Make slow cooker black-eyed peas using canned beans, ham and rice in honor of the Southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas for luck.
Someone out there says that to bring good luck in the new year, you should eat black-eyed peas on New Years Day. Since it’s currently the end of 2020, we need all the luck we need for 2021. Hoppin’ John is a Southern staple for making and eating on New Years Day. It’s spicy beans and rice made with black-eyed peas as the beans.
This easy slow cooker black-eyed peas Hoppin’ John is quick and easy to make thanks to the canned beans. Set it out for your family with a little buffet of garnishes for the top and some Easy Cheesy Bacon Cornbread on the side. You are sure to have a new year full of good luck!
Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas for New Years’ Day (Hoppin’ John)
Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas Ingredients:
- Canned Black-Eyed Peas
- Onion
- Celery
- Bell Pepper (any color)
- Smoked Ham – or you can use thick bacon strips cooked and broken into small pieces
- Cilantro
- Salt and pepper
- Cajun Seasoning – try this homemade recipe!
- Bay Leaves
- Garlic
- Spicy V-8 Juice – Spicy V-8 adds a kick. You can also use regular tomato juice.
- Water- you can also use chicken broth or diced tomatoes
- Jasmine or Long Grain Rice of choice
Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas Directions:
Basically to make this dish, you are going to dump all the ingredients into a slow cooker and then walk away for a few hours. To start, add the black-eyed peas, celery, onion, bell peppers, garlic, ham, cajun seasoning, to the crock of a large slow cooker. Give it a good stir.
Next, pour in the V8, water, or canned tomatoes – whichever you are using. If you like your beans and rice tomato-y then the extra can of tomatoes is great. Otherwise, just use water or even some chicken stock. Stir it all together.
Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low setting for about 2-3 hours. It’s really just cooking to meld all the flavors together. If you can make it a day ahead of time, even better.
About 20-30 minutes before the black-eyed peas are done cooking, make your rice. You want some type of long grain rice. You can use white rice, which is traditional or go the healthier route with some brown rice. You can also cook the rice way ahead of time and just add it in.
After 2-3 hours of cook time, open the lid. Remove the bay leaves. Season the black-eyed peas with salt and pepper to taste. It’s best to add salt to slow-cooked food at the end. It tends to cook out if you salt it before cooking.
Now, stir in the cooked rice until everything is nice and blended together. That’s it! Your Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas is ready to serve and bring you good luck in the New Year. Don’t forget to serve the hoppin’ john with a side of Easy Cheesy Bacon Cornbread Recipe. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days and reheated as needed.
Optional: Top your hoppin’ john with chopped green onions tops, chopped cilantro, cherry tomatoes, or crumbled bacon as garnish. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days and reheated as needed.
Hoppin’ John Ingredient Substitution Ideas:
1. 6-8 slices of thick bacon strips cooked and broken into small pieces can be substituted for ham.
2. Pinto beans can be used in place of black-eyed peas.
3. Original V-8 can be used instead of spicy for a milder version.
Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas ( Hoppin' John)
Ingredients
- 1 can 15 ounces Black-Eyed Peas
- 3/4 cups Onion diced
- 3 stalks Celery diced
- 1 small Bell Pepper any color, diced
- 1 cup Smoked Ham cut into small bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup Cilantro chopped (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- 1 can 6 ounces Spicy V-8 Juice
- 1 cup Water or 1 can Diced Tomatoes optional
- 1 cup Cooked Jasmine or Long Grain Rice of choice
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except cooked rice to slow cooker and cook on low for 2-3 hours.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Stir in hot cooked rice and serve.