Southern Black Eyed Peas Recipe
Southern Black-Eyed Peas, or Hoppin’ John, is a hearty, soul-warming delicacy. This black-eyed peas recipe is smokey, spicy, and pure satisfaction with a deep yet not overwhelming bacon flavor. And it’s a traditional Southern dish served on New Year’s Day to bring good luck!
I love anything with beans! Perhaps it started back in grade school when my Auntie cooked beans for dinner in its modest rusticity – onions, salt, and oil, nothing fancy. That simple recipe made all my troubles go away like magic.
And now, this Southern black-eyed peas recipe is the perfect comfort food with soul-satisfying goodness any time of year. It warms us up even in the coldest weather and graces the best cookouts in the heat of summer. This dish will remind you of home and nostalgic, happy memories. ❤️
Content…For More Than New Year’s |
Black-Eyed Peas for More Than New Year’s Good Luck
Black-eyed peas are from my native Africa, and they’re so delicious they became popular worldwide. After arriving in the southern U.S. in the 17th century, they became a symbol of prosperity because they resemble pennies and coins. They grow exceptionally well in the heat and so gave birth to a delicious Southern tradition.
People believe eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day brings good luck and a slew of other beautiful things. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this heartwarming dish all year round.
Recipe Ingredients
- Black-Eyed Peas offer a slightly smoky flavor and high protein and fiber content, making them nutritious and delicious.
- Meat – Bacon and smoked sausage add flavor and more meaty goodness. Ham hock or leftover smoked turkey are also excellent additions.
- Seasonings – Caramelized onion, garlic, thyme, celery, bay leaf, jalapenos, Creole seasoning, salt, and pepper deliver fantastic smells and flavors. You can kick up the heat more with a dash of cayenne pepper.
- Chicken Broth is the essential liquid bursting with chicken essence and rich umami flavors to simmer the black-eyed peas.
- Collard Greens – Black-eyed beans symbolize pennies. Collard greens, on the other hand, represent bills in this lucky dish. Plus, adding greens makes it more nourishing.
How to Make Southern Black-Eyed Peas
Prep
- Soak – Rinse dry black-eyed pea beans and pick through and discard any foreign object. Add beans to a large pot, covering them with 3-4 inches of cold water. Let sit for 2-3 hours or overnight.
- Cook the Meat – In a large, heavy sauté pan, fry the chopped bacon until brown and crispy (4-5 minutes). Add sausage and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Remove the bacon and sausage mixture and set aside. (Photo 1)
- Saute – Add the onions, celery, garlic, jalapenos, thyme, and bay leaf, and saute for 5 minutes or so until the onions become translucent and the seasonings release their fragrance. (Photos 2-3)
Cook
- Add Liquid – Then pour in the chicken broth or water. (Photo 4)
- Season – Drain the soaked beans, rinse, and place the beans in the pot—season with Creole seasoning and salt to taste. Mix and bring to a boil.
- Simmer – Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes. (Photos 5-7)
- Assemble– Toss in the collard greens, bacon, and sausage into the pot, and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or more, stirring occasionally, or until beans are tender and slightly thickened to your desire. (Photo 8)
- Final Touch – Add more stock or water if the mixture becomes dry and thick. The texture of the beans should be thick and somewhat creamy but not watery. Remove the bay leaves.
- Serve – Taste and adjust for seasonings with pepper, Creole seasoning, and salt if needed. Serve over cooked rice and garnish with green onion.
Flavor Variations
- Vegan – Omit the meat and replace the rendered fat with olive oil; then vegetable broth can replace the chicken broth for a vegan version. And to make this dish more nutritious, you can add collard greens, carrots, and bell peppers.
- Crockpot Southern Black-Eyed Peas – This one is more effortless but equally delicious. Put everything in the crockpot, and you’ll have your dinner ready in 5-6 hours on high and about 9-10 hours on low. Imagine the things you can accomplish in those waiting hours. 😉
- Tropical Twist – Make these black-eyed peas with bacon and pork creamy and interestingly yummy with coconut milk. And I bet you’ll love this dish even more.
- Tomato – Fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce will also add a nice variation to this Hoppin John recipe. The kick of tangy goodness will surely make your tastebuds happy.
Recipe Notes
- You can substitute the dried black-eyed peas with canned ones. However, add them 10 minutes before the dish finishes cooking so they have time to heat through because they’re already cooked.
