These Southern Instant Pot Black-eyed Peas with bacon are an easy and delicious side dish. Thanks to the pressure cooker, they are ready in a little over an hour with a few simple ingredients. Enjoy this no-soak recipe on New Year’s Day or any day with your favorite main dish like Smothered Chicken or Air Fried Pork Chops to make a meal.
Why Make Black-eyed Peas in a Pressure Cooker
Whether you are using an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker or a Ninja Foodi (like I often do), there are many reasons to make dried black-eyed peas in a pressure cooker. Here are my top two:
- Quick no-soak method: This pressure black-eyed peas recipe doesn’t require you to soak the dry peas. It, therefore, takes less time than a traditional recipe like Southern black-eyed peas, which are cooked stove-top after soaking.
- Easy with simple ingredients: Being able to cook black-eyed peas without soaking and using simple ingredients is an easier way to participate in this Southern tradition. That said, make this delicious recipe for New Year’s Day or for a delicious Sunday dinner during the winter months.
Ingredients Needed
Making tender black-eyed peas doesn’t require much. Here’s the list of ingredients that you’ll need to gather:
- Black-eyed peas: Dried peas
- Bacon: Smoked bacon diced into cubes or thin strips
- Yellow onions: Diced
- Bell pepper: I diced a green pepper bell, but any type of bell pepper will work
- Cloves garlic: Minced
- Water
- Better than chicken bouillon: I prefer to use this mixed with water because it has more flavor and spices compared to chicken stock or chicken broth. But, you can use regular broth if you’d like. Just be sure to season the cooked peas to taste.
- Bay leaves
- Homemade cajun seasoning: I’m using my homemade spice blend. It includes things like garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, dried parsley, and cayenne pepper.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post to get the exact ingredient amounts and full step-by-step instructions.
How To Make Instant Pot Black-eyed Peas
Here are the steps to making some of the best black-eyed peas in your instant pot:
- Add the dry black-eyed peas to a mesh strainer. Rinse under cold water for 1 minute and allow to drain. The quick rinse will remove any impurities or surface dirt.
- Turn the instant pot on high with the sear/saute function. Add bacon, peppers, onions, and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes (the onions will be translucent, and the bacon will be browned). Turn off the sear/saute function on the instant pot.
- Add the peas, water, bouillon, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Cover the pot and turn on high pressure for 40 minutes. After the time has elapsed, allow the black-eyed peas to sit in the pot with the lid on for another 15 minutes. Manually remove the remaining pressure.
- Stir the blackeyed peas, discard bay leaves, and add seasonings, salt, and pepper to taste.
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- Smoked bacon alternative: You can use any smoked meat like smoked turkey, smoked ham hocks, and more.
- Vegan/ Vegetarian variation: A lot of flavor comes from using the smoked meat. So, it’s best to use a tested vegan black-eyed peas recipe to make vegan or vegetarian variations.
Storage & Leftovers
If you have leftovers from this instant pot black-eyed peas recipe, the best way to store them is in an airtight container for the next day (up to 5 days). You can also store these in the freezer for up to 4 months.
The cooking time depends on how tender you like your peas. But, on average, the peas will be cooked in about 55 minutes.
Cooking black-eyed peas in an instant pot takes less than an hour, but you’ll need at least 5 hours to make the same dish in a slow cooker.
If you need to soak them before cooking, submerge (or cover) them in water. The exact amount depends on your container. However, this instant pot black eyed peas recipe doesn’t include soaking.
More Black Eye Pea Recipes
Add more good luck to the coming year with these other black eye peas recipes:
Instant Pot Black-eyed Peas
Equipment
- 6-quart Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi All-in-One
Ingredients
- 16 oz bacon I used smoked bacon that I diced into cubes, similar to pancetta
- 1 cup yellow onions diced, about half a yellow onion
- 1 cup bell pepper diced, I used green bell pepper
- 5 Cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb black-eyed peas dried
- 6 cups water
- 3 tbsp better than chicken bouillon
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp homemade cajun seasoning I used this recipe
Instructions
- Add the black-eyed peas to a mesh strainer. Rinse under cold water for 1 minute. Allow to drain.
- Turn the instant pot on high with the sear/sauté function.
- Add bacon, onions and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes (the onions will be translucent and the bacon will be browned). Turn off the sear-saute function on the instant pot.
- Add the black-eyed peas, water, bouillon, 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 time elapses, allow the beans to continue to cook with the lid on for another 15 minutes.
- Manually remove the remaining pressure by turning the seal to vent. Remove the lid.
- Stir the black-eyed peas and add seasonings, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Remove the bay leaves before serving.