84 Ways to Use Black Eyed Peas from Your Garden

by Erin Marissa Russell

Wondering how to serve all the black-eyed peas your garden has produced this season? When you grow your own black-eyed peas, it’s easy to end up with tons of fresh peas before you know it. This should be a good thing, but if your family is in a rut when it comes to ways to eat these tender, tasty peas, they may be a hard sell at the dinner table. That’s why we’ve done the research and combed through tons of recipes that include black-eyed peas to prepare this list of the very best options you probably haven’t considered.

Prepare Homegrown Black-Eyed Peas in Small Bites and Snacks

Get creative with your crop of black-eyed peas and find ways to serve them in appetizers and snacks. Whether you fry your black-eyed peas until crispy and season them like chips,  blend them smooth for a fresh take on hummus, or shape them into fritters paired with tasty sauce, they’re a great way to start off a meal or tide your family over until dinnertime. Better yet, since black-eyed peas from the garden are a healthy, protein-packed food, you’ll feel good about what you’re serving.

Apples for CJ’s Black-Eyed Pea Hummus

Brit.co’s Black-Eyed Pea Corn Muffins

Bryant Terry’s Black-Eyed Pea Fritters with Hot Pepper Sauce on Epicurious

Food Fidelity’s Easy Black-Eyed Pea Falafel Cakes with Spicy Tahini Sauce

Food Fidelity’s Quick and Tasty Pan-Fried Black-Eyed Peas

Foodie with Family’s Easy Slow Cooker Black-Eyed Pea Dip with Corn and Bacon

Homesick Texan’s Pickled Black-Eyed Peas

Southern Living’s Southwest Black-Eyed Pea Dip

Spend with Pennies’ Cowboy Caviar

Sprinkle Some Fun’s Crispy Black-Eyed Peas—Seasoned and Baked

Make Salads Sparkle by Adding Fresh Black-Eyed Peas

Beans and peas are a natural and nutritious way to round out a salad and make it a meal. When you’re using black-eyed peas from the garden, you can also count on the completed salad being absolutely delicious. Take a look at the tried-and-true recipes we’ve rounded up below to get some inspiration for ways to use black-eyed peas in salads.

Carla Hall’s Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Hot Sauce Vinaigrette on TheKitchn

Country Living’s Fresh Black-Eyed Peas Salad

Food 4 Wibowo’s Wheat Berry and Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Food Wishes New Year’s Day Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Hank Shaw’s Greek Black-Eyed Pea Salad on SimplyRecipes

Kate Winslow’s Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Red Onions and Dill (Salata Mavromatika) on Food & Wine

Macheesmo’s Black-Eyed Pea Benedicts

Sean Brock’s Black-Eyed Pea and Watercress Salad with Corn Bread Croutons on Food & Wine

Southern Living’s Peas and Kale Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette on MyRecipes

Taste of Home’s Vibrant Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Wegmans’ Southern Black-Eyed Pea and Cabbage Salad

Whip Up Fresh and Filling Soups with Black-Eyed Peas

One of the most familiar ways to eat black-eyed peas is in a tasty soup, swimming in flavorful broth. The recipes in this section will show you lots of different ways to include the black-eyed peas your garden produces in flavorful, comforting soups. Take a look to get some ideas.

EmpressChristine’s Black-Eyed Pea and Bacon Soup on AllRecipes

Grandbaby Cakes’ Chicken Chili with Black-Eyed Peas

Kalyn’s Kitchen’s Hoppin’ John Soup (or Black-Eyed Pea, Ham, and Collard Greens Soup)

KitchMe’s Black-Eyed Pea Gumbo

Michael Symon’s Pork Cheek and Black-Eyed Pea Chili on Food & Wine

Not Eating Out in New York’s Red Cabbage and Black-Eyed Pea Soup

The Blond Cook’s Black-Eyed Pea and Sausage Stew

The Food Lab’s Easy Sausage, Kale, and Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Lemon and Rosemary on Serious Eats

TheKitchn’s Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Andouille and Collards

Pair Black-Eyed Peas with Meat for Tasty Main Courses

These recipes are all about the main event. Black-eyed peas go perfectly with all kinds of meat. Although many of us are most familiar with bacon or ham in the black-eyed pea pot, there are lots of other ways to make black-eyed peas part of a meaty main course. Take a look at the recipes below to get an idea of a few of the possibilities.

Climbing Grier Mountain’s Black-Eyed Pea and Beef Pull-Apart Pizza

Dave’s Georgia Black-Eyed Peas with Ham on AllRecipes

EatingWell’s Chicken with Black-Eyed Peas and Yellow Rice

Local Milk’s Pork Confit and Black-Eyed Pea Cassoulet

Paul Grimes’ Garlicky Black-Pepper Shrimp and Black-Eyed Peas on Epicurious

Recipe Girl’s Tex-Mex Black-Eyed Pea Casserole

Southern Living’s Smoky Black-Eyed Peas with Fried Green Tomatoes on MyRecipes

Taste of Home’s Bayou Chicken

Taste of Home’s Southern Skillet Chops

The New York Times’ Black-Eyed Peas with Ham Hock and Collards

The Spruce Eats’ Pork and Sausage Jambalaya with Black-Eyed Peas

Let Homegrown Veggies Shine with More Main Dishes Featuring Black-Eyed Peas

The recipes you’ll find here put black-eyed peas and other vegetables front and center as part of veggie-centric main dishes. These are a perfect way to use lots of the harvest from your garden while feeding your family at the same time. Note: Not all the recipes here are vegetarian, though many of them are. They may include a bit of meat, such as a ham hock, chopped bacon, or optional chicken, but just aren’t heavy on the meat.