- For a thicker consistency, I suggest mashing a few softened beans against the side of the pot with the back of your spoon. The mashed beans will make a creamier and thicker broth. Or remove about a cup, puree them in a blender or food processor, and then pour the puree back into the pot and give it a good stir.
Making-Ahead and Storage
Surprisingly, this bean stew freezes well. So go for it and make a large batch. It’ll come in handy when a soul-food craving hits.❤️ Transfer the black-eyed peas stew into a clean, airtight container or heavy-duty freezer-safe ziplock bags once cooled.
Refrigerate for 3-5 days or freeze for 6 months. Pack them in a freezer bag, either the whole thing or in single-serving sizes, for easy thawing and reheating. Thaw overnight in the fridge when ready to serve. Reheat in a pan on medium-low heat or in a microwave. You may add more chicken broth or water as needed.
FAQs
Technically, you don’t need to soak black-eyed peas. However, soaking them for a few hours or overnight shortens the cooking time. It’s totally up to you.
Adding bacon, sausage, and seasonings intensifies this dish’s flavor. But to take this dish to another level, add tomato sauce or coconut milk.
As a tradition, Southerners put clean pennies and dimes into their pot of black-eyed peas, believing they’ll bring luck and prosperity. They believe the one who gets the most coins in their bowl is the luckiest.
What to Serve With Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day
Double your luck by serving this black-eyed peas recipe with collard greens (representing money) and cornbread (for gold). Pork (because it roots forward) will complete a traditional New Year’s dinner. No lobster or chicken if you’re going for good luck. Oven-baked pork chops, smoked bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, or fried pork chops are all good.
More Traditional Southern Dishes to Try
- Southern Mac and Cheese
- Butter Biscuits
- Southern Fried Cabbage
- New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
- Southern Deviled Eggs
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”8AgprXDl” upload-date=”2019-04-01T07:08:53.000Z” name=”Black Eyed Peas Recipe” description=”Southern Black Eyed Peas Recipe or Hoppin’ John is a hearty, warm and soulful food. This black eyed peas recipe is smokey, spicy with a deep yet not too overwhelming bacon flavor. A Southern traditional dish served on New Year’s Day to bring good luck charm!”]
This blog post was originally published in December 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Southern Black-Eyed Peas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound (453g) black-eyed peas
- 4-5 thick slices bacon, chopped
- 5 ounces smoked sausage or turkey, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2-3 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 optional jalapeno, minced (can replace with ¼ teaspoon cayenne)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
- 7-8 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups (or more) collard greens (or you can use kale)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse dry black-eyed pea beans, pick through, and discard any foreign objects. Add beans to a large pot and cover with 3-4 inches of cold water. Let sit for 2-3 hours (or overnight).
- In a large, heavy sauté pan, saute chopped bacon until brown and crispy (4-5 minutes), then add sausage and saute for 2-3 more minutes. Remove bacon and sausage mixture, and set aside.
- Throw in the onions, celery, garlic, jalapenos, thyme, and bay leaf, and saute for 3-5 minutes until the onions are wilted and aromatic.
- Then pour in the chicken broth or water.
- Drain the soaked beans, rinse, and place them in the pot. Season with Creole seasoning and salt to taste. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes.
- Toss the collard greens, bacon, and sausage into the pot, and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or more, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and the broth thickens to your desired texture.
- Add more stock or water if the mixture becomes dry and thick. The texture of the beans should be thick and somewhat creamy but not watery.
- Remove the bay leaf.
- Taste and adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning if needed. Serve over rice and garnish with chopped green onion.
Great receipe! I substituted fresh black eye peas for the dry, came out great.
Thank you! Using fresh black-eyed peas is a fantastic substitution and a great way to save some cooking time. I’m so glad it turned out well for you. Happy cooking, and thank you for trying the recipe!
Making this today. It’s always tasty.
Thanks for giving it a try. Do let me know how it works out.
The recipe is great. I did needed to adjust my cooking method to account for the amount of broth it was a little too much to begin with and also I extend the cooking time for the greens. I would also say do not simmer, instead medium boil so it so not become soupy with the amount of broth mentioned. It also for me need covering at times
Hi Eugene!
Thank you for your feedback and thoughtful adjustments! It’s great to hear you enjoyed the recipe and found ways to make it work perfectly for you. Adjusting the broth amount and cooking method, like extending the greens’ cooking time and using a medium boil, are excellent tips to avoid it getting too soupy. Covering it at times is a smart move to control evaporation. Thanks for sharing your process—it’ll help others!
