A thick, smokey dip with Southern charm, this black-eyed pea hummus goes well with thick slices of crispy bread, crackers, or raw vegetables.
Black-eyed peas have such a distinctive flavor that they may seem like an odd base for hummus, but I was so intrigued by a recipe for Black-Eyed Pea Hummus in our local paper that I decided to give it a whirl. I totally ignored the recipe, of course (it contained 2 cups of olive oil and was topped with fried black-eyed peas; I felt my arteries hardening just looking at it) and gave my hummus a sort of Louisiana spin by adding pecans, hot sauce, and a generous shot of smoked paprika.
The resulting hummus was thick and smokey and flavorful. Even my daughter, who isn’t wild about black-eyed peas, loved it enough to take the leftovers to school for lunch.
I’m not a fan of canned black-eyed peas; I find that they have an off flavor and odor. So I started this hummus by cooking dried peas in my electric pressure cooker for 10 minutes and then letting the pressure come down naturally. Since I was making the peas from scratch, I was able to add a little flavor by throwing in some onion with the peas, which then got blended into the hummus.
If you have to, you can make this with canned peas, but please, put them into a colander and rinse them well to get rid of as much of the canned taste as possible. Using canned beans makes this a Ridiculously Easy recipe, but if you’ve got the time (and a pressure cooker) I really recommend using dried black-eyed peas.
Black-Eyed Pea Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried blackeyed peas (or 2 cups canned and well-rinsed and drained)
- 1/2 medium onion , coarsely chopped (omit if using canned peas)
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans or other nuts (see note)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 -2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (see note)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt , or to taste
Instructions
- If using dried peas, rinse and pick over the peas and place them in a pressure cooker or large saucepan. Add 3 cups of water and the chopped onion. In the pressure cooker, cook at high pressure for 10 minutes; allow pressure to come down naturally. For regular cooking, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook covered until peas are tender, about 45 minutes, adding additional water as needed. Drain peas well. (If using canned peas, skip to step 2.)
- Place the pecans in the food processor and whiz them until they are powdered. Add the drained peas and all remaining ingredients except salt and process until fairly smooth. Add salt and additional lemon juice to taste.
- Scrape into a covered container and refrigerate until chilled.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
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Janet Vandenabeele
September 24, 2012 at 10:43 amThink it would work with frozen black-eyed peas? I love the idea of using smoked paprika and pecans!
Susan Voisin
September 24, 2012 at 11:07 amYes, frozen and fresh peas will also work. Just cook until tender.
Somer
September 24, 2012 at 11:47 amI LOVE black eyed peas! What a brilliant idea!
Janae @ Bring-Joy
September 24, 2012 at 12:35 pm“It contained 2 cups of olive oil and was topped with fried black-eyed peas”
Isn’t it astounding how much olive oil some of these recipes call for?! Literally, heart-stopping :). Love your version!
Alisa
September 24, 2012 at 1:18 pmLooking forward to trying this, I have pinned all your other hummus recipes…I love the stuff with sliced cucumbers. I’d love to see you develop a slightly sweet hummus for breakfast on whole wheat toast…think about it!
You mentioned an electric pressure cooker and a food processor, I am a new vegan and need to equip my kitchen. I am starting my Christmas wish list with a vitamix, but would love to know what brand of food processor and pressure cooker you use. With all your experience you know what works. Thank you so much, I love your blog.
Susan Voisin
September 24, 2012 at 2:01 pmAlisa, I have a Cuisinart food processor that has been going strong for over 15 years, so that is the brand I recommend. My electric pressure cooker is a Fagor multicooker–if you look back to the mention of it in the post, there’s a link to it on Amazon, which is where I bought it. I’ve had it for 3 or 4 years now and I couldn’t be happier with it. I also have a Kuhn Rikon stovetop pressure cooker, a very expensive brand, but I hardly ever use it now because the electric one is so much more convenient.
Congrats on your new veganism and Vitamix! 🙂
Small Footprints
September 24, 2012 at 1:19 pmOh YUM! I love black-eyed peas … and I’m guessing that their unique flavor would be fabulous as hummus … a very nice change from the traditional flavors. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Vicky Carlson
September 24, 2012 at 2:04 pmThank you. I just put black-eyes peas on my grocery list. 😉
Dreena Burton
September 24, 2012 at 2:41 pm*2 cups* of oil??? LOL! I have never heard of anything with 2 cups of oil… except OIL! That is so strange. Your dip looks flavorful and light. Black-eyed peas are not my fave bean either, but this could be a game changer!
Sara A.
September 24, 2012 at 2:51 pmI make a black-eyed pea dip with red wine vinegar, garlic, onion for seasoning. It is good, the vinegar makes it tangy.
Lisa @ The Raw Serenity
September 24, 2012 at 4:10 pmI have been interested in making black eyed hummus for a while now but haven’t worked up the courage.
Sounds great with it being a little hot.
I also imagined it being mixed with pumpkin and cashews. But then again I’m so bias to anything that ha pumpkin in it 😉
Thanks for sharing x
Christy L.
September 24, 2012 at 5:44 pmThis Louisiana girl LOVES black-eyed peas, and I have them in the slow cooker right now! Maybe I’ll make some hummus from the leftovers… what a timely post!
