Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens is the perfect Southern comfort food to celebrate New Year’s Day or ANY day! Made with a leftover ham bone and simmered in a rich tasty broth, these Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens are a delicious addition to your New Year’s Day menu.
As a girl living down here in the South, Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens are an every day dish not just reserved for New Year’s Day traditions of good luck.
That being said, there is also no better way to start the new year than with a big ol’ heaping bowl of this easy slow cooker dish. Talk about an abundance of delicious ingredients… you have tender black eyed peas simmered in a tasty broth with tons of ham and collard greens.
And I don’t even like collard greens.
I am a Potato Beer Cheese Soup girl, a Chicken Noodle Soup girl, a Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli Ham Bone Soup girl… and now after making these black eyed peas… a hardcore collard greens girl!!
WHY THESE PEAS N GREENS ARE THE BEST
- The slow cooker does all the work for you … hello, favorite kitchen appliance!
- You are adding a leftover ham bone to these black eyed peas.. MAXIMUM FLAVOR!
- This is hardcore comfort food. Nothing beats a huge simmering pot of deliciousness.
- Collard greens are veggies… GOOD JOB starting the year off healthy!
- So many flavors and spices are added to this crock pot.. no way these aren’t tasty.
To make these Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens, you will need:
- Leftover ham bone
- Onion
- Garlic
- Chicken stock
- Seasonings
- Tomato sauce or your favorite spaghetti sauce
- Apple cider vinegar
- Black eyed peas
- Collard greens
- Wild rice
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER BLACK EYED PEAS?
To make this Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens recipe, start by pouring your black eyed peas into a large strainer and running them under cold water.
Take care to remove any broken or discolored beans and any lumps of dirt or foreign material mixed in with your beans. Once cleaned, set aside.
Add your leftover ham bone to your slow cooker and then add in the onion, minced garlic, chicken stock, spices, vinegar and tomato sauce.
Stir lightly to combine before adding in the black eyed peas and chopped collard greens.
Cover and cook on High for 2 hours before stirring in the wild rice. Return the cover and continue cooking on Low for 3-4 hours.
At that point, carefully (it’s HOT!) remove the ham bone and cut away any meat still clinging to the bone. Return the meat to the slow cooker and give it all a quick stir.
Cook on Low for another 30 minutes to an hour. Once done, serve up with an extra sprinkle of cayenne or a shot of hot sauce and some corn bread or good crusty bread.
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING BLACK EYED PEAS AND COLLARD GREENS
- Make sure you are using a large enough slow cooker for your Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens. The ham bone we had saved had a ton of meat still on the bone (yay!) so it took up a lot of space in the crock pot. Things got a little dicey once the wild rice was added 🙂
- Be sure to rinse and clean your black eyed peas. You know how sometimes we all short cut a step or two in the kitchen? Don’t let this point be one of them.
- Collard greens are standard fare with black eyed peas but if you are not a fan, feel free to substitute them with mustard greens, kale or any other wild greens you prefer.
- You can use pre-bagged greens if your grocer carries them. If you are using greens in a bunch, remove the stems and chop the leaves into 1 to 2-inch pieces.
- You may have to let some of your greens wilt a bit to add in more if you are limited on slow cooker space depending on the size of your crock pot and ham bone.
WHY EAT BLACK EYED PEAS ON NEW YEARS?
Historically, it is said that Southern tradition states that the first food eaten on New Year’s Day should be black-eyed peas and that you should eat one pea for each day of the new year to bring forth both luck and prosperity.
If you really want to ensure a good year financially, be sure to add a ton of greens for wealth.
DO BLACK EYED PEAS NEED TO BE SOAKED OVERNIGHT?
No, not if you are making this Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens recipe in the slow cooker. Depending on different cooking methods, sometimes you would need to either soak the black eyed peas overnight or at the very least for an hour or so.
Cooking your Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens in the slow cooker removes the necessity of a pre-soak.
MORE EASY SLOW COOKER RECIPES
- Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli
- Easy Homemade Chili
- Easy Slow Cooker Mexican Chorizo Chili
- Slow Cooker Burrito Bowl
- Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Enjoy and Happy New Year’s!!!
