photos you did. Will do again with much less liquid!
lyuba says
Hi Stephanie!
You can maybe add 1/2 cup less liquid to start. I did have some excess liquid as well but it was just left behind in the pot when I scooped the beans. You can also carefully tilt the pot and strain off some liquid.
Paula says
Twenty minutes worked just fine for peas soaked overnight. Thanks for the recipe:)
lyuba says
Wonderful to heat that, Paula! Thank you 🙂
Beverly says
I’m a Texan who definitely takes my black eyed peas seriously. In addition to bacon, I added 1 1/2 cups of diced ham. My husband and I enjoyed this as a main dish with a fresh green salad and bisquits. Great on a cold evening!
lyuba says
Ham and bacon sounds perfect together!!
I’m so glad you liked it. Thank you, Beverly!
Maida says
I definitely enjoyed this recipe
Alex says
Yum!
I’m veggie so omitted the bacon and added lots of spices & garlic. It was great! I would say it was a bit too soupy for my taste. I ended up ladling out some of the liquid to use to cook some rice. Would definitely omit one cup of water next time.
lyuba says
I’m happy to hear that, Alex! I can definitely understand not wanting too much liquid 🙂
Andrea says
I will add, I made a different bean dish that came out a little too liquidy, and I left the pot on “warm” for 2 hours, with the lid of & it evaporated and made the dish nice and thick for leftovers. (For the instant meal, I drained it off my bowl
Jacky Mallett says
I ended up with TONS of liquid. What have I done wrong??
Heather Dornan says
Idk but I ended up with a ton of liquid. I did 3 cups of BEP and 9 cups of water. The directions call for a 1/3, BEP/water. I put my brand new instapot on high 30 minutes. I did let some steam out after it naturally released some. I ended up with perfect peas but about 6 cups of liquid. Help please. I so wanted to connect a link to my WW App but my recipe ended up like soup!!
Robert says
Thanks for a excellent recipe, it’s a good base for me. Because, I have a low sodium diet. The changes made by me was no salt, and reduce the liquid by one cup.
lyuba says
I’m glad it worked well for you, Robert! I would also recommend finding a brand of bacon that would give you lower sodium as well since bacon tends to be quite salty. I’m glad you liked it!
Jeff says
If I wanted to cut the recipe in half would the cook time also be cut in half?
lyuba says
Hi Jeff!
No, the time shouldn’t be affected since pressure cooker cooks evenly throughout the dish. This is how much time the beans will need to cook completely 🙂
If you like your beans more whole and less soft and mushy, you can turn off the pressure cooker after 20-25 minutes. Size of the bean will affect cook time more than amount.
Glenda Voyles says
I’ve always been afraid of pressure cookers, but decided to take the plunge on an Instant Pot this past Black Friday. I JUST tried it for the first time tonight with your Black-Eyed Pea recipe and OH MY GOODNESS are these beans awesome! The recipe was easy, and the beans turned out perfect. Hallelujah! Thank you for the great recipe!!!
lyuba says
Welcome to the club, Glenda!
I took that plunge myself about 6 months ago and I love using it on things that normally would take a long time to cook. Love the texture and how fast it’s done 🙂
I’m SO glad you like the peas!
Lisa Entrekin says
Thank you for the resources that you provide. I received an Instant Pot for Christmas, and this is the first recipe I tried. The peas were delicious! Now, on to my newbie question. If I’d like the peas a little more firm, do I just set the time for less, say 20 instead of 30 minutes?
Thanks again,
Lisa
lyuba says
Hi Lisa!
So glad you liked the peas!
I would say definitely play around with time since you know exactly how firm or soft you like them. Set it to 20 and then give it a try. 🙂
KalynsKitchen says
Thanks for the shout-out. I’m a big black-eyed peas fan!
Dolores says
How long Would you cook 2 pounds of black Eye peas in your instinct pot