Black Eyed Peas (Stovetop) Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

Black Eyed Peas (Stovetop) Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (1)

By: Becky Hardin

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Black Eyed Peas are a classic Southern dish filled with flavor. This Classic black eyed pea soup recipe with bacon is the perfect thing to eat for New Year’s (a good luck tradition), and it makes a great dinner or side dish for any comforting meal!

Black Eyed Peas (Stovetop) Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2)

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Black Eyed Peas Recipe

This black eyed peas recipe is the best ever (in my humble opinion)! I appreciate some good ole’ Southern food, and this dish is a classic. It’s so comforting and flavorful!

This soup is filled with beans, bacon, onion, garlic, broth, and so much more. It makes a great side dish for hearty meals, and it works as a meal on its own too!

Eating black eyed peas for New Year’s is a Southern tradition, so this is the perfect time of year to make up a batch of this and dig in. Add in a nice ham, some cornbread, and you’ve got a deliciously filling dinner ahead!

Learn how to cook black eyed peas for New Year’s, a tasty side dish, or as a warm winter soup.

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What are black eyed peas?

Black eyed peas are not actually peas; they are a type of bean (close enough though, right?). They get their name from the dark, black spot in the middle of the otherwise light-colored bean. And I guess they’re known as “peas” because they come from a cowpea plant.

With this black eyed peas recipe, you get a nice mixture of soupiness and hearty ingredients. So you can serve it and eat it like a soup!

Are Black Eyed Peas Healthy?

Beans are a great source of protein and fiber, which keeps you feeling full. So eating a soup filled with beans and a few other ingredients is a good choice for a simple filling meal.

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How to Cook Black Eyed Peas on the Stove

This recipe is pretty easy to make, but soaking the beans and letting them soften will take some time. Other than that, it’s just adding ingredients to a pot, letting everything cook together, and done!

You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!

Ingredients:

  • Dried Black Eyed Peas (not canned)
  • Bacon
  • Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
  • Yellow Onion
  • Garlic
  • Water
  • Bouquet Garni Seasoning
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Bay Leaves
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Hot Sauce (I like Tabasco)
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Parsley (for garnish)

How To (Quick Overview):

  1. Rinse and sort beans.
  2. Soak beans (about 1 hour).
  3. Cook bacon.
  4. Add other ingredients into a pot and let them simmer.
  5. Add in the peas/beans and bacon, and let mixture simmer (1-1 1/2 hours).
  6. Serve garnished with parsley.

You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!

Do black eyed peas need to be soaked?

Soaking the beans before cooking hydrates them and shortens the overall cooking time.

How to Soak:

  1. Rinse and sort the peas (discard any that are dark or damaged).
  2. Place them in a large pot and add 4 cups of broth.
  3. Bring to a boil over high heat for 2 minutes and cover.
  4. Remove from heat and let them soak (covered) for 1 hour.

Note: Don’t remove the lid while they soak and don’t drain them. You’ll pour the beans along with the broth into the rest of the soup mixture later.

How long do they take to cook?

Cooking the black eyed pea soup takes about 2-2 1/2 hours. If you’re looking for a quicker recipe for Black Eyed Peas, check out our new Instant Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup (made in just 20 minutes).

What to eat with black eye peas?

You can eat this as a main dish or as a side dish. If you’re serving it as a side to a larger meal, it goes well with things like ham, mashed potatoes, collard greens, cornbread, rice, green beans, or other vegetables.

Black Eyed Peas (Stovetop) Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (7)
Black Eyed Peas (Stovetop) Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (8)

Classic Black Eyed Peas Recipe for New Years

In the South, black eyed peas and the accompanying meal have become a tradition for good luck. So eating it on New Year’s day is meant to bring prosperity for the rest of the year.

According to Wikipedia, here’s the full meal and what each food represents:

  • Black Eyed Peas = Prosperity
  • Collard Greens = Wealth and Money
  • Pork (there’s bacon in the soup and these dishes are often served with a ham as the main dish) = Positive Motion
  • Cornbread = Gold

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Ring in the New Year

74+ New Years Recipes

This Black Eyed Peas recipe is just one of our many NYE favorites. Be sure to give them all a chance!

See Recipes

Why do people put a dime in black eyed peas?

Some people will put a dime in the soup, and whoever gets it in their serving will get EXTRA good luck. (Admittedly this could be dangerous if people don’t notice the dime in their soup!).

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Whether you eat this black eye peas recipe for New Year’s, or make it for another meal throughout the year, I hope you love it as much as I do. So yummy!

More Classic Southern Recipes:

  • Pimento Cheese Grits
  • Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
  • Homemade Sweet Tea
  • Green Beans with Molasses
  • Classic Sausage Balls
  • Crockpot Black Eyed Peas
  • Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

Check the recipe card for full details on how to cook black eyed peas. Enjoy!

Recipe

Black Eyed Peas Recipe

4.57 from 79 votes

Author: Becky Hardin

Black Eyed Peas (Stovetop) Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (11)

Serves8 people

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This black eyed peas recipe is a Southern tradition for good luck, and it's just plain delicious!

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Ingredients

  • ½ pound bacon
  • 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon Bouquet Garni herb seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½-1 teaspoon Tobasco or other hot sauce
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Rinse the peas and discard any that are damaged or dark. Place the peas in a large pot set over high heat. Add 4 cups broth and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, and cover the pot. Remove the pot from the heat, and let the beans soak 1 hour. Don’t lift the lid and don’t drain the beans after the hour has passed.

