Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas was one of the first things I successfully made in my Instant Pot and got me hooked on this appliance! These peas are so easy to make and chockful of flavor!

We make these peas for New Year’s Day (as is tradition), but we also often make them for other meals throughout the year. One thing we do with Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas over and over again is use them for Hoppin’ John.
I hope to share that recipe soon, but for now – I’m just gonna share the black-eyed peas!

Cooking times vary slightly, but you can cook almost any dry beans with this basic recipe. Change up the flavors if you like – use broths, diced onions, garlic, other meats, etc. and the sky is the limit.
We do red beans for Red Beans & Rice, black beans for Taco Soup & Chili, pinto beans for Refried Beans and more.

Instant Pot Black-eyed Peas with Bacon
I ended up shooting these pics on New Years Day a couple of years ago. I’d waited until the last minute to plan and prepare the traditional New Year’s Day meal and gosh, I couldnt’ have been more grateful for the option to quickly do the black-eyed peas in the Insant Pot.
A truly traditional meal should’ve also had pork and cabbage (I don’t know why – I just know that’s “the” traditional New Years Day meal) but that wasn’t happening.
Steaks were already thawed and I had cornbread dressing thawed from the freezer (also not traditional). Oh well… it was a delicious meal and the black-eyed peas were perfection!

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If this is not tradition for you, can you leave me a comment and tell me what your traditional New Years Day meal is?
Printable Recipe:
Here’s how I made them (and they were perfection):
Print
Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas
- Total Time: 53 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Easy & Delicious Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas are perfect for New Years or any other occassion! These black-eyed peas are so easy with no worries about soaking, scorching, under-cooking, etc! And they’re delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
- 6.5 cups water*
- 2 Tbsp. Better than Bouillon, chicken flavor*
- 1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon (or real bacon pieces)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into the Instant Pot.
- Close and lock the lid.
- Make sure the top knob is turned to “Sealing”.
- Press the Manual Button.
- Adjust “Pressure” to high (if not there already).
- Set for 30 minutes (using the + or – buttons) and you’re done!
- I let mine cook, then naturally cool (although it will keep warm until you turn it off).
- They were perfect – no other seasonings were needed!!
- *We like our black-eyed peas really soft. If you prefer them a little more firm, you might want to cook for 20 or 25 minutes vs. 30.
- **It will take longer than 30 minutes for them to be ready to eat because you have to wait for it to pressurize and then wait for it to depressurize, but it’s insanely faster than soaking then cooking on the stove the traditional way. I put 50 minutes total “cook time” assuming 10 minutes to reach pressure and 10 minutes too cool. Those times may vary.
Notes
- *You could substitute chicken, beef or vegetable broth for the water & Better than Bouillon.
- Prep Time: 3
- Cook Time: 50
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: instant pot, pressure cooker, peas, black eyed peas, new years, beans

Did you cook the bacon first?
Yes ??
This worked out great. THANK YOU
★★★★★
I just made these…my 1st time ever making black-eyed peas (yes I’m 62 and from the south- don’t ask!)…and they turned out delicious. I sautéed a little onion and jalapeno on the sauté feature before adding the other ingredients. Thanks!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear this! Happy 2021!!
I just made these for New Year’s Day and they are delicious! I used country ham instead of bacon and they were a tad salty…next time I use country ham, I will reduce the amount of Better Than Bouillon a little. Otherwise these turned out perfect and when they are served with other food I probably won’t notice the salt. Thanks for sharing this easy and delicious recipe. First time I have ever had luck with dry beans in my Instant Pot!!!
★★★★★