This full-flavored Caribbean black eyed peas stew is loaded with colorful veggies. Cardamom, ginger and a little bit of scotch bonnet pepper add spice and lots of yum!
Table of Contents
Flavorful Caribbean Black-Eyed Peas Stew
Black-eyed peas see a surge in popularity around the New Year because of their purported ability to bring luck to whoever eats them. But they are so delicious and healthy, you oughta include them in your diet all year round in dishes like this mouthwatering Caribbean black-eyed peas stew.
Black-eyed peas, also called southern peas, cow peas and field peas, are a popular ingredient in the cuisines of many countries, and they are much loved in the American south. These beautiful beans are loaded with protein, fiber and many more nutrients and they have a nutty flavor with a bit of earthiness. I love that when they are cooked they become smooth and creamy - absolutely wonderful in stews.
I also find black-eyed peas very convenient to cook with. Not only can you find black-eyed peas in canned and dried forms at the supermarket, you can also often find pre-cooked black-eyed peas in the freezer aisle. If you start out with dried beans, my choice both for the cost and the flavor, you can learn just how easy it is to cook them in my post on how to cook black-eyed peas.
Over the years I've shared with you many of my favorite black-eyed peas recipes, including an Indian black-eyed peas curry, southern-style black-eyed peas and a crockpot black-eyed peas stew. All of these are delectable but if I had to pick a favorite for ease of making and all-round deliciousness, I'd choose this black-eyed peas stew with Caribbean flavors.
The stew has a wonderful balance of flavors from the veggies, the beans and the spices, and it is vegan, of course, as well as gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free, making it suitable for all diets. What's more, it's a breeze to put together and it's an easy choice for a healthy weeknight dinner.
THIS IS AMAZING. My staple dinner for any vegan or vegetarian friends when they come over for dinner.Â
-Beth
Recipe card
Caribbean Black Eyed Peas Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried black eyed peas (also called cow peas. Cook the beans until tender. Or use two 14 oz cans of black-eyed peas, drained, or two packages of frozen black-eyed peas)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground black mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 medium potatoes (diced)
- 2 small carrots (diced)
- 1 sweet potato (diced)
- 2 small bell peppers (any color is fine, diced)
- ½ scotch bonnet pepper (minced)
- 2 cups water
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup cilantro (or parsley, minced)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a few seconds until aromatic.
- Add onions along with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Saute five minutes or until onions are soft and just beginning to brown.
- Add the ground cardamom, ground ginger, ground allspice, ground black mustard seeds and dried thyme. Mix and saute for a minute or two.
- Add all the veggies - carrots, bell peppers, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Mix well, cover, and cook until vegetables are just beginning to get tender, three to four minutes.
- Add the black eyed peas (drained) and the scotch bonnet pepper and mix in. Add two cups water. Mix everything well and bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot, lower heat and simmer the stew for 15-20 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked through and the stew is thick. You can mash some of the beans and veggies with the back of the ladle to thicken the stew further. Add salt as needed. Garnish with cilantro or parsley and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
How to make Caribbean black-eyed peas stew
Heat oil in a saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a few seconds until aromatic.
Add onions along with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Saute five minutes or until onions are soft and just beginning to brown.
Add the ground cardamom, ground ginger, ground allspice, ground black mustard seeds and dried thyme. Mix and saute for a minute or two.
Add all the veggies - carrots, bell peppers, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Mix well, cover, and cook until vegetables are just beginning to get tender, three to four minutes.
Stir in the black eyed peas and the scotch bonnet pepper. Add two cups water. Mix everything well and bring to a boil.
Cover the pot, lower heat and simmer the stew for 15-20 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked through and the stew is thick. You can mash some of the beans and veggies with the back of the ladle to thicken the stew further. Add salt as needed. Garnish with cilantro or parsley and serve hot.
Caribbean black-eyed peas stew FAQs
Soaking beans overnight reduces cooking time quite a bit. However, you can skip soaking if you are cooking the black eyed peas in the Instant Pot. You can find a comprehensive tutorial on cooking black-eyed peas from scratch here.
A scotch bonnet pepper is very hot, but it is also very flavorful and the heat disperses nicely in the stew. I would say this stew is not very hot at all. That said, how hot you can eat is specific to you. If you have no tolerance for heat, you can skip the scotch bonnet and use a milder pepper like jalapeno. If you can handle the heat but can't lay your hands on a scotch bonnet pepper, use a habanero instead.
Frozen black-eyed peas are cooked before freezing and you don't need to cook them again before adding them to the recipe.
The stew can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days. For longer storage freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to four months. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
The black-eyed peas stew is divine over rice, quinoa or polenta. I also love it with crusty French bread or Italian bread.
More black eyed pea recipes
First published in February 6, 2015. Updated and re-published on Dec. 31, 2024.
Theresa says
Thank you! 🙂
Tom says
Some Caribbean islands add coconut milk to the stew. Makes it flavorful, creamy and thick.
Vaishali Honawar says
This stew is very creamy and doesn't need any coconut milk. I love coconut milk in some recipes but you also have to be careful where you add it because it can drown out other flavors.
Syd says
Added a bouillon cube and sour cream and can recommend it. If you’re vegan maybe add the vegan version of sour cream?
Jan Chipperfield says
I cannot see any liquid in ingredients and when you add it? Am I missing something!
Anonymous says
Sorry! I missed the part about adding water.
Vaishali says
No worries 🙂
Derrick Pope says
Just made this tonight and it’s delicious. Thank you for posting this delicious recipe.
