Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas and Ham is the perfect dish to make for good luck on New Year’s Day, and pressure cooking makes it so easy!
This is my favorite way to make dried black-eyed peas, and we make these all year round.
They make a terrific hands-off side dish. If you want a vegan/ meat-free version, I include instructions for that as well.
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. See my full affiliate disclosure policy here.
The dry beans in the bulk section at Sprouts totally caught my eye. They were practically begging to be thrown into my Instant Pot (Amazon affiliate) with our leftover Christmas ham!
After I made them in my pressure cooker and saw how easy it was, I knew I had to share them on the blog. I mean, water plus three ingredients?! Dump it all in and press a few buttons…it doesn’t get much easier than that.
Basic recipes like this, with simple ingredients, are the ones we use most in our house. Also, if you can’t get enough pressure cooking, check out all my Instant Pot recipes here.
How to make Instant Pot black-eyed peas
First, gather your ingredients.
Ingredients
For Instant Pot black-eyed peas, you will need the following:
- Dried black-eyed peas
- Better than bullion ( I used the vegetable base, but chicken base works too)
- water
- leftover ham, diced – optional
For the tastiest results, always use the best quality ingredients you have access to. You can use vegetable broth or vegetable stock in place of the bullion + water. Just use equal cups of broth to replace the cups of water (and bullion).
To soak or not soak?
I made mine from dried (not soaked) black-eyed peas. Fresh ones may not need as much cooking time.
If you have a ham hock, that would be perfect for this. Or you can use diced ham as I did here.
Adding black-eyed peas to the Instant Pot
Making this recipe is super simple! Just add all ingredients to the pot, close and lock the lid, turn the lever to the sealing position, and start your pressure cooking cycle.
How long to cook dried black-eyed peas in the Instant Pot
For tender, soft peas, cook for 30 minutes on high pressure, plus 30 minutes of natural release (plus extra time to come up to pressure). This timing has worked for me dozens of times. If the Instant Pot is still sealed after 30 minutes of natural release, you can manually release any remaining pressure.
However! Some factors can cause you to need more time, such as the age of the dried peas. And honestly, you have no way of knowing this most of the time. 🤷🏼♀️ This recipe is adaptable, though.
The great thing about the Instant Pot is that it is super easy to put the lid back on and cook a few extra minutes, if needed.👌🏻
How to make vegan black-eyed peas
This recipe is super easy to adapt for vegetarians/vegans in your life. We do this all the time, actually, and we are omnivores. So you know it tastes good.
Use the same cook time, leave out the ham (duh!😜), and use 2 tablespoons of Better than Bullion vegetable base. Alternatively, you could use chicken stock or vegetable broth/stock.
What to serve with black-eyed peas
Here are some main dish serving suggestions that go great with black-eyed peas.
- Sliced ham or turkey
- Baked chicken breast
- Air fryer chicken breasts
- Slow cooker pot roast
- Mushroom chicken
- Air fryer salmon
- Easy grilled chicken breasts
- Instant Pot chicken thighs (make the peas first, and let them sit covered while you cook the chicken)
- Instant Pot chicken breasts (make the peas first, and let them sit covered while you cook the chicken)
- Cajun shrimp and grits
I wanted y’all to have this in time for the New Year. I hope you enjoy them!
Instant Pot Black-eyed Peas and Ham Recipe
Did you try my Instant Pot black-eyed peas recipe? If this recipe looks good to you, pin it and share it. Give it a star rating. And be sure and stay connected on social media!
Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok
Instant Pot Black-eyed peas and Ham
Instant pot black-eyed peas and ham is the perfect dish to make for New Years Day, and pressure cooking makes it so easy!
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black-eyed peas (rinsed, but not pre-soaked)
- 6.5 cups stock (chicken, ham or vegetable – I used 6.5 cups water, plus 2 Tablespoons Better Than Bullion Chicken Base)
- 5 ounces diced ham
Instructions
-
Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot, place the lid on and lock it.
-
Cook for 30 minutes at high manual pressure. (Note: It will take a little while to come to pressure)
-
Allow the pot to release naturally. Mine took about 30 minutes, FYI.
-
Salt and pepper to taste. (Note: Mine did not need any salt since the ham and the Better Than Bullion was so salty.)
Recipe Notes
I like my black-eyed peas really soft and well-done, with a few falling apart. These were perfect for me! If you like yours more firm, reduce cook time by a few minutes.
