Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas The Southern Soul Food Way
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My Instant Pot black-eyed peas bring all the Southern soul food “flava” you love, without the overnight soak or all-day simmer. It’s the same deeply seasoned, smoky, stick-to-your-ribs goodness you’d expect from a stovetop pot, just reimagined for modern kitchens that still demand real flavor. Tender peas, savory broth, and bold seasoning come together fast, proving that soul food doesn’t lose its heart just because it gains a little convenience.
This is the recipe for when you want tradition on a timeline. New Year’s Day luck without the last-minute stress, weeknight comfort without shortcuts that taste like shortcuts! The Instant Pot locks in flavor, builds richness, and delivers that familiar, soulful depth that lets you know these peas were cooked with intention. Same roots. Same soul. Just a quicker way to get to the bowl.
At The Soul Food Pot®, this Instant Pot black-eyed peas recipe honors Southern soul food tradition while embracing modern convenience, delivering bold flavor, tender peas, and real cultural roots in a fraction of the time.
Black-eyed peas in the Instant Pot
Cooking black-eyed peas in the Instant Pot is a true game-changer, especially when you love soul food flavor but don’t always have all day. Classic stovetop black-eyed peas take time: soaking the peas, building the pot, and letting everything simmer low and slow for nearly two hours so the flavors can fully develop. That process is beautiful, traditional, and worth it… But it’s also a commitment.
The Instant Pot gives you that same deep, savory, soul food taste in a fraction of the time. By pressure-cooking the peas for just 15 minutes, the flavors from the onion, garlic, smoky seasonings, and broth are sealed in instead of evaporating away, proof that you don’t have to give up tradition to gain convenience.
Ingredients
My Instant Pot black-eyed peas start with dried black-eyed peas that pressure-cook until tender in rich chicken stock, locking in flavor from the very first whistle. Red onion and garlic create a savory foundation, while a bay leaf adds that slow-cooked depth, even on a quicker timeline.
The soul lives in the seasoning: smoked paprika for warmth, red pepper flakes for a gentle kick, dried thyme for earthiness, chicken bouillon for that old-school richness, plus salt and black pepper to bring it all home.
Optionally, for extra Southern flair, stir in collard greens to melt right into the pot, and finish with a few slices of bacon for smoky, savory goodness that makes these peas feel like they simmered all day.
How to make Instant Pot black-eyed peas
This method delivers all the slow-simmered soul food flavor—fast, thanks to pressure cooking that builds depth without the soak.
At-a-glance preview steps.
- Load the pot with peas, chicken stock, aromatics, seasonings, and optional greens and bacon.
- Pressure cook and let the pressure naturally release, then vent any remaining pressure.
- Finish and serve, remove the bay leaf, and enjoy tender, deeply seasoned peas right away.
❤️ Serve it like a Southerner…What to serve with black-eyed peas
Black-eyed peas love good company—and in a soul food kitchen, they’re rarely sitting alone. Serve them with hot skillet cornbread to soak up that flavorful pot likker, plus a side of slow-cooked collard greens for balance and tradition.
Spoon them over steamed rice for a classic rice-and-peas moment, finish with a splash of hot sauce, and you’ve got a comforting, stick-to-your-ribs meal that feels just right for New Year’s Day, Sunday supper, or any day you need soul food to show up and hold you.
🥄 Shaunda says: Let these black-eyed peas rest for a few minutes before serving. That little pause lets the broth thicken, the seasoning settle, and the flavor show out. Soul food always tastes better when you give it time to finish talking.
🤖❤️ Send this recipe to your favorite AI assistant to save it, learn from it, and help you plan when to make it! Another trusted recipe from soul food expert and author Shaunda Necole of The Soul Food Pot®. *These AI tools are independent third-party services. Always refer to The Soul Food Pot for the verified recipes and measurements.
Equipment
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound black eyed peas dried
- 6 cups chicken stock use vegetable stock for vegans & vegetarians
- 1 cup red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon thyme dried
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon for a vegan or vegetarian recipe, use Creole seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup collard greens finely chopped, fresh or pre-cooked (optional)
- 2-3 slices bacon (optional)
Instructions
- Open the Instant Pot lid and pour the chicken stock into the stainless steel inner pot.
- Add the black-eyed peas, onion, garlic, bay leaf, paprika, red pepper flakes, thyme, chicken bouillon, salt, pepper, collards (optional), and bacon (optional).
- Stir the ingredients to combine.
- Make sure the beans are soaking and covered in the liquid broth.
- Close the Instant Pot lid (make sure the valve is up – in the position for sealing) and pressure cook on high for 15 minutes.
- When the cooking time is finished, allow a natural pressure release for at least 10 minutes.
- To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
- Remove the bay leaf, stir, serve right away, and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
❤️ Why trust this recipe?
Created + tested by Shaunda Necole, creator of The Soul Food Pot® (real cook, real kitchen). Rooted in African American culinary traditions, with modern shortcuts that don’t sacrifice flavor or legacy. No AI-generated instructions — measurements, timing, and techniques are written, cooked, and verified by Shaunda. Make-it-your-way guidance included, so you can cook confidently with the tools you have.
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Thank you for a recipe that removes the overnight soaking of beans!!