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Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens
Ingredients
- 1 large ham bone with meat still on the bone
- 1/2 large sweet onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 64 ounces chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon salt or Creole seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces tomato sauce or favorite traditional spaghetti sauce ... sounds weird but it works 🙂
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 16 ounces dried black eyed peas
- 2 - 3 cups chopped collard greens
- 3/4 cup wild rice
Instructions
- To make this Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens recipe, start by pouring your black eyed peas into a large strainer and running them under cold water. Take care to remove any broken or discolored beans and any lumps of dirt or foreign material mixed in with your beans. Once cleaned, set aside.
- Add your leftover ham bone to your slow cooker and then add in the onion, minced garlic, chicken stock, spices, vinegar and tomato sauce. Stir lightly to combine before adding in the black eyed peas and chopped collard greens. Cover and cook on High for 2 hours before stiring in the wild rice. Return the cover and continue cooking on Low for 4 hours.
- At that point, carefully (it's HOT!) remove the ham bone and cut away any meat still clinging to the bone. Return the meat to the slow cooker and give it all a quick stir. Cook on Low for another 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once done, use a spoon to skim any ham grease from the top of the soup and serve up with an extra sprinkle of cayenne or a shot of hot sauce and some corn bread or good crusty bread.
Notes
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING BLACK EYED PEAS AND COLLARD GREENS
- Make sure you are using a large enough slow cooker for your Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens. The ham bone we had saved had a ton of meat still on the bone (yay!) so it took up a lot of space in the crock pot. Things got a little dicey once the wild rice was added 🙂
- Be sure to rinse and clean your black eyed peas. You know how sometimes we all short cut a step or two in the kitchen? Don't let this point be one of them.
- Collard greens are standard fare with black eyed peas but if you are not a fan, feel free to substitute them with mustard greens, kale or any other wild greens you prefer.
- You can use pre-bagged greens if your grocer carries them. If you are using greens in a bunch, remove the stems and chop the leaves into 1 to 2-inch pieces.
- You may have to let some of your greens wilt a bit to add in more if you are limited on slow cooker space depending on the size of your crock pot and ham bone.
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Update Notes: This post was originally published in December of 2018 but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions and tips in December of 2019.
Can smoked turkey be used instead of ham?
Yesssss!!! Great substitute! !!
Taste is delish! But the bean are still a little crunchy. Is that normal? This is my first time making black eyed peas.
You could probably let it cook a bit longer… I think time could vary a bit when it comes to different slow cookers but it sounds like you are almost there… I know sometimes I have to let it go a bit longer for my rice to completely cook through 🙂
Can you use canned black eyed peas?
Yes you can, just adjust your cooking time to 5 to 7 hrs on low or until the peas are tender. Hope you enjoy them!
Can you substitute long grain brown rice for the wild rice?
Yes you can substitute for minute brown rice and add it to the pot the last 30 minutes, hope this was helpful and enjoy!
The flavor was really good but turned out super oily. Any remedies for the oil?
You should be able to skim the grease from the top of the broth with a spoon.. it’s from the ham and it’s unavoidable 🙁
After adding the rice could you continue to cook on high to quicken the time of cooking?
you certainly could. I would reduce the additional cook time by half and give it a taste and see where you’re at.
I’m assuming he this recipe is for dried black eyed peas. I have fresh. How would you adjust cooking times?
Cook on low for 5 to 7 hours, or until peas are tender Nikole. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy them!
Do you have to add the rice? I mean is it still good without the rice?
You can definitely leave it out if you want. It’s still going to be amazing without it 🙂 enjoy!
You don’t need to add the rice at all. It gives it something more than just beans and broth but it’s absolutely delicious without the rice and you don’teven need to reduce the broth if you leave it out. .
Can you use ham hocks?
Absolutely!!!!
Do you cook the wild rice first?
Nope, just add it in 🙂
This recipe was excellent. I made it with only 32 oz of chicken stock and the rest water, because I knew my smoked ham hock would give it a lot of flavor. I had to use ketchup because I didn’t have any tomato sauce, but it was fine. I can only imagine how much better it would be with spaghetti sauce instead! I made some cheesy grits instead of cornbread and it was a hit! Thank you1
Thanks so much Julie, I am so happy you enjoyed it and i am going to have to try the cheesy grits, but i do like a good cornbread.