Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Hearty, wholesome soups are a comfort food essential, and they’re a great way to feed a crowd. This black-eyed pea soup recipe is filling, flavorful and fast, which means it’s ideal for busy weeknights when you want to feed the whole family with minimal effort. We love a one-pot meal, and this one yields impressive results with only a few dishes. The meaty soup is perfectly filling thanks to the dense and nourishing black-eyed peas, and green chiles add just a bit of gentle heat.

We love that this hearty black-eyed pea soup tastes like it cooked all day but really only takes about an hour on the stovetop. It’s simple and straightforward, so you can make a big batch in advance and serve it throughout the week.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup Ingredients

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• Pork sausage: We’re using crumbled sausage here for a chunkier texture, but you can absolutely use sliced sausage in this black-eyed pea soup recipe as well. It’s rich, fatty and just a little bit spicy.
• Ground beef: Ground beef is super versatile and easy to use, and we love that it instantly adds richness to any dish it’s added to. In this recipe, we brown the beef along with the pork sausage and onions first to help it achieve a caramelized flavor and crumbled texture.
• Onion: Onions are essential in any soup recipe. The do-it-all ingredient is totally versatile, and it’s an easy way to add bold, complex flavor to broths, soups and stews like this one. We start by sauteing the onion with beef and pork sausage to allow it to soak up the flavors of the meat and create a savory base for this hearty soup.
• Black-eyed peas: Earthy, dense and nutty, these powerful little peas help bulk up this soup recipe with creamy texture. We’re using canned in this recipe, but you can absolutely use the dry version as well—just be sure to soak them first.
• Diced tomatoes: Diced tomatoes are a great addition to soups because they help add tender chunks without the need to cut up a lot of vegetables by hand.
• Diced tomatoes and green chiles: This recipe calls for more tomatoes, and we love the canned tomatoes that come with green chiles to help add even more flavor to broth-based soups like this one.
• Chopped green chiles: We want this black-eyed pea soup to have a gentle amount of heat, and pre-chopped green chiles are a great way to do it. Not too spicy, they’re a fantastic way to add peppery flavor without kicking up the heat too much.
• Beef bouillon cubes: Beef bouillon cubes are key to creating a flavorful broth in this recipe. When combined with water, the concentrated beef flavor yields a savory broth that’s the base for this hearty soup.
• Molasses: Every savory dish needs a little hint of sweetness, and rich molasses is the secret ingredient here. Molasses has a deeper, more caramelized flavor than standard white sugar, which means it’s great for rich, dark dishes like this one.
• Worcestershire sauce: A few dashes of this thin sauce will add bright flavor to anything its mixed with. A complex combination of sweet, tangy and salty, it’s an easy way to add a punch of umami flavor to sauces and soups like this one.
• Garlic salt: This dry, shelf-stable spice is a great ingredient to whip out when you don’t have fresh garlic on hand. A combination of dried garlic and table salt, it adds the same vibrant garlic flavor in a more concentrated, convenient package. Be mindful of the salt content when seasoning your dish, and taste as you go.
• Cumin: Smoky, rich and bold, cumin is a great way to add meaty flavor. This intense spice is savory, nutty and super pungent, and it enhances the natural flavors of the meat in this recipe.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the meat

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In a Dutch oven, cook the sausage, beef and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink, then drain.

Step 2: Add everything to the pot and simmer

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Add the remaining ingredients and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat, then cover and let it simmer for 45 minutes.

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Black-Eyed Pea Soup Variations

• Use sliced sausage: We’re using crumbled sausage here to give this soup a chunky texture, but you could easily use sliced sausage instead. If you do, try cooking sausage links to completion first, then slice them and incorporate them into the soup in Step 2.
• Make it vegan: While we love the smoky, hearty flavor of meat in this recipe, you can easily whip up a vegan alternative. To do so, simply skip the ground beef and sausage, and opt for vegetable stock instead of beef bouillon. This is a super simple soup to serve if you want a meatless alternative that’s still nourishing and wholesome.

How to Store Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Storing this soup with black-eyed peas is super simple. First let it come to room temperature, then transfer it to airtight containers with tight-fitting lids. Once it’s fully cooled, secure the lids and place in the refrigerator. This soup can stay in the refrigerator for three to four days.

Can you freeze black-eyed pea soup?

You can absolutely freeze black-eyed pea soup! To do so, first cook it to completion, then let it cool until the liquid has reached room temperature. Once it’s cooled, transfer the soup to freezer-safe, airtight containers with tight-fitting lids (deli containers are a great option). Place the soup on a flat surface in the freezer and store it for four to six months.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup Tips

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Can I use dried black-eyed peas instead of canned?

You can definitely use dried black-eyed peas instead of canned here. If you choose to do so, be sure to soak the peas before incorporating them into the soup. Soaking dried beans in advance helps them achieve a softer, more toothsome texture in soups and stews.

What other types of meat would go well in this soup?

Ham is a traditional pairing for black-eyed peas, and it would make a great addition to this recipe. You could easily add a ham hock here to impart that sweet, deep flavor that everyone loves about ham. Alternatively, you could also crumble cooked bacon over this dish right before serving.

How can I make this soup a little spicier?

Jalapeno peppers are a great way to make any soup a bit more spicy. The flesh has a natural earthiness, while the seeds pack heavy heat. If you want to spice up this black-eyed pea soup, you can choose to add just the jalapeno flesh, just the seeds or both, depending on how spicy you want your soup to be.