Black Eyed Pea Soup

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy. 

This Black Eyed Pea Soup is loaded with layers of delicious flavor, lots of bacon and sausage, and of course black-eyed peas. Many people eat black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year’s, but I grew up eating them all year round.

We especially love this soup when the weather is cool and everyone’s craving a hearty, comforting meal. And yes, this is one of those soups that eats like a meal.

If you love hearty bean soups, be sure to try my Ham And Bean Soup and Sausage And Bean Soup. And if you have extra ham to use up, don’t miss my collection of Leftover Ham Recipes for even more cozy ideas. If you’re looking for more black-eyed pea recipes, you’ll love my Hoppin’ John any time of year.

So grab a spoon, pour yourself something cozy, and let’s make a pot of black-eyed pea soup that tastes like comfort—and maybe a little extra luck—in every bite.

Why Use A Ham Hock

The ham hock is a wonderful ingredient that infuses the soup with wonderful layers of flavor. The black-eyed peas and vegetables absorb all the smoky flavor as they cook. If you happen to have a leftover ham bone, you can use that with equal success.

It enriches the soup and helps it with tons of ham flavor you just won’t get from tossing in chunks of cooked ham. The beans work like little sponges to absorb all the flavor. If you don’t have a ham bone, you can use ham hocks. They’re generally available at most supermarkets, often in the freezer section. Just ask the butcher.

Black Eyed Pea Soup Ingredients

• Black Eyed Peas: These legumes are packed with nutrients! Be sure to sort the beans and throw out any rocks and or debris. Depending on the manufacturer, there can be varying amounts.
• Thick Cut Bacon: Adds great smokiness and the drippings are used to cook and flavor the aromatics.
• Polska Kielbasa: Adds a nice meatiness and smokey flavor.
• Olive Oil: You can use olive oil or any vegetable oil.
• Onion: You can use white or yellow onion.
• Carrots: These add a nice sweet undertone.
• Celery: The natural saltiness in celery add a nice depth of flavor.
• Collard Greens: This recipe calls for using frozen collard greens instead of fresh ones. I love this because it cuts down on the cooking time so they will be nice and tender when everything else is cooked and ready!
• Garlic: Use fresh garlic, not the stuff that comes already minced in a jar.
• Chicken Broth: I like to use low-sodium chicken broth. That way I can control the amount of salt.
• Russet Potato: Russet potatoes are my favorite. They’re creamy and have just the right amount of starchiness.
• Cajun seasoning: I like the “Slap Yo Mama” brand best. Remember different brands have varying amounts of salt. If you like more Cajun seasoning, hold off on adding the salt until you’ve added the Cajun seasoning, then add salt to taste.
• Salt + Pepper

When To Add Salt

My Grandma always used to tell me not to add salt when I was cooking beans. While I virtually always do what she told me, this is one area I disagree.

Back in my Grandma’s cooking days, it was thought that adding salt when cooking beans hindered the cooking process. It was thought the beans would end up tough and they wouldn’t be creamy.

Most present-day cooking experts disagree. I now add my salt while the beans cook. Here’s an article from the NY Times if you want to read more about it.

How To Make Black Eyed Pea Soup

Start by sorting and rinsing the black-eyed peas, then do the quick one-hour hot soak to soften them up. While they soak, cook the bacon until crisp, brown the kielbasa in the drippings, and sauté the onion, carrots, and celery until tender. Add the collard greens and garlic for the last minute so they stay fresh and fragrant.

Now add everything to the soup pot—soaked peas, broth, water, ham hock, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and seasonings—then bring it to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until the peas and potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Pull out the ham hock, shred any meat back into the pot, taste, and season if needed—then serve it up hot and cozy.

***See full instructions below.

Variations

• Ham: Substitute the Polska kielbasa with ham. This soup is delicious with dice ham, especially if you have leftovers.
• Collard Greens: If you’d prefer you can switch this up with spinach. Since it cooks a lot quicker than the collard greens, add the spinach about 10 minutes before the soup is done simmering.
• Make It Spicy: As the recipe is written, it’s not very spicy. If you want to heat it up, add more Cajun seasoning and or some of your favorite hot sauce to taste.

