In this vegan Creole black-eyed peas recipe, the seasonings combine in a nice, thick gravy that envelops the peas like a cream sauce and actually isn’t very spicy at all.
Last year, a cold made me feel so miserable that I didn’t even think of having my traditional New Year’s black-eyed peas until a few days into the new year. This year I was determined to have them on New Year’s Day, despite the fact that a sizzling, burning short in our breaker box had knocked out most of the electricity to our all-electric house. Though last year had turned out perfectly fine despite the delay, this year I wasn’t going to take any chances, even if it meant cooking on our little Coleman camp stove.
All right, all right. Actually, I’m about as superstitious as a pair of old boots. And as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not really big on traditions (or maybe I just like to pick and choose the traditions I follow). The truth is, I just like black-eyed peas, the long-simmered kind you make from dried beans, not the canned variety (which are fine for ordinary meals but nothing special), and the beginning of the year reminds me to go ahead and make them.
When I was growing up, my mother made black-eyed peas, greens, and corn bread for lunch every New Year’s Day, and carrying on the tradition brings back good memories. Even though I probably turned up my nose at it at the time, these days it’s a meal that epitomizes comfort food to me.
My mother isn’t fond of heavy seasoning (and truly, black-eyed peas are flavorful enough that a minimalist treatment is all they need), so she would probably never think of adding so many ingredients to her peas. But she grew up in Alabama where she learned the art of plain cooking, whereas I grew up in Louisiana and fell in love with embellishments: the “trinity” of onion, bell pepper, and celery and the heat of a little cayenne and hot sauce.
In this “Creole” take on black-eyed peas, the seasonings combine in a nice, thick gravy that envelops the peas like a cream sauce and actually isn’t spicy at all, as long as you keep the hot sauce to a minimum. Even my mother would approve.
For more lucky New Year’s Day recipes, check out my other favorite Black Eyed Peas and Greens Recipes.
Creole Black-eyed Peas
Ingredients
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 rib celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups dried black-eyed peas picked over and rinsed
- 5 cups water
- 15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke flavoring or smoked salt to taste
- cooked rice to serve
Instructions
- Heat a large pressure cooker over high heat (use the Sauté button on the Instant Pot). Add the onion and sauté until it begins to brown; add the bell pepper, celery, and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, adding a tablespoon or two of water if needed to prevent sticking. Add the black-eyed peas and water, stir well, scrapping the bottom to remove any burned bits, seal the cooker, and bring to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. (Use the Manual button on the IP and set to 10 minutes.) Remove from heat and allow pressure to come down naturally.
- Once the pressure is down, open the cooker and add all remaining ingredients except Liquid Smoke. Return to the heat and simmer for 15-30 minutes, until peas are completely soft and thickened. (Use Sauté on IP, adjust to low, and stir scrapping the bottom once in a while.) Add the Liquid Smoke and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve hot over rice with more hot sauce on the table.
- To make without a pressure cooker, soak the peas overnight in cold water. Drain. Follow the directions for sautéing the vegetables. Then add all ingredients except liquid smoke to the pot, along with enough additional water to cover the peas by one inch. Cook until peas are completely tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding more water as necessary. When they’re tender, add the Liquid Smoke, cook for 5 more minutes, and serve over rice.
Nutritional info is approximate.
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Original 2008 photo
Jenn
Susan,
I finally got around to making this and it was wonderful! Especially the day after, when it had all night to sit in the sauce!
As usual with me though, I didn't make it quite to your specifications! I was planning on making it and had in my head that I needed pomegranate molasses. I had to hit up several stores before I finally found it and then realized upon coming home that I had mixed it up with another of your great sounding dishes – Iraqi Seitan and Eggplant Stew (which I will also definitely make!). Since I had spent so much time trying to find that darn molasses I decided to add it anyway!
Not sure if it made a major difference, but the resulting dish was wonderful – even my mom, who declared she doesn't like blacked eyed peas, – came back for more over the ensuing days!
Thanks again for your help on how to make it with previously boiled beans!!
Jenn
GiovannaCoraggio
I LOVE your website!!! ahhhhhhhh
I'm making this tonight for 2010!! whoo hoo!
Thank you for being so awesome!
I make your recipes a lot.
Happy New Years!