  • Cut the bacon strips into ¼-inch slices, and place in a large Dutch oven set over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper towel (leaving the rendered bacon fat).

  • Place the diced onion in the Dutch oven and cook until onion is translucent. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds, stirring often.

  • Slowly add the water while scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze the pan. Add the Bouquet Garni, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, hot sauce and apple cider vinegar. Set heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat until peas have softened.

  • After the peas have softened (about 1 hour), add them and the broth to the onion mixture in the Dutch oven and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and add all except 3 tablespoons crisped bacon. Replace the lid and simmer the peas until tender (or about 1-1½ hours), stirring every 20 minutes. Season, if needed, with salt and black pepper.

  • To serve, ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with reserved crispy bacon and chopped parsley.

  • Enjoy!

Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!

Nutrition Information

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FAQs

What does baking soda do to black-eyed peas? ›

Bottom Line. If beans make you uncomfortably gassy, sprinkle a little baking soda into their soaking water. It will reduce the volume of gas produced by the legumes, plus, they will cook quicker. If you're even shorter on time, you may want to try some of our favorite recipes to make with a can of black beans.

How long should you soak black-eyed peas before cooking? ›

You'll need at least six hours to rehydrate the black-eyed peas. Place them in a large bowl and add three cups of water for every one cup of peas. Cover, place in the refrigerator, and let the beans soak for six hours or overnight. Cook your beans low and slow, ideally in a slow cooker.

Are frozen black-eyed peas pre cooked? ›

Premium Blackeye Peas, from Hanover Foods, are a good source of protein and fiber. They are precooked and frozen, offering you the convenience of not having to soak them.

What happens if you don't pre soak black-eyed peas? ›

Not soaking the black-eyed peas can slightly impact the texture, as they can take longer to cook and may be slightly firmer compared to soaked ones. However, the taste will remain similar whether you soak them or not.

How much baking soda do I add to my beans to prevent gas? ›

To degas with baking soda, add a teaspoon of baking soda to 4 quarts of water. Stir in the dried beans and bring to a boil. Then turn off the heat and let the beans soak at least four hours (I usually do this the night before I want to use them; the longer soak won't hurt them). Drain, rinse and rinse again.

How long to soak peas in baking soda? ›

Method. Put the marrowfat peas and bicarbonate of soda in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for 12 hours or overnight.

Can black-eyed peas be soaked too long? ›

It is possible to soak beans for too long before cooking. Beans should soak for 8 to 10 hours overnight. If they are soaked for longer than 12 hours, they can lose their familiar flavor and become overly mushy. For the best result, refrain from soaking them for too long.

Can you overcook black-eyed peas? ›

Drain them the next day and bring them to a boil in cold water, then reduce the heat so the water barely simmers: dried black-eyed peas can overcook, and a rolling boil could cause them to break apart. Taste the peas often to check their doneness: They should be creamy but retain their shape.

Should I rinse canned black eyed peas? ›

It is recommended to rinse canned black-eyed peas before cooking. Rinsing helps remove any excess sodium or brine that may be present from the canning process. Additionally, rinsing can help reduce the gas-producing carbohydrates that can cause discomfort.

Why are black-eyed peas still hard after cooking? ›

Most whole dry bean and peas will begin to sprout if you soak them long enough. If they're still hard after you cook them for an hour, be sure they have enough water to cover them, and simmer until they soften. Taste the water. If it's bitter, rinse the beans, and put in new water.

Why do black-eyed peas foam when cooking? ›

The foam itself is caused by a water-soluble protein in the beans, which lowers the surface tension of the cooking water. However it contains no harmful ingredients and if left it simply gets absorbed back into the cooking liquid.

How long does it take black-eyed peas to cook? ›

Place beans in a large pot and cover them with 4 inches of chicken stock. Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour. Start checking after 45 minutes to see if they are tender and add more broth or water as necessary to keep them covered. Add in a ham bone if you have one for even more flavorful black-eyed peas.

Why won t my black-eyed peas soften? ›

There are three primary reasons why dried beans do not soften despite extensive cooking time: 1) they are old; 2) hard water; or 3) the presence of an acid. If you don't think your beans are old, then perhaps your water is the problem. Beans cooked in hard water will never soften properly.

Do you add salt when soaking black-eyed peas? ›

Soak the beans: If you're cooking black-eyed peas the traditional way (i.e. stovetop method), then you'll need to soak them first. You can soak them one of two ways: 1) Cover them with water and add two tablespoons kosher salt per pound of beans. Soak overnight.

Why do people put baking soda in beans? ›

The addition of baking soda to the cooking water does two things: It adds sodium ions that weaken the pectin as explained above, and more importantly, an alkaline environment causes the pectin molecules to break down into smaller molecules that greatly weakens the pectin causing the beans to soften much more rapidly.

Does baking soda destroy nutrients in beans? ›

But use it sparingly—no more than1/8 teaspoon per pound of beans. Too much will destroy nutrients and result in mushy beans. Do tender beans really deserve all this attention? You bet!

What happens if you put too much baking soda in beans? ›

A little bit of baking soda goes a long way, but if you use too much, it can ruin the taste of your beans.

How does baking soda relieve gas? ›

Baking soda can help neutralize stomach acid, which may relieve painful bloating. Try drinking an 8-ounce glass of water with 1/2 teaspoon of dissolved baking soda.

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