This Instant Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup is an easy and fast way to serve traditional black eyed peas and greens on New Year's day for good luck and good health! Packed with veggies, healthy pulses, freezable, and gluten/dairy free.
Turn your Instant Pot/pressure cooker to the "sauté" setting.
Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in the olive oil (1 tablespoon) for 2-3 minutes, or until softened.
Add the minced garlic (1 clove) and cubed ham (1.5 cups); sauté for 2-3 more minutes. (If using a ham bone or hock, just add the garlic, then add the ham bone in the next step).
Add the pre-soaked, drained, and rinsed black eyed peas, chicken stock (6 cups), smoked paprika (1 tablespoon), bay leaf, fresh thyme (1 tablespoon). Stir together.
Set Instant Pot/pressure cooker to manual/high pressure for 10 minutes.
Allow to naturally depressurize for 20 minutes, then quick release the pressure.
If you used a ham bone/hock, remove it at this time. Take the meat off the bone, chop it up, and add it back to the pot. Discard the bone.
Stir in the 2 cups packed kale (or collard greens) and canned diced tomatoes to the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. The residual heat of the soup should cook the greens through, but you can always set the pot to "sauté" to simmer it for a few minutes if you need to.
Notes
Soaking the beans: I recommend soaking the peas covered by at least 2 inches of water in a container with 1 tablespoon kosher salt overnight in your fridge before making this soup. Drain and rinse well before cooking. This will help break down the indigestible carbohydrates in the peas and flavor them as well.
Slow Cooker Instructions: If using a slow cooker, add all ingredients except for tomatoes, greens, salt, and pepper. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Add the tomatoes and greens and season with salt and pepper when it's done, allowing the residual heat of the soup to cook the greens through.
Stovetop Instructions: If using the stovetop, sauté the onions, carrots, and celery as instructed in olive oil in a large pot. Add the garlic and ham as instructed. Add remaining ingredients except for tomatoes, greens, salt, and pepper, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 2-3 hours, or until black eyed peas are tender. Add the tomatoes and greens, season with salt and pepper, and continue simmering until greens are cooked through.
Make it vegetarian/vegan: omit the ham and make sure to use vegetable stock. Add more smoked paprika for a deeper smoky flavor, as well as more salt.
I made this recipe in my 6 qt. Instant pot. It should work the same in an 8 qt., but you may need to cut the ingredients in half for a 3 qt. mini.
The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. The serving size is estimated. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.