Ham Black-Eyed Pea Soup (Printable)

A hearty Southern dish with smoky ham, black-eyed peas, and flavorful vegetables simmered together.

# What you need:

→ Meats

01 - 2 cups cooked ham, diced
02 - 1 ham bone, optional for depth of flavor

→ Legumes

03 - 2 cups dried black-eyed peas, or 3 cans drained and rinsed

→ Vegetables

04 - 1 large onion, diced
05 - 2 large carrots, diced
06 - 2 celery stalks, diced
07 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz, undrained
09 - 1 bay leaf

→ Liquids

10 - 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
11 - 2 cups water

→ Seasonings

12 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
13 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
14 - ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
15 - ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
16 - ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

# How to make it:

01 - If using dried black-eyed peas, rinse thoroughly and soak overnight in cold water. Drain and rinse before use.
02 - Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery, cooking until softened, approximately 5 minutes.
03 - Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
04 - Stir in diced ham and ham bone if using. Cook for 2 minutes.
05 - Add black-eyed peas, tomatoes with juices, chicken broth, water, bay leaf, paprika, thyme, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir thoroughly to combine.
06 - Bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour for dried peas or 30 minutes for canned peas, until legumes are tender.
07 - Remove ham bone if used. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
08 - Ladle into bowls and serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley or green onions if desired.

# Helpful Hints:

01 -
  • It's the kind of soup that fills your whole house with warmth before you even taste it.
  • A single pot of this handles dinner for days, and it somehow tastes better the next morning.
  • There's real depth here without fussing—the smoky paprika and ham do the heavy lifting while you relax.
02 -
  • Don't skip the soak if you're using dried peas, even though it feels like an extra step—it's the difference between soup that's ready in an hour and soup that takes twice as long.
  • The smoked paprika is where the magic lives; regular paprika or no paprika at all makes it taste like every other bean soup, so don't consider it optional.
03 -
  • Taste your soup multiple times as it simmers and adjust salt gradually—it concentrates as liquid reduces, and what seems perfect at thirty minutes might be oversalted at the end.
  • If you want it thicker, use a wooden spoon to gently mash some peas against the pot's side before serving, which releases their starch without turning the whole thing to mush.
Go back