JT
September 24, 2012 at 6:09 pmYou’re so right about not using canned beans/peas. The flavor of cooked from dried is so much better, and the cost is so much less. I can’t imagine life without our pressure cooker. The only thing I don’t use it for is cooking rice, which is much easier in a rice cooker.
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
September 24, 2012 at 9:31 pmlooks incredible!!!! i love the pecans on top!
moonwatcher
September 27, 2012 at 10:51 pmHI Susan,
This sounds really good–what an interesting idea! I am thinking it might be good baked on top of a stuffed pepper. . .might have to try that sometime. 🙂
xo
moonwatcher
juggernaut
September 28, 2012 at 7:06 amisn’t the whole point about olive oil that it doesn’t harden the arteries? (and its deeply delicous and often provides income in areas that are very poor).
Saying that I’ll probably try yours with a little oil (and call it dip)
g
Susan Voisin
September 28, 2012 at 8:40 amHere’s a good round up of the research that says that olive oil constricts blood vessels: http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2008/07/im-going-to-miss-my-olive-oil—who-knew-it-wasnt-so-healthy-after-all-drs-esselstyn-ornish-vogel-rudel-did.html
juggernaut
September 28, 2012 at 7:09 amjsut read orginal recipe again and I don’t think 2 cups to 3 lbs of peas is bad at all – but 3 lbs! you’d be eating this for a week.
Susan Voisin
September 28, 2012 at 8:34 amThat’s three pounds of fresh peas, so it’s much less than three pounds of dried, though still a lot. But two cups of olive oil is still a huge amount and not a healthy amount even to people who believe that olive oil is healthy.
GetSkinnyGoVegan
September 30, 2012 at 7:31 amSeeing as this is the marriage of my hubby’s 2 fave things, I think I must make this today………in the slow cooker……..If I don’t have hummus on hand he pays too much for crappy hummus, I roll my eyes AND sigh, and then realize, I need to get my butt in gear and have hummus made all the time for a healthy hummus filled hubby!
Darcie Clark
September 30, 2012 at 12:21 pmI just made this now and it is super delicious already. I will try hard to let it sit so the flavours meld together more. The smoked paprika really makes it zing!
Kathleen @ KatsHealthCorner
September 30, 2012 at 9:27 pmWhat an awesome twist on the classic hummus! 😀
Erica
October 2, 2012 at 8:22 amI made this – yum! Used 1 tablespoon of sriracha for the hot sauce, and it was perfect!
Tanya @ Playful and Hungry
October 4, 2012 at 12:35 pmHummus made from other beans and legumes is just as great…
Kelly@LeafyNotBeefy
October 6, 2012 at 6:50 pmOh, this looks good. I’m always up for trying a different twist on a favorite! 🙂
Fiona
October 15, 2012 at 11:31 amThis is very tasty! Great recipe! I cooked my own peas in my pc, used 1/3 cup pecans and only 1/4 tsp salt. Thanks!
p0nderful
November 11, 2012 at 2:30 pmI made some today. Used ground sesame seeds. My new favorite hummus.
Catherine
January 1, 2013 at 7:50 pmOMG – just made this and it is freakin’ awesome! I omitted the hot sauce, as I am a bit capsicain heat intolerant LOL, but the flavor is oh-so-good. I have the bestest smoked paprika from Spain and this is one dish it will go in time and time again. Yummo!!!
Liane Blanco
March 31, 2013 at 9:40 amAnother one I’m going to have to try!
This would be a fun New Year’s Day brunch item, along with collard chips, to replace the traditional peas and greens for luck and money.
Thanks so much for this wonderful site! You are a treasure, Susan.
Brenda
August 14, 2013 at 7:56 amI finally took the plunge and bought the pressure cooker you recommend. I used it for the first time on this recipe. So easy and quick. Now I plan to buy some dried chickpeas for the PC treatment. As for the recipe, it’s really tasty! I was kind of worried that it’d be on the bland side, but not so. I used the pecans and a rooster/Crystal hot sauce mix. Thanks again for all your great recipes!
Karina
January 12, 2014 at 2:34 pmThis is delicious and so easy to make!! I used peanut butter as my nut butter. It’s a great dip for veggies and I nice change from my usual Sabra hummus. Thanks for the recipe 😀
Manuela
January 22, 2015 at 10:56 pmQuestion. Do you pick out the onion before processing if you use it to boil the black eyed peas? Thank you!
Susan Voisin
January 23, 2015 at 8:06 amNo, just blend the onion with the peas. It gives it a great flavor.
Gabriela Saenz
April 6, 2016 at 10:37 amI’ve been looking for a white bean hummus for months. My husband is allergic to garbanzos 🙁
I replaced the black eyes peas with navy beans and it turned out great. Thanks for my new go to hummus recipe!
Chris
June 26, 2017 at 5:52 pmThis hummus is fantastic. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I made the beans from scratch, and so have more beans to make this again soon. So easy!
Lynne Charles
May 7, 2019 at 1:06 pmI had made a huge pot of black-eyed peas yesterday for my family and thought, sure, I’ll try making a batch of this. We devoured it for dinner, so I made another. It disappeared sometime overnight. So I just made a double batch . . . 4 batches in less than 24 hours. Needless to say, this recipe is a keeper. Excellent! (– and by the way, I’m not a big fan of black-eyed peas or smoked paprika. Don’t let that stand it your way. This recipe WORKS. .)
Susan Voisin
May 7, 2019 at 1:33 pmI’m so happy to hear this! ❤️