Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas are a southern staple side dish and are made in about 5 hours time. These flavorful peas will have even your non-southern guest coming back for more.
Do you make Black Eyed Peas on New Years Day? If so, this recipe for my Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas is a must to make!
If you’re from the south you might be familiar with this New Years day Southern tradition. You’ll find most homes in the South dining on a dinner that consist of ham (or pork roast or even pork chops), black eye peas, collard greens, and cornbread. Each dish is symbolic in hopes to bring you good luck and fortune for the new year. I grew up in the north and never knew about this tradition until I moved to the south some 20+ years ago. You would never know that my husband and I grew up in the north with all the Southern food we love to dine on from hot pimento cheese dip to fried green tomatoes and cheesy shrimp and grits!
I’m here to share with you just how easy it is to make black eyed peas at home and even better with the help of the slow cooker!
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Ingredients
Black Eyed Peas – Whole dried black eyed peas are needed for this recipe. Not canned black eyed peas. You would have mush if you use the canned variety.
Pork – I like to use bacon, but you can also use a ham hock. Any form of pork will do for this recipe. You really are just looking for the flavor of the pork. If you prefer to have chunks of pork in the beans you can always add it in.
Seasonings – I use a wide-variety of seasonings to bump up the flavor. Black eyed peas are generally very bland. You will want to gather chicken bouillon, garlic cloves, onion, salt, black pepper, fresh parsley, and Louisiana-Style Hot Sauce
Water – I prefer to use water, so I can limit the sodium amount. Some people like to use chicken broth. If you decide to go this route, omit the chicken bouillon and salt. Wait until the end of cooking and then season the cooked peas.
Soak Black Eyed Peas
First, pre-soak black eyed peas. This is really key. Pre-soak the beans either over night or at least an hour prior to cooking in the slow cooker (see tips and tricks section about soaking black eyed peas below).
This is how they will look after they have soaked over night.
How to Make Black Eyed Peas in the Crock Pot
Place the rinsed and drained pre-soaked black eye peas in the slow cooker. Make sure you remove any of the skins from the peas that you might find present after soaking. They will look like the photo above.
Layer bacon throughout the peas, followed by chicken bouillon cubes, garlic cloves, and minced onions. Sprinkle the salt, black pepper, and hot sauce.
Pour 5 cups of water over the black eye peas. Give the slow cooker one good mix.
Set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours (or low for 8 hours).
This is how the black eyed peas will look after they are done cooking. They don’t look pretty which is why you will add in fresh herbs.
Once the black eye peas are done cooking, mix in the fresh parsley, discard bacon if you choose to, and serve immediately.
FAQs
Here are a few of the frequently asked questions when making black eyed peas.
I love when I can simplify a recipe and use my slow cooker. I let it do all the cooking for me. I’ve made this recipe countless times. I prefer to cook the black eyed peas in the slow cooker instead of the stove top!
When I would cook them on the stove top I found that I couldn’t leave my house to run errands (of course minimal errand running is normally done on New Years day). I also had the issue that the water would dry up or I would have beans burnt on the bottom of the pot.
One day I got the hair brain idea to try cooking my black eye peas in the slow cooker. And boy did it work… it worked like a gem and now I won’t cook them any other way! This is now the only way I ever cook black eyed peas!
You might be wondering How long do Black Eyed Peas last in the fridge? Like any leftovers you should only store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days max.
You can freeze your leftover cooked black eyed peas. I like to freeze them within 3 days of cooking. I’ll place into freezer bags, laying them flat in the freezer. Make sure you label your bags with the recipe title and date they were made. You can enjoy them up to 6 months after you froze them.
I’m going to warn you now that this recipe makes a lot of black eye peas. Like it can feed an army, so if your hosting a big family dinner this is the perfect recipe for you. And if your notu002du002ddon’t worry. You can freeze the leftovers. I like to make this big post of black eye peas on New Years day and then freeze a few small bags to use throughout the year!
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few of my tips and tricks when making Crock Pot Black Eyed Peas.
- Rinse Peas – It is very important that you rinse and pick through the black eye peas prior to cooking with them. Remove any cracked, split, or damaged black eyed pea from the bunch.
- Soaking – There are two methods to soaking dried beans.
- Place the black eyed peas in a large pot of water and let sit overnight before you are ready to cook.
- Boil the black eyed peas for 10 minutes on the stove top with 2-3 more cups water then it requires to fill. After the 10 minutes are up let the peas sit in the pot for 1 hour before transferring to the slow cooker.
- Storage – Store cooled leftovers in a freezer gallon bag, freeze and defrost and eat for a later date. Don’t forget to write the date on the bag (consume within 3 months of freezing.
Black Eyed Peas Recipes
Here are a few other ways you can use up leftover black eye peas.
- Cheesy Black Eye Pea Dip
- Tex Mex Black Eye Pea Casserole
- Jalapeno Black-Eyed Pea Cakes
- Black Eyed Peas Hummus
- Black Eyed Pea Pecan Pate
If you are looking for an easy no-fail recipe. I hope you’ll give this recipe for slow cooker black eye peas a try!
If you make this crock pot black eyed peas recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a ⭐ star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker
- 1 Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Dried Black Eye Peas
- 6 slices Bacon
- 2 cubs Chicken Bouillon
- 5 cloves Garlic smashed
- ½ White Onion minced
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Louisiana-Style Hot Sauce
- 5 cups Water
- ¼ cup Fresh Parsley minced
Instructions
- Pre-soak the beans either over night or at least an hour prior to cooking in the slow cooker (see notes section about soaking black eyed peas).16 ounces Dried Black Eye Peas
- Place the rinsed and drained pre-soaked black eye peas in the slow cooker.
- Layer bacon throughout the peas, followed by chicken bouillon cubes, garlic cloves, and minced onions. Sprinkle the salt, black pepper, and hot sauce.6 slices Bacon, 2 cubs Chicken Bouillon, 5 cloves Garlic, ½ White Onion, 1 teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper, 2 tablespoons Louisiana-Style Hot Sauce
- Pour 5 cups of water over the black eye peas. Give the slow cooker one good mix.5 cups Water
- Set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours (or low for 8 hours).
- Once the black eye peas are done cooking, mix in the fresh parsley, discard bacon if you choose to, and serve immediately.¼ cup Fresh Parsley
Notes
- Rinse Peas – It is very important that you rinse and pick through the black eye peas prior to cooking with them. Remove any cracked, split, or damaged black eyed pea from the bunch.
- Soaking – There are two methods to soaking dried beans.
- Place the black eyed peas in a large pot of water and let sit overnight before you are ready to cook.
- Boil the black eyed peas for 10 minutes on the stove top with 2-3 more cups water then it requires to fill. After the 10 minutes are up let the peas sit in the pot for 1 hour before transferring to the slow cooker.
- Storage – Store cooled leftovers in a freezer gallon bag, freeze and defrost and eat for a later date. Don’t forget to write the date on the bag (consume within 3 months of freezing.
keri @ shaken together
We love black eyed peas – definitely a Southern tradition in our home! Your slow cooker recipe sounds perfect!