Ever since I got my Instant Pot, I’m looking to try different beans. I like simple rice and bean dinners, and love using the Instant Pot to cook up pinto beans, garbanzo beans, and kidney beans, but want to add more bean recipes to my diet.
(Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click on the Instant Pot and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission for the referral.)
I decided to give black eyed peas a try. They’re cream colored beans with a black dot or eye, and are supposed to bring good luck when eaten on New Year’s Day. They’re a good source of fiber and are loaded with potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron.
The first time I made black eyed peas in my Instant Pot and served them on top of a bed of rice, I was disappointed. Taste-wise they weren’t too good and rather bland. The remaining dry beans sat in the cupboard for awhile.
Then I came across a salad recipe that called for black eyed peas, and thought that sounded good. Or at least good enough to use up the rest of that bag!
After cooking the black eyed peas in the Instant Pot, I let them cool, chilled them in the fridge, and used them in a salad.
Delicious!
That’s the secret to black eyed peas. Eating them cold. They taste so much better than served hot. So good, that I used up that bag and then bought another!
If you’re in the same boat, that you bought a bag of dry black eyed peas, cooked them up, and didn’t like them, try cooking them again, but this time cool them down and make a salad out of them.
To start with you need a bag of dried beans. I get mine from Wal-Mart, the Great Value brand because it’s a great price.
I don’t want to end up eating too many salads all week, so I usually measure out about 1 cup of black eyed peas. Remember they expand as they soak and cook.
I put them in a colander and check them over. Everyone always warns about rocks getting mixed in with your beans. I’ve never come across a rock but one time I had a clump of dirt. I push them around looking for the elusive rocks and dirt and remove any broken beans or any that look ugly and might be questionable to eat once cooked.
I give them a good rinse, and once I’ve got water on them I can usually find a few more I don’t want to cook.
I put them in my Instant Pot bowl and cover them with about 2 inches of water. Then I put the lid and make sure the valve is in the sealing position.
I use the Manual button on the digital display, and depending on where I set my time for the last thing I cooked in the Instant Pot, I use the + or – button to set the timer for 25 minutes.
In a few seconds the Instant Pot will take the 25 off the display and show “On”. The On button stays on for about 10 minutes or so. During that time you’ll hear the Instant Pot make some hissing noises as the lid’s valve prepares to seal. Once it’s pressurized the 25 minute will show on the display and the timer will count down.
When the timer reaches 0, the Instant Pot will beep to let you know it’s finished.
But…. the lid is still pressurized and can’t be removed. Leave it alone for 10 or 15 minutes. The timer now begins a different count, going up by the minute. Depending on how big a hurry you are, you can either let the lid depressurize itself naturally, probably in about 20 minutes or so, or after about 10 minutes, put on oven gloves and manually switch the toggle to venting, being careful of the steam.
Once the lid is depressurized, it can be removed from the Instant Pot.
I dump the cooked black eyed peas back into the colander and let them drain and cool down. Then I put them into a container and into the fridge to let them chill.
When dinnertime arrives, I mix the black eyed peas with whatever vegetables I have on hand. I like to boil frozen corn and let it chill to use in the salad. I’ll add in tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and green onion, because I usually have them in my pantry. As for salad dressing, I’ll usually use something in my fridge, either Italian or a vinaigrette. Sometimes I’ll make my own dressing using olive oil, vinegar, and seasonings.
Toss everything and serve.
The black eyed peas have found their way into my meal planning!
Do you like black eyed peas? How do you use them?
[…] from time to time such as green beans. I might give Chica some cooked beans, such as navy or black eyed peas, whatever I’ve made for myself. Sometimes I substituted brown rice for the oatmeal. If […]