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? This black eyed pea soup will last in the fridge for up to four days.
• Can You Freeze This? This soup freezes beautifully! Allow it to cool completely and put it in freezer containers. It will keep up to six months. To thaw, let it sit in the fridge overnight, then reheat it on the stovetop!
• Make-Ahead Tips: The flavor in this soup only gets better over time! Making it a day or two ahead and letting it sit in the fridge is a great way to have an easy meal ready and boost all those hard-earned flavors.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety, check out this link.

Serving Recommendations

If you want to keep things Southern, Bisquick biscuits or my Southern cornbread are the way to go! A side of KFC coleslaw would top things off just right!!

More Soup Recipes

• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Goulash Soup
• Crockpot Potato Soup
• Vegetable Beef Soup
• Sausage Tortellini Soup
• Turkey Carcass Soup
• Beer Cheese Soup

Tried This Recipe?

💌 And while you’re here, don’t miss the next cozy recipe — subscribe to my totally FREE newsletter so you’ll always have comfort food favorites at your fingertips. 💌

If you enjoyed this recipe, please take a moment to leave ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and a quick comment — I love hearing from you and it helps our community of bakers and cooks!

📸 And if you Gram… don’t forget to share your photo on Instagram — tag me @gonnawantseconds so I can cheer you on and share your creations!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today — happy cooking, friends! 💗 Kathleen

Save Recipe!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Black Eyed Pea Soup

This hearty and comforting black eyed pea soup is loaded with layers of delicious flavor, lots of bacon and sausage, and of course black-eyed peas.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time2 hours hrs

Servings: 12 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ water
• ▢ 1 pound dried black-eyed peas about 2½ cups
• ▢ 5 slices thick-cut bacon
• ▢ 1 polska kielbasa
• ▢ as needed extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 large onion, diced
• ▢ 2 large carrots diced
• ▢ 2 ribs diced celery
• ▢ 1½ cups frozen collard greens, center stem removed then leaves chopped
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 1 smoked ham hock
• ▢ 1 large russet potato, cut into 1/2 cubes
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Sort through the black-eyed peas (1 pound) removing debris or rocks. Rinse under cold water.
• Add the black-eyed peas to a large heavy bottom soup pot. Pour 5 cups cold water over the peas. Cook over high heat and bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, cover, and let peas soak for 1 hour. Drain peas in a colander; set aside. Wipe out the soup pot.
  
• In a large skillet over medium-low heat, cook the bacon (5 slices) until crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. When cool, crumble the bacon and set aside. Do not remove bacon drippings. If you don't have at least 2 tablespoons of drippings, add vegetable oil to make up the difference.
  
• Add the Polska kielbasa (1) to the skillet and brown over medium heat; remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
  
• Add the onions (1), carrots (2), and celery (2) and saute until the onion is translucent about 8-10 minutes. Add the collard greens (1½ cups) and garlic (3) and cook until the garlic is fragrant about 1 minute.
  
• Add the sauteed vegetables, chicken broth (4 cups), ham hock (1), crumbled bacon, Polska kielbasa, russet potatoes (1), salt (1/2 teaspoon), pepper (1/2 teaspoon), Cajun seasoning (1/2 teaspoon), soaked black-eyed peas, and 4 cups water to the soup pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer covered, until the peas and potatoes are tender, and the collard greens are the texture you like, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  
• Remove the ham hocks from the soup. When cool enough to handle, remove any meat and return to the soup pot. Discard any skin and bones.

Fans Also Made:

• 
  Busy Day Soup
• 
  Cheeseburger Soup
• 
  Hamburger Soup Recipe
• 
  Pinto Bean Soup

RATE THIS RECIPE

Save Recipe!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 274mg | Potassium: 772mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2300IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 4mg

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I'D LOVE TO SEE!Tag @GonnaWantSeconds or #gonnawantseconds on Instagram!

© Gonna Want Seconds. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media/website/blog is strictly prohibited.

On your phone? Check the web story here.

Source: Adapted from Food Network

Pin

Share

Email

2K Shares