Crockpot Black-Eyed Peas – Holy Cow Vegan

December 30, 2023

A hands-off recipe for flavorful, delicious Crockpot Black-Eyed Peas. The dried beans simmer slowly with onions, carrots, celery and potatoes in a perfectly spiced broth.

You may or may not believe that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day brings you luck, but then again, where’s the harm? We can all use some good luck. And you will definitely feel very, very lucky when you slurp up these yummy slow cooker black-eyed peas.

Black-eyed peas, with their rich, nutty flavor, are wonderful in dishes like this vegan Hoppin’ John and this Caribbean black-eyed peas stew. They are just as amazing in this slow cooker recipe: smoky, spicy, warm, comforting, and super, super healthy. The recipe takes just 10-15 minutes to put together and you don’t even need to soak the beans (although you can, if you want to).

These slow cooker black-eyed peas are the perfect recipe to throw together in the morning before work or at night, before you go to bed. The beans need seven hours in the crockpot to cook to tender perfection. Serve them with a hunk of crusty French bread for a delicious, nutritious, no-fuss meal.

Why you will love this recipe

Delicious and healthy. The beans, simmered slowly with the perfectly spiced broth and the vegetables, absorb all of that flavor and become so, so yummy. And everything in this stew is so, so good for you.
Easy, timesaving recipe. This is mostly a hands-off recipe and all the heavy lifting is done by the slow cooker. Once you’ve chopped the veggies and rinsed the beans you are almost done!
Serve as main course or side dish. These crock pot black eyed peas can be the main attraction at the table, but they can just as easily be served as a side dish.
Soy-free, nut-free, vegan and gluten-free recipe. This slow cooker black eyed peas recipe is also loaded with heart-healthy protein and fiber. If you want to, you can make this recipe oil-free.

Ingredients

Vegetables: onions, carrots and celery. This forms the flavor base for the stew, along with the spices.
Spices: Ground cumin, ground allspice, paprika, red pepper flakes and chipotle chili in adobo sauce (optional, or substitute with cayenne pepper).
Herbs: Garlic, dried rosemary and dried oregano.
Vegetable stock or mushroom broth. You can also use water, but stock will add more flavor.
Extra virgin olive oil. To make the recipe oil-free, saute the veggies in ¼ cup vegetable stock.

Black-eyed peas in bowl with parsley garnish and spoon.

Top tips

It is important to chop the carrots, onions and celery very fine to extract the most flavor from them. If you are not confident about your knife skills, you can place them in a food processor and pulse a few times.
Do not add salt to the black-eyed peas before they are tender. Salt can slow down the cooking process. The same goes for acidic ingredients, so don’t be tempted to add tomatoes or lemon juice to the recipe.
To add a little more texture, you can blend a couple of ladlefuls of the stew. Add the blended mixture back to the pot and mix in.
This recipe is quite spicy, but you can easily tweak the spice level to your liking. Leave out the chipotle chili if you want a milder-flavored stew or reduce how much red pepper flakes you use.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use canned or frozen black-eyed peas?

You can use canned or frozen beans in this recipe, which will cut down the cooking time considerably. If using canned or frozen beans, reduce the amount of liquid to three cups and cook four hours on high.

Can I use more vegetables in this recipe?

You can add sweet potatoes, cauliflower and/or butternut squash to the crockpot along with the beans and the tomatoes. Be sure to adjust the seasoning.

Can I make this recipe oil-free?

To make the recipe oil-free, use ¼ cup vegetable stock instead of oil.

Storage instructions

Refrigerate: Store the slow cooker black-eyed peas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
Freeze: Freeze the beans in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
Reheat: Thaw and reheat in a microwave or on the stovetop.

More black-eyed pea recipes

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