There are a couple of foods that people with southern roots eat on New Year’s Day. These classic New Year’s Day dishes include collard greens and black-eyed peas. That is why I am sharing a Southern slow cooker black-eyed peas recipe. This easy recipe is delicious and perfect for fellow busy moms.

I thought that I had shared a black-eyed peas recipe on this site already but I was wrong. It was a black bean in a crockpot recipe that I had posted. Fortunately, the slow cooker black-eyed peas recipe is very similar. (Black-eyed peas are basically black beans’ Southern cousins anyway.)

I remembered to soak the dry black-eyed peas in 4 cups of cold water overnight, but I forgot to put them in the slow cooker before we went to church on Sunday. (Oops!)

It was fine though because cooking the black-eyed peas on high for 3 to 4 hours in the slow cooker was equally as good as cooking them on low for 6 to 8 hours. They turned out so well that I have been eating them for lunch (mixed with some collard greens) all week.

Southern Slow Cooker Black-Eyed Peas Recipe

Slow Cooker Black-Eyed Peas

Southern recipe (with bacon)

Ingredients

1 lb dried black-eyed peas (Soak in 4 cups of cold water overnight. Drain and rinse them well.)

1 cup onions, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 cup roughly chopped cooked bacon
6 cups cold water
1 tbsp seasoned salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker.
Stir to blend.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. (Alternatively, you can cook them on low for 6 to 8 hours.)

Bonus Tips

I use bacon for this recipe but you can switch up the meat. For instance, when I manage to salvage a meaty ham bone from my holiday ham, I use that instead.
Feel free to use vegetable or chicken broth instead of water for extra flavor.

Be sure to adjust the seasonings to your loved ones’ tastes.
This dish freezes well so you can freeze the leftovers for a later date (up to six months).
Southern Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey Wings, White Rice and Easy Fall-Apart-Tender Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder have rounded out out my family’s New Year’s Day meals for the last few years.

I don’t know about these black-eyed peas bringing good luck and prosperity throughout the year. I do know that this Southern comfort recipe results in tender, flavorful peas any time of the year though.

If you found this recipe helpful, please share it. Thanks!
{This post has been updated and republished. This recipe was originally posted on January 5, 2017.}