Name: Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 16 ounce dried black eyed peas; 32 ounces chicken broth; salt and pepper to taste; 1 ham hock; 2 celery stalks (diced); 10 ounce tomatoes with jalapenos (diced ); 14.5 ounce tomatoes with green chilies (diced )

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Cook black eyed peas in your Instant Pot for an easy family dinner made with pantry staples! Some leftover ham and canned tomatoes are mixed with dried black eyed peas for an easy and filling family dinner. These black eyed peas are soft and tender and will be ready in about an hour with no soaking required!

instant pot black eyed peas in a blue bowl in front of the Instant Pot

Although black eyed peas are called “peas” they are actually a type of beans. It is a long standing Southern tradition to eat them on New Year’s Day to bring good luck for the year.

two bowls of Instant Pot black eyed peas on a wooden surface

Whether it is New Year’s Day or not black eyed peas are a tasty and healthy side dish. In this recipe they are cooked with ham, tomatoes and chilies for a spicy and filling side dish that is easy to make with staples from your pantry.

Beans are one of my favorite things to make in the Instant Pot. Whether it is Refried Beans, Black Beans or Black Eyed Peas a pressure cooker makes it quick and easy to cook beans. This recipe is ready in about an hour from start to finish.

Reader Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

These are probably the best black eyed peas I’ve ever made!! I had home canned smoked turkey broth and home canned Rotel. Threw in a dehydrated jalapeño, along with the celery and ham bone because why not! They are perfectly tender. I am so excited!! Thank you!
— Rachell

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No Soaking Required

One of the best things about cooking black eyed peas in the Instant Pot is that you don’t need to pre-soak the dried black eyed peas. The high pressure of the Instant Pot means you will get soft and tender beans even without soaking.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

Traditionally black eyed peas are cooked with pork to add flavor. For this recipe I used a ham hock. If you are making black eyed peas for New Year’s and you have a leftover ham bone from Christmas dinner you could substitute that.

ingredients for making Instant Pot black eyed peas

I use tomatoes with added chili peppers in this recipe to make the final dish a little bit spicy. I think black eyed peas are a bit bland without something to spice them up, but you could use regular diced tomatoes if your family doesn’t like spicy foods!

How to Cook Black Eyed peas in Instant Pot

This is a super simple recipe, which makes it a great one to try if you are new to pressure cooking. It is a simple dump and go recipe.

1. Fill the Instant Pot

Put the black eyed peas in the Instant Pot and add the chicken broth and salt and pepper. Stir them together and then add the ham hock, celery, and two cans of tomatoes.

When I make Instant Pot dishes with tomatoes I prefer not to stir the tomatoes in, but to let them sit on top of all the other ingredients. This decreases the chances of getting a Burn error on the Instant Pot.

In this recipe it is unlikely you would get a Burn error since nothing was sauteed. But I still don’t stir the tomatoes in just because that is how I always do it!

2. Pressure Cook the Black Eyed Peas

Put the lid on the Instant Pot, making sure that the sealing ring is in place and that the pressure valve is closed. Set the Instant Pot on Manual, high pressure, for 30 minutes.

Cooking the black eyed peas for 30 minutes will result in soft, tender beans. If you prefer your black eyed peas to be more firm then you should decrease the cooking time to 25 minutes.

It will take 10 minutes or so for the Instant Pot to reach pressure.

3. Let the Pressure Release Naturally

Once the Instant Pot has finished let the pressure release naturally for about 15 minutes. Then release any remaining pressure.

4. Serve the Black Eyed Peas

Remove the ham bone from the Instant Pot. Then stir the ingredients and serve.

wooden spoon in big container of Instant Pot black eyed peas

How to Serve Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

These black eyed peas will be a little bit soupy after cooking. You can drain some of the excess liquid before serving if you prefer. I usually just use a slotted spoon to serve them and don’t bother draining them.

close up of Instant Pot black eyed peas in a bowl

This recipe makes a delicious side dish to serve with a New Year’s ham. The subtle spicy flavor makes it perfect for pairing with Mango Jalapeno Ham Glaze.

4.50 from 4 votes