Chloe Coscarelli’s Southern Skillet Black-Eyed Peas with Quick Buttery Biscuits on Food Network

Connoisseurus Veg’s Cajun Black-Eyed Pea Burgers

Grab a Plate’s Black-Eyed Peas, Spinach, and Creamy Tomato Hand Pies

Healthy Slow Cooking’s Sloppy Black-Eyed Peas

Like Mother Like Daughter’s Potato Black-Eyed Pea Tacos

Martha Stewart’s Black-Eyed Pea Tacos

Ryan Hardy’s New Year’s Day Black-Eyed Peas on Toast on Food & Wine

She Likes Food’s Black-Eyed Pea and Sweet Potato Tacos with Pomegranate Seeds

Southern Living’s Hoppin’ John Noodle Bowls

Strength & Sunshine’s Curried Black-Eyed Pea Salad Sandwiches

Texas Monthly’s Black-Eyed Pea Pie

The Washington Post’s Kale and Black-Eyed Peas with Smoky Grits

The Washington Post’s Pasta and Black-Eyed Peas

Vanilla and Bean’s Black-Eyed Pea Sweet Potato Cornbread Pot Pie

Turn to Cuisines the World Over for New Ways to Eat Black-Eyed Peas

While American Southern cuisine is likely the first style of food that comes to mind when you think of cooking black-eyed peas, it isn’t the only way to go. Some of the recipes in this section are traditional, while others are brand new. Either way, you can count on these preparation methods to be delicious and unexpected ways to eat your homegrown black-eyed peas.

Bon Appetit’s Black-Eyed Pea Chile Verde

Cookie and Kate’s African Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Cooking Curries’ Mangalorean Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas Curry

Grab a Plate’s Italian Style Black-Eyed Peas

Making Thyme for Health’s Mexican Black-Eyed Peas and Greens

Marcus Samuelsson’s Black-Eyed Peas with Coconut Milk and Ethiopian Spices on Food & Wine

Ministry of Curry’s Black-Eyed Peas Curry and Rice (Instant Pot)

Saveur’s Accara (Senegal Black-Eyed Pea Fritters)

The Spruce Eats’ Moroccan Black-Eyed Peas (Cowpeas—Ful Gnaoua)

Vegan Richa’s Black-Eyed Pea and Sweet Potato Harissa Hash

Whip Up Scrumptious Sides with Your Homegrown Black-Eyed Peas

There’s nothing wrong with plain old simmered black-eyed peas as a side dish, maybe flavored with a little smoked turkey, ham, or bacon. That said, the recipes below will give you some more unique ways to eat the black-eyed peas from your garden as an accompaniment to your meal’s main event. Take a look at the ideas listed here to see what we mean.

101 Cookbooks’ Black-Eyed Peas and Leeks

Cooking on the Weekends’ New Year’s Hoppin’ John Black-Eyed Pea Spinach and Mushroom Gratin

Homesick Texan’s Black-Eyed Pea and Hominy Casserole

Isa Chandra’s Hottie Black-Eyed Peas with Ginger Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Naturally Ella’s Black-Eyed Peas and Dill Potato Skillet

Paula Deen’s Southern Mashed Black-Eyed Pea Cakes

Rachael Hartley Nutrition’s Black-Eyed Pea and Greens Casserole with Cornbread Crust

Savory Spin’s Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens Croquettes

Southern Living’s Reunion Pea Casserole

Taste of Home’s Southern-Style Egg Rolls

The Kitchn’s Sheetpan Okra with Tomatoes and Black-Eyed Peas

The New York Times’ Couscous with Black-Eyed Peas and Greens

VegNews’ Smothered Black-Eyed Peas

Surprise Your Family with Sweets Made of Black-Eyed Peas

Who would have thought you could make desserts out of black-eyed peas? It’s more than possible—with these recipes, it’s bound to be delicious. Try a traditional Vietnamese dessert, che dau trang, or include your homegrown black-eyed peas in more run-of-the-mill desserts. These ways to eat black-eyed peas are anything but ordinary, and your family is bound to be surprised.

Cupcake Project’s Black Thai Cupcakes

Diary of an ExSloth’s Black-Eyed Peas Chocolate Chip Blondies

Fork Fingers Chopsticks’ Vietnamese Sweet Rice and Bean Pudding with Black-Eyed Peas—Che Dau Trang

GroupRecipes’ Pretty Black-Eyed Pea Cake

Tasty Kitchen’s Black-Eyed Pea Pie

The Kitchen Girl’s Gluten-Free Black-Eyed Brownies

With all these ways to eat the black-eyed peas you grow in your garden, there’s no reason you shouldn’t grow just a few more plants next year. Keep your favorite recipes from this article in your go-to meal prep file, and you’ll never run out of ways to serve the black-eyed peas you harvest from the garden. Of course, if you somehow manage to grow tired of all these new ideas, keep in mind that you can also substitute black-eyed peas in recipes that call for absolutely any variety of beans or peas out there.

Want to learn more about cooking with black eyed peas?

All Recipes covers Black Eyed Peas

BRIT + CO covers Black Eyed Pea Recipes

EatingWell covers Black Eyed Peas

Food & Wine covers Black Eyed Pea Recipes

San Antonio Current covers Black Eyed Pea Recipes for New Year’s Day

Southern Living covers Black Eyed Peas Recipes

Taste of Home covers Black Eyed Pea Recipes