I am going to be making this tomorrow. I am going to cook the bacon and other ingredients on the stove and then I want to cook the whole thing in the crockpot. Do I wait til closer to end of cooking to add the Collards, or put them in right away? How about the sausage and bacon?
Hi Jennifer,
Your plan sounds fantastic! Cooking the bacon and other ingredients on the stove first will add so much depth of flavor to your black-eyed peas in the crockpot. Here’s what I recommend for timing the collards, sausage, and bacon:
Collard Greens: Add them closer to the end of the cooking process—about 30-40 minutes before it’s done. This way, they stay tender yet vibrant and don’t overcook or become mushy.
Sausage: If you want the sausage flavor to infuse the dish, add it at the beginning with the other ingredients. If you prefer the sausage to have a more distinct texture and flavor, you can add it during the last hour of cooking.
Bacon: Add most of it at the beginning to let its smoky flavor infuse the broth, but save a handful to sprinkle on top just before serving for a nice crispy contrast.
This method will give you the best of all worlds—perfectly cooked collards, flavorful sausage, and irresistible bacon! Let me know how it turns out.
Just made it and it came out amazing! Not watery at all, perfect consistency. Can’t wait to serve it tomorrow for our New Years. thank you, Happy New Year!
Awesome! Happy New Year to you too, Shannon!
Just made it and it came out amazing! Not watery at all, perfect consistency. Can’t wait to serve it tomorrow for our New Years.
sooo good, especially with warm corn bread. recipe did make a ton, so I was able to freeze some.
Lovely! Thank you for the feedback, Amy! And Happy New Year!
Loved this recipe! The only thing that I did different was I used ham hocks instead of smoked sausage. It was fabulous. Thank you for sharing.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Cherie :)!
Holy cow! So YUMMY!
I’ve never had a black eyed pea or collard greens, but wanted to try this.
I didn’t have the sausage (plus I’m not fond of them) in the recipe but I DID have a half pkg of Jimmy Dean sage breakfast sausage so I used that. I was skeptical but it was delicious!
This might be the best soup I’ve ever made!
I also added extra celery & about a ½ – ¾ cup of tomato sauce. To thicken a little bit, I always use instant mashed potatoes to keep things gluten free. It worked great in this recipe too.
I plan on starting a new tradition in my family by making this on every New Year’s!!
THANK YOU!!
Thank you so much for the feedback, Cindy! Happy New Year!
Hi Cindy!
Wow, I love hearing about your creative tweaks to the recipe! Using Jimmy Dean sage breakfast sausage was such a clever substitution—it adds that extra savory flavor and I can imagine how it worked perfectly in this dish. The extra celery and tomato sauce must have made it even more hearty and vibrant. And instant mashed potatoes for thickening? Genius!
I’m so thrilled this might be the best soup you’ve ever made, and I’m honored it could become part of your New Year’s tradition.
Cheers to delicious new beginnings!
I can’t wait to try this, I’ll be serving this as a side dish instead of a main course and I need help on how to convert the recipe to three-quarter cup servings? I can’t afford to mess this up, it’s for our Christmas Homeless lunch Next week and I don’t want to guess. Thank you so much.
I loved this recipe. It had a bit much broth, yet that was an asset for me, as I used it as comforting broth on another occasion.
Hi Natalie. I am happy you were able to make this work for you. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe sounds awesome and I want to make it very soon. You mention in your notes that to take it to another level, add coconut milk or tomato sauce. Would you please specify the amount to add of either and would you replace the the chicken broth with that same amount? Thanks for the recipe I hope to get an email response?
Hi John. You can replace some or most of the chicken broth with either coconut milk or tomato sauce. Looking forward to your feedback :)!
The recipe was delicious but definitely needs some adjustments. I doubled the recipe but used only 12 cups of water and added smoked neck bones. The cooking time had to be adjusted als
Thank you for the feedback, Chef John.
Flavor was good, texture was so so — never got creamy as described; watery and beans were hard even though I cooked for longer.
Based on flavor alone, this recipe is a 10 out of 10! My only critique is that the 7 to 8 cups of liquid specified in the recipe is way too much. If you want to achieve the “creamy, but not watery” Consistency described in the recipe, you’re going to have to simmer and reduce for a very long time if you use that much liquid, well beyond the point which the beans have fully cooked. Otherwise, this recipe is essentially beyond improvement.
Hi Nic. Thanks for the feedback!