GiovannaCoraggio
I just made this and the only alteration I made was the addition of soy italian sausages.. I don't normally use those.. but I thought it would go great. It was fabulous! My mom wants to make it now, I'm sending her the recipe!
Carmen
I found your website the other day when I googled "vegetarian black eyed peas." I made this recipe and my family loved it so much that we finished it all so I made it again tonight. I went back and read your site more thoroughly and have now ordered the Eat to Live book. I have been a vegetarian for a couple of years and need to lose a lot of weight, so I was excited to see his diet plan. My kids weren't excited about the idea of giving up cheese but I'm hoping that your recipes will help it be more fun. Happy New Year!
jill
Susan,
I just ate my first meal prepared in a pressure cooker. It was kinda scary at first, and my dog hid in my sons room, but it was worth the trauma. This is a wonderful recipe, thank you! You do a great service to us vegans!
Jill
Anonymous
I made "Creole Black-eyed Peas" for New Years Day lunch. It was WONDERFUL! I served this dish over cornbread instead of rice because I forgot to put in on to boil in time. Great substitution! My "meat eating" out-of-towners even had seconds. Can't wait to make this recipe for my vegan friends. Thanks!
dogbaker
oh my goodness this was simply the best black eyed peas I ever had.
My grandma always made them and I have not had any since she died in 85 '
these are so savory and comforting.
I had to use frozen peas and it was wonderful
Samantha P
i didn't have any black-eyed peas but just HAD to see what the flavors tasted like, so i subbed in lentils, haha. It was DELICIOUS! i added even more hot sauce and some lemon juice when i served it, i can't wait for the left-overs!
Your flavors are stupendous. I love reading your recipes they're very inspiring. I'm not vegan or vegetarian (more of a flexatarian) but i do LOVE healthy cooking and i really like the ethnic twists you put on some of your recipes, really fun!
The Optimistic Cynic
These were yummy. There were quite a few ingredients to add, but the seasoning was still light. I enjoyed the bean gravy
Sheena
I made this tonight with canned beans and it was so wonderful 🙂 Next time I will use the dried, but didn't prepare ahead of time. Thank you for your awesome recipes Susan. We've had two of your recipes in a row for supper and my family is so happy…they were getting tired of lentil soup variations, lol.
Kendra
Made this recipe today it was really yummy. I love spicy food so I added more hot sauce 🙂
SusanV
Hi Jenna, I’d be honored to be on your blog roll and cooking page. I’m looking forward to taking a closer look at your site.
gio
My second new years in a row making this dish (my mom’s too!) I added 1 tbs Chipotle and 1 tsp paprika. I LOVE it! Thanks and Happy New Year!
Susan Barbero
Made these black eyed peas on New Year’s day and they were loved by all! I loved the pressure cooker option- made it possible to put together quickly! Happy New Year Susan!
Leah
I love this recipe every time I make it. The last two times I’ve added some thinly sliced collard greens (the first time b/c they needed to be used up and this time b/c now I like it this way) at the end of cooking. Another winner, I love this blog! Thanks Susan!
Silver Belle
This is extremely late post but I wanted to say how great it tasted! I made these for our New Year’s traditional BE Peas, I even took a presentation photo 🙂
Have to admit that I cheated and used canned, I don’t have a pressure cooker, yet!
But very flavorful and have saved in my recipe box for next year!
Thank you Susan for sharing!
Laurel
Melody Kutulas
Made these tonight and put them over Jasmine rice. Was absolutely delicious and not spicy AT ALL. Made exactly as recipe stated. Do not skimp on the Liquid Smoke, it is the special touch. Husband and 10 year old loved as well, no leftovers!
caterina
Hi Susan! I finally got to make this and it was wonderful! Now I have a block of smoked tofu that I need to use, and I was wondering about incorporating it into this dish, especially to increase the smoke-factor, as I do not have Liquid smoke… If I do make this dish again adding the smoked tofu, do you think that I should also increase the overall amount of seasonings? And at what stage should I add the tofu? Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes!
SusanV
I would add the tofu toward the end and check it then to see if it needs more seasonings. The tofu doesn’t have to cook for long because you want it to retain its smokey flavor. Good luck!
Clare
Hi Susan
I’m planning on making this recipe as we love black eyed peas but do you have any ideas what I could use instead of “Liquid Smoke” ? I’ve no idea what that is but I’m certain they don’t sell it here in Cyprus ! Should I just leave it out ?
