Published: December 25, 2024 | Updated: June 30, 2025
Black-eyed peas are more than just a comforting Southern dish, they’re a hometown favorite, deeply rooted in African American and Southern traditions. I fondly remember cleaning and sorting black-eyed peas with my grandmother as a child growing up, and they were one of my favorite dishes to enjoy! These Southern style peas are savory, hearty, and slightly creamy texture. They serve as a staple in many households in the South. Continue reading as I share with you how our family would sort, clean and prepare our black-eyed peas.
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The Origin and Cultural Significance of Black-Eyed Peas
Like my family, black-eyed peas trace their origins to West Africa, where they were a dietary staple long before they arrived in the Americas. Enslaved Africans brought these nutrient-rich legumes with them during the transatlantic slave trade, which is how they became introduced to so many southern states in the US. Over time, these legumes became a popular dish enjoyed by many southerners.
Black-eyed peas are not only a soul food staple in black households, but they were also a practical ingredient for survival. Over time, African Americans adapted their traditional recipes to the ingredients available on Southern plantations. They used what they had such as salt pork, greens, and onions to enhance the flavor of these beans. This southern tradition has continued down to our day resulting in the delicious slow-cooked black-eyed peas that we enjoy today.
Tips for Preparing Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas:
The process for a good cooking a good black-eyed peas recipe starts long before the peas hit the pot. Here are some tried-and-true tips from our family for preparing this comfort dish:
- Pea Selection: I recommend selecting fresh peas or dried peas. Please avoid anything from the can. Fresh blacked peas will result in creamy black-eyed peas, while dried peas have a nice earthy flavor.
- Sorting: If you have fresh peas from the garden, you will need to shell your black-eyed peas to remove any stems and inspect them for any little black holes. If you are cooking with dried beans, you will need to spread these out on a clean surface to sort and remove any stones, dirt, or damaged looking peas. This step ensures only the best-quality peas make it into your dish. Place all good peas in a large bowl.
- Soaking: If you’re cooking dried black-eyed peas, I recommend soaking these for a few hours to over night. Soaking can not only reduce the cooking time, but it also helps with digestion. To soak, place the black-eyed peas in a large bowl, cover with water (about three times their volume), and let them sit.
- Rinsing: After soaking, be sure to drain peas and rinse these under cold water to remove any final starch or debris.
What You Will Need for this Recipe:
To me, the best pot of southern black-eyed peas are cooked low and slow with simple savory ingredients.
- Water or Broth: Some take the shortcut and use boxed vegetable broth, chicken stock or beef broth, but I recommend taking a large pot or dutch oven, grabbing some savory smoked meat and slowly allowing this to simmer in water over medium heat for about 30 minutes to create your own savory broth. When creating my broth, I also add a few dashes of onion powder.
- Meat for Flavor: You can use smoked neck bones, ham hocks, turkey pieces, leftover ham bone.
- A Few Simple Veggies: While your broth is simmering, I recommend sautéing vegetable aromatics like sweet onion and garlic in a pot with butter, olive oil, or bacon drippings. This will eventually be added to your broth for depth of flavor. You can also slice and set aside green onions for garnish or extra texture when serving.
- Seasoning: The seasonings you will need for this dish are real simple: salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and liquid smoke.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve over white rice with collard greens, a protein like chicken or baked turkey wings, and cornbread for a true Southern feast.
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Savory Southern Style Black Eyed Peas Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz Black Eyed Peas fresh or soaked for 8 hours
- 2 Ham Hocks you may substitute with smoked neck bones or another smoked meat
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/3 cup Onion finely chopped
- 3 dashes Liquid Hickory Smoke
- 2 tbsp Butter
- Water
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
- 3 stalks Green Onion (Optional Garnish) diced
Instructions
- To a pot, add 2 ham hocks. Fill the pot with enough water to just barely cover the top of the ham hocks. Place on the oven over medium heat. Add 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder. Allow ingredients to simmer to form a smoky broth for about 30 minutes. Do not allow broth to boil.
- As broth comes up to simmer, take a separate small sauté pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat, and sauté 1/3 cup of finely diced onion until soft. Turn off heat and set sautéd onions aside.
- After 30 minutes of broth simmering, add 16 oz of fresh black-eyed peas or dried black eyed peas that have soaked overnight. Do not add dried black-eyed peas straight from the bag that have not been cleaned and soaked. Pour cleaned black eyed peas into broth, add onion butter mixture, 3 dashes of liquid hickory smoke and allow black eyed peas to slowly cook over low medium heat for 2 – 3 hours. Cover pot with lid.
- I recommend stirring, adding salt halfway and towards the end of the cooking process to ensure you do not over-salt the black-eyed peas. The sodium within the smoked meat will already add a salt-like flavor. Allowing peas to simmer low and slow will also allow them to thicken on their own to form a gravy like texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving. Garnish with chopped green onions and enjoy!
Nutrition
This looks so good and perfect for this time of year when it’s so cold. I love that it is easy to make and hearty! I am salivating thinking about it.
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
This Southern-style black-eyed peas recipe seems like a great choice. It’s simple, yet comforting, and fits the holiday vibe well.
The perfect soul food, a warming meal for a cold day after the holidays. I usually struggle with legumes, but I think from your post, the problem was not soaking long enough. And the rinsing thoroughly! I only soaked for a few hours. I will try the overnight and hope to enjoy this delish meal without tummy noises and such…
This is totally new recipe for me, haven’t cooked many recipes with black-eyed peas. I’m saving this to make it for our family gathering and surprise them with this recipe, thank you for sharing.
The weather is cold and this recipe is a perfect dish to make for our family dinner. I am saving this right now, thank you!