These slow cooker black eyed peas are loaded with ham, sausage and veggies. The perfect crock pot meal to get your new year off to the right start!

Ring in the new year the Southern way with these easy and delicious black eyed peas. They’re full of smoky meat and are absolutely amazing served over rice. Enjoy these peas with other Southern favorites like mustard greens and fried okra.

A bowl of slow cooker black eyed peas with a scoop of rice.

In the South, eating black eyed peas in recipes like Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day is thought to bring prosperity or good luck for the new year. Get your new year started off on the right foot with these easy (and totally delicious) slow cooker black eyed peas. They’re hearty, loaded with smoky flavor and are sure to bring you lots of luck!

Enjoy these beans on New Years’ Day while watching the game with some game day recipes like sausage cheese balls, bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers, and homemade Chex mix.

Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas Ingredeints

To make this slow cooker black eyed peas recipe you will need an onion, a green bell pepper, garlic, black eyed peas, a ham bone or ham hock, chicken broth, chopped ham, smoked rope sausage, salt, black pepper and parsley for garnish.

How Do You Make Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas

To make slow cooker black eyed peas first soak the black eyed peas in water for 4 to 8 hours. Next, place the onion, bell pepper, garlic, soaked black eyed peas, ham bone and chicken broth in a slow cooker. This will cook on high for 5 hours with the lid closed. Uncover the crock pot and remove one cup of peas. The peas should be tender. Mash them and return them to the pot. Stir in ham, sausage, salt and pepper. Cover the crock pot and cook for another hour. Remove the ham bone and serve the peas over rice.

Ingredients for slow cooker black eyed peas with ham.

Tips For The Perfect Dish

  • You’ll want to soak your beans for anywhere from 4-8 hours before you put them in the slow cooker. Soaking the peas helps them to cook faster. If you don’t have time to soak your peas, you can still make this recipe. Just be aware that it might take longer to cook.
  • I use both a ham hock or bone and chopped ham in my crock pot black eyed peas for maximum pork flavor.
  • You can often find a ham hock in the grocery store near other cuts of pork.
  • If you can’t find a ham bone or ham hock you can make this dish with just the diced ham. The taste will still be great!
  • I add the seasoning at the end because sometimes salt can interfere with the cooking process and make the peas tough. If you add it after the peas are mostly cooked, you avoid that issue.

Quick Tip

You can use your ham bone from Christmas. Just toss it in the freezer after Christmas dinner!

These crock pot black eyed peas with sausage and ham are the perfect meal for new years.

Recipe FAQs

Do I have to soak my black-eyed peas before cooking them?

For slow cooker black eyed peas, I recommend soaking the peas, but you do not have to soak them. If you don’t soak them, they will take longer to cook in a crock pot.

How do you doctor up black eyed peas?

You can doctor up black eyed peas by cooking them with ham and sausage in a slow cooker, by cooking them with smoked turkey or by adding seasonings like Creole seasoning or Cajun seasoning.

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Flavor Variations

This slow cooker black eyed peas recipe is fantastic as-is; however you can change the dish to suit your taste.

  • Sausage: I use a rope style sausage like kielbasa. But you can really use any type of smoked sausage that is available to you.
  • Rice: I typically serve this dish over steamed rice. However, you can serve them with brown rice, grits or honey cornbread.
  • Vegetables: You can add in veggies like diced celery, carrots or a can of stewed tomatoes. Also, serve these peas with veggies like collard greens, bacon ranch green beans or fried corn.
  • Meat: Substitute the ham hock or ham bone with a smoked turkey wing. You can also use diced turkey meat in place of ham.
  • Broth: You can substitute the chicken broth for vegetable broth or beef broth.
  • Spicy: Add extra spice with Cajun seasoning, Creole seasoning or some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.

My whole family loves these black eyed peas, even the kids! We eat them all year long, but they’re always on our New Year’s Day menu too, because who couldn’t use a little extra luck?!