Mike Hamilton says
I made this with 6 cups water plus 2 packets of chicken ramen spice and 1 tablespoon butter since I had no broth. I added 1/2 chopped small white Onion, one chopped jalapeno and 1 teaspoon of paprika . Cooked for 25 minutes in insta pot and it turned out great!
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Sounds yummy!😋
Carol says
Black-eyed peas are a New Year’s day lunch tradition for our family. I was excited to use my new Instant Pot to make the peas. I used your recipe and they turned out perfect! The recipe was so simple, but the outcome was very tasty. Everyone at our lunch loved them. FYI – I used the “bean/chili” setting (which is 30 mins.), but I reduced it a couple of minutes just make sure the peas were not too mushy. Also, you are right, with the chicken broth and the ham, I did not need to add any salt. Thanks for sharing your recipe
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Carol! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. 💖 Happy new year!🎉🤗
Rachel says
Beans tend to foam when you do a quick release, which can clog the pressure release valve.
Jesse J. Barngrover says
Can i use canned beans? (all i have) and how long would i cook them for? I have ham and the bone.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Jesse! Hmmm, you could, but they aren’t going to have as much ham flavor in them since you are just basically heating them up. Still, I would guess one to 2 minutes on manual pressure with quick release.
Carol says
if I use canned peas, would you use the chicken broth?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
You can use chicken broth. But with canned peas, you basically just need to heat them up for a minute or two, and quick release. It’ll still be good, but that flavor won’t be quite as infused as the dry bean version in the recipe.
Meme says
I have the 3 quart IP. I am the only one in the family who will eat beps although as delicious as they will be there may be come converts. I will cut the recipe in half. Should I reduce the water by half? and use the same cook time? Thanks, there really should be a manual for the 3 quart size. The one that came with it is for the large size and all the recipes must be adjusted.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
I don’t have a 3 quart, so this is purely a guess. But yes, I would cut all ingredients in half, including water…and use the same cook time as the written recipe.
dbvirago says
Variation on the same question. I have the 3qt also. Did you recipe fill your 6qt? This doesn’t seem to be too much for a 3qt pot. TIA
Meme says
I did cut ingredients in half and cook time to 7 minutes and could have cut it to 5 I think as the potatoes were a little mushy. Tasted pretty darn good.
Meta Sienkiewicz says
I’m a fool for trying to do the whole pound of peas in my new mini 3 qt. I had added 6 cups of liquid and was just below the fill line so didn’t try for the last 1/2 cup. I guess I’ll see how that goes in about an hour.
Kit Newport says
Quick question. Can I use a ham bone in this recipe? I have a wonderful ham bone from our company Christmas party that I have put in the freezer and would like to use it in this recipe. Thank you for your time and response.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Kit! YES, a ham bone would be sooo awesome in this recipe. 👌🏻😋 I’ve made it with a ham bone before, and it is delicious. I hope you enjoy it!
Kit Newport says
Thank you so much for the quick response. You just made my 88 year old father extremely happy. Have a great day..
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Yay! I am so happy to hear that Denise. 👍🏻💖
Jasmine Parker says
This recipe was AMAZING. I love that it was simple to follow and came out perfectly.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Yay! I am so happy to hear that Jasmine. 🙂 Thanks for the feedback, and happy new year!
Julie Ronhaar says
My beans are presoaked- any idea how much I should reduce the water/liquid?!
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Probably by at least a cup, and shorten the cooking time a bit (not sure by how much). I haven’t tested them soaked, so I am sorry I don’t have better details to share. I hope they turn out great! Happy new year!
Lorinda Trahan says
I did mine presoaked. Just added enough liquid ( broth) to cover the beans. Cooked about 25 min. Depends if you like them soft or more firm.
Monica says
So I made this last night (Thank you! I am new to my Instant Pot so it is all trial and error) I had pre-socked beans so I only added 4 cups of chicken stock and cooked for 15 minutes. It was well and truly soup but super delicious! (I added onion, a can of rotel, and smoked paprika with the S&P. I will definitely make again! Thank you. 🙂
Liz says
Thanks so much! I received my instant pot for Christmas and your recipe is in time for our celebration of the new year. Love the simplicity of your recipe.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
You are so welcome! I hope you enjoy the black-eyed peas…and the Instant Pot. 🙂 Happy New Year Liz!