Y’all, we take our black-eyed peas tradition VERY seriously in this house. For those who don’t know, Southerners believe you’re supposed to eat black-eye peas on New Years Day for good luck in the coming year. I have exactly zero idea WHY we think that, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s an excuse to eat a yummy dish at least once a year, so who am I to question it? In fact, we take it SO seriously that my darling husband has eaten them in the sky and in several different countries over the last 8 years because I’ve made him take some with him when he’d leave on a trip. I even got up early this morning to make them for him so he’d have them for the trip he’s on this weekend! I made the version my Awmaw always made, so I did not make this Instant Pot black-eyed peas recipe this time, but I will be next week for round 6 or 7 of them (turns out my kids LOVE them!).
Taking dried black-eyed peas, water, sugar, butter (uh… it’s Southern, remember?), and maybe a little bacon in the Instant Pot makes for one heck of a bowl of deliciousness, particularly when topped with some sweet, crunchy diced onion. Adding in pickled jalapeños for some heat balances out the sweetness, but my kids aren’t fans, so we just add them to our portion, along with the sweet onion. This is not meant to be a healthy dish by a long shot, but if you’re on the healthier end of things, you can definitely cut some of the sugar and butter out!
Looking for another warm dish that makes for a perfect New Years meal? Add some tamales to this Instant Pot chili (or the traditionally-made version) and you’ve got yourself a delicious meal straight from Texas!
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Instant Pot Black-eyed Peas Recipe
Ingredients
1 lb black-eyed peas
6.5 c water
3/4 c sugar
1 stick butter (use butter alternative if you have someone allergic to dairy like we do!)
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional, but delicious)
Jalapeños, optional
Salt and pepper to taste
Sweet onion, diced, to top
Instructions
- Add the beans, water, sugar, butter, and bacon (as well as the jalapeños if you’re using them) to the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and set to manual high pressure for 25 minutes.
- Allow the pot to natural pressure release.
- Stir well and add salt and pepper to taste (the butter and bacon will have added some salt to it).
- Serve topped with sweet onion!
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