Derrick Pooe
Rayman Mufasa says
I just made this, not the best of cooks in the kitchen but this was tastyyyyy and simple to cook, will definitely be cooking this dish again.
ANP says
This might be a silly question but can you substitute black eyed peas for chickpeas? I bought all thr ingredients and didn't have black eyed peas!
Vaishali says
Yes, that's fine!
Paul says
Hey, I am a huge fan of Black Eyed Peas and I just tried to make this recipe and seems I almost got it right lol.
I have made a lot of soups and curries in the past but this is my first stew ... in your directions it says "add enough water to make a stew"; apparently I added too much *facepalm*.
Is there some sort of rule or way of knowing how much water that will equate to so I can try this again?
Vaishali says
Hi Paul, a good rule of thumb to follow is to add a quarter or half cup of liquid at a time, stir, then add another quarter if needed and so on.
Beth says
THIS IS AMAZING. My staple dinner for any vegan or vegetarian friends when they come over for dinner. I use coconut oil instead of olive oil. I don't have ground cardamom so I just threw a few whole ones in, and i can't be bothered grinding mustard seeds either so they also just go in whole...
5 stars etc. THANKS.
Richard Gott says
Thanks very much for sharing this recipe. I've just made a version of this (I didn't have mustard seed and I used butternut squash instead of potato as I didn't have any potatoes to hand). It's delicious and I've found that dropping a teaspoon of coconut oil on top of each serving, has made (to my taste at least) a wonderful enhancement.
Subhashini says
We usually make lobia similar to chana and rajma curry but this is different. I must ask my mom to try this sometime, probably in winter when we will get all fresh veggies.
christina says
My husband loves this recipe! He gave some to his carnivore friends and they were obsessed.
Love your site.
SoupandSalad says
I just made this again since black eyed peas are supposedly good luck on New Year's Day though I was a few days late 🙂 . I used coconut oil instead of olive oil the first made it again, and I really liked the flavors it brought out. I also forgot to pick up a scotch bonnet or habanero pepper and cheated with some Trader Joe's habanero sauce which did the trick. Also for the woman above who asked about using fresh black-eyed peas...I bought them "fresh" from the produce section at Safeway but realized they were just rehydrated! They cooked nicely in 20 minutes. No mush. But I let it simmer after that and still mush-free and yummy.
@Vaishali - I started a vegan and gluten free diet recently (to reduce some inflammation that I know both cause in me) and signed up for your email alerts. You seem like such a warm person and I'm so glad I found your blog. Thanks for the great recipes and happy New Year!
Vaishali says
Thanks for your kind words--I am so glad you found the blog, and have found it useful. 🙂 A very happy new year to you!
India Wardell says
Hello!
I recently switched to a vegan diet and i plan to use this recipe for my new years lucky black eye pea dish. Wish me luck please. I dont have a few ingredients so i will make due. I am excited to try the peas with the potatoes. I am going to eat it with collards and cornbread tomorrow.
Happy new year!
Vaishali says
Good luck, and happy new year! 🙂
Anonymous says
I've made this recipe several times now with different types of legumes (adzuki, navy, black eyed peas, chickpeas) and I love the flavours here! One small addition I use is a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, such as grey poupon, this adds a nice flavour. Thanks for the great recipe!
Stacey says
What if I have fresh black eyed peas?
Anonymous says
If i want to use canned beans what would be the correct quantity?
Emily says
Can i do this in a crockpot similarly to your other stew recipe and just sautee onions and spices first? thanks
Vaishali says
Yes, go for it! Be sure to use canned or cooked beans.
Swati says
Hey Vaishali! How have you been? Am back after a looong hiatus from blogging and its lovely to see all that you have been cooking up 🙂 You know, as a kid I used to hate black-eyed peas (Chauli or Lobia in Hindi). But have developed a taste for it now. It can be cooked like regular Rajma or into a versatile stew, just like yours. Now its a staple in my kitchen 😀
Vaishali Honawar says
Swati, that's a great idea for black eyed peas. Thanks for sharing.
Nancy says
Hi! I recently discovered your website and am delighted beyond belief with all the recipes! I've tried several so far and have loved every one. I have a question about the cooking time for the black-eyed peas in this recipe. I've always had success cooking my dried peas in a pressure cooker, unsoaked, for about 7 minutes. I'm befuddled by your long soaking and cooking time. If I cook my peas for longer than 7 minutes they are mush. Could you please explain? Are you using a different type of bean? I was thinking you are referring to a typical black-eyed pea? Thank you!
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Nancy, seven minutes in a pressure cooker is long enough. Those cooking on a stovetop in a pan require longer cooking times. You definitely don't want them to reduce to a mush so check frequently to test if they are done. Thanks for the kind words and so glad you've liked the recipes. You're the best! 🙂
Nnacy says
Thank you for the clarification! I can't wait to try this recipe. It looks amazing!
Vidya says
Hi Vaishali,
You are such a good writer! I'm a person who's not much of a cook but likes to look for recipes anyway! Sort of like window shopping, without actually buying anything. I frequently browse your blog, mostly to read rather than cook. I have 3 kids and so have a super crazy hectic life. A suggestion for your blog was to organize the recipes by a tag for quick and easy recipes, preferably ones that can be made with routine ingredients in the pantry.
Vaishali Honawar says
Dear Vidya, thanks for your kind message and so glad you enjoy reading because the writing part is as much -- if not more -- fun for me as the cooking. I love your suggestion -- most recipes here are quick and easy and made with non fancy ingredients, but I will create a separate category for more convenience. Cheers. 🙂