Black Eyed Pea & Sausage Soup

We love to eat beans in our family.  A bowl of hot and wonderfully seasoned cooked beans with cornbread is pure heaven for a winter comfort food dinner. Dried beans and peas are full of wonderful vitamins and fiber and make a really filling meal. I recently made a Black Eyed Pea & Sausage Soup to see what hubby thought of a new spin on a classic southern meal.

I made this in my crockpot since I was going to be so busy most of the day.  There are a couple other steps you will have to do before you can start cooking the soup if you use dry beans.  You can also use canned black eye peas in this recipe.  You just won’t have to cook as long.

I know there are many out there, my mom for one, who really don’t believe in soaking dried beans or peas before cooking.  I mainly do this process because I cook them in my slow cooker and it will help release a lot of the starch and “gas” enzymes when I rinse them before they cook.

The day before you cook your beans, put them in a bowl and add water a couple of inches above them.  Let them sit overnight.

The next day, just pour off the water and rinse well before adding them to your pot or slow cooker.  Your beans or peas will come out so tender after cooking them.  See how they have swelled nicely.

My garden is full of kale right now and with it being a cool weather plant it’s a perfect time to use it in so many recipes.  It’s really good in this one.  I am growing a dwarf version of kale and it’s not bitter at all.

I did use Turkey Link Sausage, which you can find in any grocery store, in this recipe to keep down the fat.  The turkey sausage is already cooked and only needs to be reheated. But if you love the full flavor of link sausage, then that will just add more flavor to the soup.

If the soup is too soupy for your taste, I mixed a small slurry of water and flour and added it to the mixture close to serving time to thicken it up a bit.

Instant Pot Version:

Using the Instant Pot for this soup is not much different. I still soak the beans but not overnight. I start the soak process the morning I want to make the soup and let them soak all day. Perfect to start soaking before you go to work and then you are ready to make the soup when you come home.

Cook the onions and sausage on the Saute setting until done. Turn Saute setting off. Add other ingredients, except greens, and cook on the Manual setting for 30 minutes. Let the pressure release by itself or manually before you remove the lid. Add the greens and use the Saute setting to let them cook for a bit. Serve!

Did you know you can also use your Instant Pot as a slow cooker? Just get the Instant Pot Glass Top and use the Slow Cook setting.

This soup goes so well with cornbread.  Yum

Print

Black Eyed Pea & Sausage Soup

Course Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 tbsp minced fresh garlic
• 1 pound of link sausage
• 1 quart of chicken broth
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 3 cups of turnip or kale greens chopped
• 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 15 oz black-eyed peas drained and rinsed

Instructions

1. If you cook this on the stove, use a little bit of olive oil to cook the onions and sausage before you add the other ingredients, except greens. Let cook on low for a few hours and add the greens about a 1/2 hour before serving.
2. If you use a slow cooker, just put all the ingredients in, except greens and cook on HIGH for about 8 hours to make sure the peas are cooked. If you use canned black-eyed peas, cook for a few hours on LOW. About an hour before serving, add greens.
3. The turkey link sausage is already cooked, so you are just heating it up.

Don’t Forget to Pin Me

Enjoy,

Tammy

* * * *

• Bio
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google+
• Pinterest
• Latest Posts
• Instagram

Tammy

I'm just a country girl loving my geeky life with my wonderful husband, always taking pictures, getting my hands dirty in the garden, being crafty, exploring with travels and enjoying all this on a budget. But above all, living my faith as a child of God!

@tammy1999

Gardening, taking pictures, crafts and recipes all on a budget

Tammy

+Tammy

Tammy

Latest posts by Tammy (see all)

• Sweet Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas - April 19, 2018
• Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop #158 - April 17, 2018
• Monday Moments with Container Gardening - April 16, 2018

Come by and visit my Instagram page.