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Easy Black-Eyed Pea Soup for New Year’s Luck

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This hearty, smoky black-eyed pea soup is a Southern tradition for good luck in the new year. Made with simple ingredients and a smoked turkey leg or ham hock, it’s a hands-off, deeply flavorful meal that even skeptics will love.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
  • 3 celery ribs, diced
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 pound dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and picked over
  • 1 smoked turkey leg or 1 large smoked ham hock (12–16 ounces)
  • 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt (add at the end)
  • Optional: 2 cups chopped collard greens or kale
  • For serving: hot sauce, diced red onion, and crusty bread or cornbread

Instructions

  1. Sauté the aromatics: Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and onion is translucent, about 7-8 minutes. Add garlic, smoked paprika, dried thyme, black pepper, and cayenne. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
  2. Add the peas and meat: Pour in the rinsed black-eyed peas and stir to coat. Nestle the smoked turkey leg or ham hock into the center of the pot.
  3. Pour in the broth and bay leaves: Add chicken broth and bay leaves. Stir. The liquid should cover the peas and meat by about an inch. Add more broth or water if needed.
  4. Bring to a boil, then simmer: Bring to a full boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 1.5 to 2 hours, until peas are tender but not mushy.
  5. Remove and shred the meat: Use tongs to remove the turkey leg or ham hock. Let cool slightly, then shred the meat, discarding skin and bones.
  6. Season and finish: Return shredded meat to the pot. Stir in salt, starting with 1 teaspoon and adjusting to taste. If using collard greens or kale, stir in and let wilt for 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
  7. Serve and enjoy: Ladle into bowls. Top with hot sauce, diced red onion, and serve with cornbread or crusty bread.

Notes

Do not soak the black-eyed peas; they cook perfectly without soaking. Add salt at the end to avoid over-salting from the smoked meat. The soup tastes even better the next day. For a vegetarian version, omit the meat and add chipotle peppers in adobo and liquid smoke.

Nutrition

Keywords: black-eyed pea soup, New Year's soup, Southern soup, black-eyed peas, ham hock soup, turkey leg soup, easy soup recipe

Find it online: https://evabake.com/easy-black-eyed-pea-soup-for-new-years-luck/