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 want, you can make this with canned beans, 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 the dried beans.
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 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.
Recipe Notes
I use pecans to round out the Southern flavor of this dip, but you can use any nuts (or two tablespoons of nut butter) you like, or leave them out completely for a lower-fat hummus.
I use a mild hot sauce (Cholula), so if you use something hotter, adjust the amount to taste.
Nutrition (per serving, without salt or nuts): 102 calories, 4 calories from fat, less than 1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 70.9mg sodium, 346.3mg potassium, 18.6g carbohydrates, 3.3g fiber, 2.5g sugar, 6.8g protein.
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Janet Vandenabeele says
Think it would work with frozen black-eyed peas? I love the idea of using smoked paprika and pecans!
Susan Voisin says
Yes, frozen and fresh peas will also work. Just cook until tender.
Somer says
I LOVE black eyed peas! What a brilliant idea!
Janae @ Bring-Joy says
“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 says
Looking 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 says
Alisa, 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 says
Oh 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 says
Thank you. I just put black-eyes peas on my grocery list. 😉
Dreena Burton says
*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. says
I 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 says
I 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. says
This 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 says
You’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 says
looks incredible!!!! i love the pecans on top!
notorious says
Oddly, you say you are vegan: “I went vegetarian in 1988 because I didn’t want to eat animals. Then, about 6 years later, I eliminated all animal products from my diet (and as many as possible from my life).” However, your profile on a February 25, 2011, page states the following…”Though I have an interest in vegan cooking, we are vegetarian, not vegan…”. For years you have presented a vegan image. I could read nowhere other than this inadvertent comment, that dairy and eggs are part of your diet?
Susan Voisin says
Huh? I don’t know where you found that sentence, but I never said or wrote it. I’ve been a strict vegan since February of 1994. Can you give me a link?
Susan Voisin says
I figured out what happened. You were looking at one of the recipes on my main site, which are mostly submitted by other people. That one was written by someone named Mimsy and originally posted on a vegan Livejournal page. The introductory remarks are hers. If you look at the end of the recipe, there’s a link to the original post.
All of my recipes include my name at the top, underneath the title (“by SusanV”) and also in the introductory remarks of the recipe. All others were written by someone else.
moonwatcher says
HI 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 says
isn’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 says
Here’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 says
jsut 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 says
That’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.
juggernaut says
I’ll take your one and raise you four:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v437/n7055/abs/437045a.html
http://www.biblioteca.uma.es/bbldoc/tesisuma/16602365.pdf
http://www.neurology.org/content/77/5/418.short
http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/20303720/reload=0;jsessionid=jP8a47LYzXdMOjRzv5Q3.0
I did this very quickly but I tried to stick to reputable jounals (not sure of the third) and to keep it to outcomes rather than changes (thought one above is about changes). The upshot is that for strokes, heart disease and cancer olive oil (or something particular to olive oil) seems to offer protection. Until we get a Cochrane Review on this there will always be doubt and some negative outcomes from studies (though I didn’t come across one) not least because we would expect false-positives perhaps 1 out of 20 times.
As an aside I came across a review of soya oil versus oil oil for pre-term babies on the colchrane website – but its not finished yet http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD009172/soy-oil-based-versus-alternative-lipid-emulsions-for-parenterally-fed-preterm-infants.
Susan Voisin says
I’m not going to argue with you. This is an oil-free site, and it follows the principles of Drs. Esselstyn, McDougall, and Furhman, who have been successfully treating heart patients (and reversing heart disease) for decades with oil-free diets. We can go back and forth citing studies, but I stick to what I have found works.
juggernaut says
I don’t want to argue with you either! I love your site and it makes my day when you post but I’m not keen on dissing olive oil on mixed evidence (I should point out I have no links to the OO industry – would that I lived in Italy and did!).
GetSkinnyGoVegan says
Seeing 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 says
I 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 says
What an awesome twist on the classic hummus! 😀
Erica says
I made this – yum! Used 1 tablespoon of sriracha for the hot sauce, and it was perfect!
Tanya @ Playful and Hungry says
Hummus made from other beans and legumes is just as great…
Kelly@LeafyNotBeefy says
Oh, this looks good. I’m always up for trying a different twist on a favorite! 🙂
Fiona says
This 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 says
I made some today. Used ground sesame seeds. My new favorite hummus.
Catherine says
OMG – 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 says
Another 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 says
I 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 says
This 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 says
Question. Do you pick out the onion before processing if you use it to boil the black eyed peas? Thank you!
Susan Voisin says
No, just blend the onion with the peas. It gives it a great flavor.
Gabriela Saenz says
I’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!