Thanks
Clare
Susan Voisin
Hi Clare, the Liquid Smoke just adds a smoky flavor. You can leave it out or use another smoky ingredient liked smoked salt or smoked paprika.
Beth Zdunich
I absolutely love your recipes, website, and humor. Thank you for creating such a fantastic resource! Sometimes it’s harder to find really flavorful vegan food; you’ve figured it out. I got the opportunity to live in NOLA for a few months, and fell whole-heartedly in love with the food, the city, and the people. Your food tastes like NOLA and all those great memories.
Eileen Shaughnessy
Thanks for the delicious recipe! Had it last night with family and friends and it was a great start to the new year.
Michelle B
Hi Susan,
Thank you for helping us Yankees up here outside of Boston enjoy a Southern New Year’s tradition. We loved it! But could you comment again on soaking – or not soaking – dried black-eyed peas? I just assumed they would need to be pre-soaked overnight, which I did. But when I followed the recipe as written, using 5 cups of water, I ended up with a soup, rather than a thick beans + gravy. I decided to add collard greens in the last hour of cooking & ended up with something almost indentical to your Black-Eyed Pea & Collard Soup. It was delicious, but I was wondering if the peas would have absorbed more liquid – and this wouldn’t have been a soup – if I had skipped the pre-soaking. And how would the cooking time differ? I should say that I don’t have a pressure cooker, and I cooked it in a Dutch Oven over medium-low heat for 3 hours.
Susan Voisin
Hmm. That should have worked, and I’m sorry it came out soupy. I’ll have to try the recipe again without using the pressure cooker and see if I need to adjust the water or recommend using unsoaked peas. I’m sure if the peas were not soaked, they would soak up more liquid, so it sounds like I might have erred in advising you to soak the peas.
Leah
I love this recipe. I actually made some of the batch into a black eyed pea cake with cornmeal and ground flax seeds and pan fried them. Yummy.
Melanie J
I vowed to try black-eyed peas this year, and this was the recipe I chose to try. LOVED IT!!! Another of your recipes that I will make again and again!
Azahara
Hi Susan,
I would like to give this recipe a try, but I keep reading that black-eyed peas do not need to be pre-soaked even if one does not have a pressure cooker. What do you think? I’m confused.
Thanks!
Susan Voisin
You can pre-soak them or not. They will cook faster if you pre-soak them, so when you follow a particular recipe, you should follow its instructions about pre-soaking or the timing will be off. In this recipe, you’ll just need to allow extra time for unsoaked peas.
Ginger
Hello, I just made these with the overnight soak without pressure cook and they were awesome. I followed the instructions that said to add only enough water to cover the beans by one inch, sauce was rich and hearty. I did add a little extra hot sauce. I also used canned tomatoe in sauce — I think that added richness. This is my new favorite recipe. Thanks so much.
Ginger Z
Darryl
I just made this recipe for a dinner party. Everyone loved it, thanks!
jm
I want to pin on pinterest, but the pic of the actual black eyed peas won’t work … not sure how you have to set up your blog for it to work, but it would be cool to pin it! 🙂 I made this with a few adjustments (I’m not in the US, so I don’t have access to everything) – it seems like it will be delicious!! 🙂
Susan Voisin
Thanks for letting me know! I’ve updated the page so that you should be able to pin the photo. If it doesn’t work right away, try refreshing it in your browser.
Jo March
Hi! I just picked up some FRESH back-eyed peas from he Farmer’s Market. Hw do you recommend I incorporate them into this recipe? I would really love to eat them before the turn in my fridge!
Tasha - The Clean Eating Mama
I featured your recipe on my blog today!
http://www.thecleaneatingmama.com/2012/07/from-my-pantry-black-eye-peas.html
XxOo
Hannah
Hi I have mostly everything for this recipe apart from the liquid smoke and I don’t think they sell it in my local area. Would it make a huge difference to leave it out?
Thanks
Susan Voisin
It gives a smokey flavor, but you probably won’t miss it. If you have some smoked paprika, you could use a little of that instead.
Hannah
Ok thanks for the tip! And your quick reply !
Jane
I also don’t have any liquid smoke so I’m going to put some cubed smoked tofu in it as well…see how it goes…
Carlas
What would you recommend if I wanted to use a crock pot. As far as cooking time and soaking time? Also I was thinking of adding some ground turkey to it. What do you think?