Black Eyed Pea Soup

This black eyed pea soup recipe is the perfect option for New Year and year-round family dinners. It’s bursting with Cajun flavors like smoky sausage, fire-roasted tomatoes, and the holy trinity of vegetables. Plus, since I’m using an Instant Pot pressure cooker, it’s easy to make with simple ingredients like dry beans without soaking them or having to use a slow cooker.

Why Make Instant Pot Black-eyed Pea Soup

• Saves time: This easy black-eyed pea soup recipe uses a pressure cooker to save time. The dried beans will be ready in a little over 1 hour, instead of the many hours required to cook beans in a slow cooker. 
• Simple ingredients: It requires simple ingredients, most of which you already have in your kitchen.
• Around-the-year option: Have good luck and great flavors throughout the year with this easy hearty soup recipe. No need to limit black-eyed peas to New Year’s Day.

Ingredients Needed

Here are some notes about the ingredients I used to make this smoky black-eyed pea soup. Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of the post for the exact ingredient amounts.

• Avocado oil or olive oil
• Smoked sausage: I used andouille and cut it into 1-inch wide pieces, but you can smoky kielbasa sausage and bacon too. Depending on the time of year, you can also add leftover ham chunks or another smoked meat like a smoked turkey part or ham bone to this recipe as well.
• Yellow onions: Diced. I used one small yellow onion
• Bell pepper: Diced. I used a green bell pepper
• Celery: Diced
• Cloves garlic: Minced (fresh garlic adds extra flavor compared to garlic powder, but use what you have on hand).
• Roasted tomatoes: I used 2 cans (about 15 oz each) of fire-roasted tomatoes
• Black-eyed peas: Dried beans, This was about 16 oz or about 3 cups from a larger bag.
• Water
• Better than chicken bouillon: I use this with water in place of chicken broth, but you can use chicken stock or vegetable broth
• Bay leaves
• Black pepper
• Homemade Cajun seasoning: this is a homemade spice blend that includes things like smoked paprika, old bay seasoning, garlic powder, and more. You can use your favorite cajun or creole seasoning to taste at the end.

How To Make Black-Eyed Peas Soup

1. Prepare the dry beans: Add the beans to a mesh strainer. Rinse under cold water for 1 minute. Allow to drain.
2. Saute the meat and vegetables: Add avocado oil to the bottom of the instant pot on high sear/sauté. Add sausages, peppers, celery, onions and garlic. Sauté for 10-12 minutes (the onions will be translucent and the sausages will be browned). Turn off the sear-saute function on the instant pot.
3. Add the remaining ingredients: Add the tomatoes, beans, water, bouillon, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Cover the instant pot with the pressure cooker lid. Set the lid to “seal”. Turn on high pressure for 40 minutes. After the 40 minutes is up, keep the lid on for 20 minutes. Manually release the pressure by turning the knob from “seal” to “vent”. Remove the lid. 
4. Season to taste and stir: Stir, add seasonings, salt, and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Recipe Tips & FAQs

• Alternatives for smoked sausage: You can use smoked ham hock parts, smoked turkey, or bacon.
• Vegan option: Eliminate the smoked sausage (meat) and use vegetable broth instead of chicken bouillon. You can add smoky flavor as we do in these vegan collard greens by using liquid smoke and/or vegan bacon.

Variations

• Add more vegetables like chopped collard greens, chopped kale,  zucchini, and baby spinach.
• Add more meat, like ground beef or ground turkey.
• Make it smokey by substituting smoked turkey, ham hock parts, or even bacon.
• Add some kick with hot sauce, red pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper.

Storage and Leftovers

Store leftover black eyed pea soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

More Soup Recipes

• 15 Bean Soup
• Vegetable Beef Soup
• Easy Potato Soup
• Broccoli Cheese Soup

What to Serve with Black-Eyed Pea Soup

• Hot Water Cornbread
• Air Fryer Cornbread
• Honey Butter Biscuits
• Easy Drop Biscuits Recipe