More Slow Cooker Recipes

Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas Video


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5 from 39 votes

Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas

AuthorSara Welch
These slow cooker black eyed peas are loaded with ham, sausage and veggies. The perfect crock pot meal to get your new year off to the right start!
These slow cooker black eyed peas are loaded with ham, sausage and veggies. The perfect crock pot meal to get your new year off to the right start!
Time
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time6 hours
Total Time6 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Serves 8

Ingredients 

  • 1 yellow onion finely diced
  • 1 green bell pepper finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 lb dried black eyed peas soaked for at least 4 hours
  • 1 ham bone or ham hock
  • 5 cups chicken broth low sodium
  • 2 cups chopped ham
  • 14 ounces smoked rope sausage such as kielbasa or andouille, halved lengthwise and sliced
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions 

  • Place the onion, bell pepper, garlic, black eyed peas, ham bone and chicken broth in a slow cooker.
  • Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours.
  • Uncover and remove one cup of the peas. Mash thoroughly then return to the pot. Add the ham, sausage, salt and pepper to the pot. Stir thoroughly.
  • Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 more hour.
  • Remove the ham bone. Stir in the parsley and serve with rice.

Notes

  1. You’ll want to soak your beans for anywhere from 4-8 hours before you put them in the slow cooker. Soaking the peas helps them to cook faster. If you don’t have time to soak your peas, you can still make this recipe; just be aware that it might take longer to cook.
  2. I use both a ham hock or bone and chopped ham in my crock pot black eyed peas for maximum pork flavor.
  3. You can use your ham bone from Christmas. Just toss it in the freezer after Christmas dinner!

Nutrition

Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 543mg | Potassium: 1011mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Vitamin C: 24.8mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 6.1mg

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5 from 39 votes (25 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    THIS IS THE ONE! Look no further, this is the perfect, best black eyed pea receipe I have found. I have been cooking black eyed peas for over years. This is exellent and easy. I had rave reviews at the New Years Eve party! Try it , you will never change to another!

  2. I cooked all ingredients, including the meats, at one time in low for 8 hours. I had soaked peas for 4 hours prior. I also added a fresh jalapeรฑo seeded. The best black eyed peas Iโ€™ve ever eaten. Thank you!

  3. I want to make this for a potluck, and I really want to add sliced okra. Do you think it would make it too slimy?

  4. Can I make this with regular chicken broth, or does it have to be low sodium? Will it be too salty if I use regular chicken broth?

  5. 5 stars
    For years I have been searching for a great recipe for my good luck black eyed peas. This year I was fortunate to save a ham bone from Christmas Dinner in hope of incorporating into our New Years Black Eyed Peas recipe. Well after years of trying to figure it out on the fly or endless research on the “inter web” in the recent years, I have finally found a recipe that has brought it “HOME”. We are a Texas Family and tradition runs deep in our neck of the woods, so having Black Eyed Peas on New Years Day is going to happen no matter the taste or expense.
    2020 and Dinner At The Zoo has brought a new tradition to our family that we hope carries on for generations. We tweaked the recipe a bit, but stayed the course for the most part. Adding only ground sausage and beef cooked the night before for more flavor. We also used canned peas, which we drained and rinsed and then followed the recipe cook time of 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
    This was the BEST recipe that we have found, as my wife says “49 years”, and I suggest you use it and make your New Years Day Good Luck Meal and FANTASTIC MEAL.

    Thank you to the ZOO and HAPPY NEW YEAR

  6. 5 stars
    I’m absolutely going to make this. Looks so good. Thank you for the recipe.

  7. 5 stars
    This recipe was truly outstanding! Phenomenal! After enjoying this for dinner for a few nights, I changed up the flava for the remaining batch by adding tomato paste, tomato sauce and a can of Rotel (plus more garlic). Another round of incredibleness!
    FIVE STARS!!