The air fryer makes this black-eyed pea snack crunchy in minutes, but you can also make them in an oven or toaster oven. See the notes below. The recipe depends on having firm, intact black-eyed peas, so if yours are mushy and falling apart, save them for another use.
Using a colander or strainer, drain the liquid from the black-eyed peas. Gently rinse them off under running water and let them drain for a few minutes. Spread them out on a plate and discard any smashed or mushy peas. (If there are too many mushy peas, try this recipe using a different brand and use these peas for something else.)
Mix up the seasoning ingredients and sprinkle as much as you like over the peas, gently stirring the peas to make sure all are coated. (I used all the seasoning, and the peas come out moderately spicy to my taste.)
Preheat your air fryer to 350-360 F. Put the peas in the basket and air fry for 5 minutes. Remove the basket and shake or stir to redistribute the peas. Air fry for another 5 minutes or until peas are crunchy on the outside and slightly tender on the inside. Allow to cool and serve immediately. Note: these get soft quickly, so try to serve them as close as possible to air-frying or reheat for a minute or two in the air fryer or oven just before serving.
Notes
You can make these in the oven or toaster oven. Preheat oven to 400F. Spread the peas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Bake until they are crunchy, stirring after 8 minutes.Sodium listed in nutritional info assumes black-eyed peas cooked with salt and the optional salt in the seasoning mix.