A heart-healthy, Southern classic side dish made with brown rice. Get a taste of home in 25 minutes!
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Black Eyed Peas and Rice Recipe
Traditionally, black-eyed peas and rice is made with white rice.
For this recipe, I wanted to switch it up a little and do brown rice. The instant pot cuts the cooking time way down anyway so I knew it would be a cinch to cook.
Is it that big of a deal to use brown rice instead of white rice? Well, brown rice is considered a whole grain. The difference with white rice is that in the manufacturing process they've taken away a lot of the nutrition to get it the color and texture that it is.
A whole grain contains all of the original vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Learn more about the Health Benefits of Black-Eyed Peas.
Black Eyed Peas And Rice Instant Pot
This recipe is pretty much a dump-and-cook recipe. All you need is 7 ingredients. No chopping. No prep.
Just add the black-eyed peas, brown rice, broth, bay leaves, and seasonings. Let it cook, and you've got a healthy side dish to go with your main meal.
Black Eyed Peas And Rice on The Stove
In order for this to turn out right, you have to use Uncle Ben's Brown Rice. It's the key to making this turn out right!
Most brown rice takes ~40 minutes to cook, and that's too long for this recipe.
The other trick to getting black-eyed peas and rice to come out right is to not stir it while it's cooking. Stir it once when you mix all the ingredients together, put the lid on, and let it cook for 20 minutes.
That's it! See below for the full recipe.
Canned Black-Eyed Peas And Rice Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 can of black-eyed peas
- Brown rice
- Unsalted chicken broth
- Dry bay leaves
- Salt, pepper, onion, and garlic powder
Why use onion powder and garlic powder?
Most recipes would probably tell you to chop up some fresh onion and garlic. That's cool and all but let's be honest.
Sometimes you just don't feel like having to chop something up to make a good, healthy recipe. Sometimes you just want to get right to cooking!
For this recipe you are literally throwing all the ingredients together in the instant pot, giving it a good stir, and letting it cook.
See the full recipe below!
What Can I Add to Black Eyed Peas for Flavor?
- Bay leaves
- Garlic
- Onion
- Broth/stock
- Turkey wing or leg
- Red bell pepper
- Green bell pepper
- Ham
- I recommend buying “uncured ham”. You’ll want to look for a ham that states “no added nitrates or nitrites”. The reason for this is because it’s believed that these chemicals may increase the risk for colorectal cancer.
Vegetarian Black Eyed Peas And Rice Recipe
To make this vegetarian, simply swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth. Easy Peasy!
What to Eat With Black Eyed Peas And Rice
Protein
- Chicken
- Pork loin
- Meatloaf
- Fish
Vegetable
If you're going for a typical Southern meal then you've gotta have greens, cabbage, okra, or green beans. Check out my Cajun Green Beans recipe!
How Long to Store in Fridge
These should keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. To make the black-eyed peas and rice cool faster, remove the pot from the stove and put it on a trivet. If using an instant pot, remove the metal insert and let it sit on a potholder trivet.
How to Freeze
Freeze for up to 3 months.
Once it has completely cooled, you can transfer the rice and peas to a freezer bag. See the steps below.
- Label the bag using a permanent marker with the name, include the date you put them in the freezer, and the number of servings (if you like). Listing the number of servings might help you in the future with meal planning. You can also include the date 3 months later as an “expiration date” if you wish.
- Lay the bag flat on a small baking tray.
- Place the tray in the freezer to let the bag freeze.
- Now you have a nice flat bag that stores easily without taking up a lot of space!
More Southern Recipes You'll Love!
Instant Pot Lima Beans using large dry lima beans! Stovetop directions included.
Cajun Green Beans using fresh or frozen green beans!
Meals in 30 Minutes or Less!
Instant Pot Hamburger Helper (Homemade)
Easy Black Eyed Peas And Rice (Instant Pot/Stove Top!)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1, ¾ cup black-eyed peas, canned drained and rinsed
- 1 cup parboiled brown rice
- 1, ½ cup unsalted chicken broth 2 cups if doing stove top version
- 5 dried bay leaves if they are large leaves you may not need to use this many
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Drain and rinse black-eyed peas in a colander
Instant Pot
- Combine all ingredients in the instant pot and stir well
- Set instant pot to pressure cook setting ->high pressure->more (15 minutes). Put lid on and turn the valve to "sealing". Let cook.
- Once the timer goes off switch the valve to venting. Be careful of the steam! Use a long utensil or potholder to turn the valve to vent.
- Stir and serve!
Stovetop
- Bring 2 cups of broth to a boil. Add all ingredients and give it a stir.
- Turn heat down to low and put the lid on the pot. Let it cook for 20 minutes.*Do not lift the lid and stir inbetween. Leave it alone for 20 minutes!
- Stir and serve!
Notes
- *Since this only needs to cook for 20 minutes it's super important to use parboiled brown rice, like Uncle Ben's, for example.
- Use vegetable broth to make this vegan/vegetarian
- 3 large dried bay leaves would be enough
- If using a broth or stock that is not unsalted, skip adding additional salt
- Looking for a protein and nutrient boost? Use bone broth instead.
Mack45
Hi, no one reads the blog. If you’re using parboiled brown rice please put that in your recipe card.
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Just updated the recipe card. You are right I should clarify that. I guess I'm the nerd that reads through recipe post to get the additional details that can make a recipe great ;-D.
Miki
I don't have an instant pot. Can it be cooked on the stovetop?
KeyVion
Hi Miki! Love your question! When I have made this on the stove I used white rice/parboiled rice because it cooks quicker and the peas don't turn to mush. I will update the recipe once I try it on the stove using brown rice. Let me know if I can help with anything else.