Black Eyed Pea Soup

This easy Black Eyed Pea Soup Recipe is a great way to ring in the New Year with tradition and flavor! Loaded with black eyed peas, packed with greens, vegetables and ham, it's smokey, flavorful and so delicious! 

Love a great pot of beans? You can find step-by-step directions for how to cook dried black beans here.

Black Eyed Pea Soup Recipe is a quick soup full of flavor and goodness!

Black Eyed Pea Soup

Happy (almost) New Year's to you! I hope your Christmas was magical and you had time to share and make lovely memories with family and friends.

Ours was fantastic - we had a Christmas meal with Dan's Mom, I made a prime rib and baked potatoes. Then we zipped up to Sacramento to spend time with my family. Don and Alice were hosting Christmas and it was full of great food and fellowship.

Actually, we played a super cool game called THAT'S IT where a description is shared and then everyone tries to guess the word. We were all being so silly that my stomach hurt because I laughed so hard! It was a great Christmas!

Do you embrace tradition for New Years? I'd love to hear yours! Often on New Year's Day people eat black-eyed peas to bring them luck & greens to bring them wealth so here's hoping the timing is terrific to share this recipe today!

Black eyed peas for luck and greens for wealth - hey, I'll take whatever I can get! 😋

Black Eyed Pea Soup with Ham

This stew is spot on - loaded with greens & black-eyed peas. It's full of veggies too and is so flavorful. It's low calorie too and a surprisingly healthy meal!

Any good bean soup made with dried beans takes time to make. Beans have to be picked through, soaked and cooked. Even with the "quick cooking method" it will still take time, however this soup is definitely worth it.

Do you have to soak dried black eyed peas before cooking?

• It's not mandatory, but soaking the beans prior will decrease the cooking time.

How long to cook dried black eyed peas?

• It takes 60-90 minutes to fully cook the peas.

This makes a BIG pot of Black-Eyed Pea Stew. The first thing to do when the soup is ready is remove a quart of stew and freeze it. This soup freezes great and for those days you don't want to cook....you are covered, gotta love that!

Grocery list for Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Ham

• black-eyed peas, dried
• smoked turkey or ham
• kale or collard greens
• onion
• carrots
• celery
• mushrooms
• cherry tomatoes
• garlic
• bay leaf
• dried Italian seasoning
• pepper
• red pepper flakes
• chicken broth
• olive oil

Pro Tip - To be sure the beans are done, give the stew a good stir. Pick out 5-6 beans and test all of them. Just bite down on the beans. Often times you'll find one is done, but the other may need a few more minutes. 

Black-Eyed Pea Soup Recipe is perfect when you want a hearty meal!

Black-Eyed Pea Soup Recipe

Why do people eat black eyed peas for New Years?

• Legend has it that black-eyed peas bring good luck when eaten on New Years!

How do I make black eyed pea soup?

1. Pick through the beans, checking for small rocks, blemished beans, and remove them. Prepare the beans by following the product directions by either soaking the beans overnight, or using quick soak directions.
2. After soaking, pour out the water the beans have been soaking in and rinse the beans well.
3. In a large stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add the meat, onion, carrots, celery, garlic and greens to the pot. Season and sauté' until tender, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Add the beans back to the pot. Add chicken broth and add water. Cover and increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook on a slow bubble until the beans are tender
5. When the beans are tender, remove turkey leg or ham hock from the stew. When it is cool enough to handle, carefully remove the meat and add it back to the stew. 
6. Lastly, check the seasonings. You may need a touch of salt. Enjoy!

You know me, I love my soups and stews! If you want to learn how to make the BEST soups and stews, check out Homemade Soup; A Complete Guide!

More great recipes using black eyed peas and greens! 

• Texas Caviar Dip
• Gumbo
• Easy Collard Green Stew
• Spicy Southern Black-Eyed Peas
• Swiss Chard 

I wish you the very best that life has to offer! Thank you for your support this year, your comments, ideas and suggestions are so appreciated. Eat, drink and be merry! Happy New Year to you & yours!!! We are welcoming in 2019 and excited because it's going to be a fantastic year!

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5 from 4 votes

Black Eyed Pea Soup

Black Eyed Pea Soup Recipe - This stew is spot on, loaded with kale & black-eyed peas it's full of veggies and is fabulously flavorful.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr 30 mins

Total Time1 hr 50 mins

Course: Lunch or Dinner, Soups and Stews

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 404kcal

Author: Deb Clark

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 16 oz package black-eyed peas dried beans
• ▢ 2 cups diced ham or one ham hock or smoked turkey leg
• ▢ 6 cups collard greens or kale
• ▢ 1 onion chopped
• ▢ 2 carrots diced
• ▢ 2 celery stalks diced
• ▢ 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• ▢ 2 cups whole cherry tomatoes
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ▢ 4 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 3-4 cups water
• ▢ salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil divided

Instructions

• Pick thru the beans, checking for small rocks, blemished beans, etc and remove. Rinse them well. Prepare the beans by following product directions by either soaking the beans overnight or using the quick soak directions. 
• After soaking, pour out the water the beans have been soaking in. Rinse the beans well. If you don't rinse them, the beans will have a black/gray foam on them. Remove the beans from the pot and set aside.
• In a large stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add the meat - (turkey leg, ham hock or ham) and the vegetables. It's going to look like there are a ton of vegetables, but it cooks down quickly. Season with black & red pepper, bay leaf and the Italian seasoning. Saute' until tender, about 6-8 minutes.
• Add the beans back to the pot. Pour in the chicken broth and add enough water to cover the beans. Cover and increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. 
• After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook on a slow bubble until the beans are tender - about one hour fifteen minutes.
• Check the beans to see if they are tender after about 60 minutes. it will take 60-90 minutes to cook. Remove the turkey leg or ham hock from the stew. When it is cool enough to handle, carefully remove the meat and add it back to the stew.
• Lastly, check the seasonings. I added about a teaspoon of salt at this point, maybe a touch more than that, but it really didn't need much considering the volume. Add the salt at the end. If you add it before the beans are cooked, they will get tough.

Notes

If needed salt the soup at the end. If you add salt during the cooking process the beans/peas get tough. Wait until the end to salt. 

I added about a teaspoon of salt at the end. Often the salt from the ham, turkey leg or ham bone adds just the right amount of seasoning! 

Nutrition

Calories: 404kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 1127mg | Potassium: 1380mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 5570IU | Vitamin C: 39.8mg | Calcium: 214mg | Iron: 8mg

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This post has been updated from December 18, 2015 to improve the reader experience.

Quick tip - To be sure the beans are done, give the stew a good stir. Pick out 5-6 beans and test all of them. Just bite down on the beans. Often times you'll find one is done, but the other may need a few more minutes.