We have many time honored New Years Day eating traditions here in the South. Black-eyed peas and greens are standard New Year’s Day fare. This recipe for Tex-Mex Black Eyed Peas and Ham adds a bit of a South-of-the-border twist adding ham, bacon, tomatoes, chilies and an array of seasonings to make it more interesting. A scoop of rice is optional, but it provides the perfect bed to soak up the flavorful sauce. Trust me, you won’t want to leave a drop behind.

Easy Tex-Mex Black Eyed Peas and Ham Recipe

A plain dish of black eyed peas really won’t satisfy my family’s taste, so I began adding some of our favorite Tex-Mex flavors to kick up the flavor a notch. The outcome transformed them into a dish that we’ve all grown to love. For us, the rice isn’t optional but, a piece of buttered is comfort food done right. How to make easy Tex-Mex Black Eyed Peas: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

Black Eyed Peas – Place the peas into a colander and rinse well, removing any debris. Place into a pot and cover with water and allow to soak on the counter overnight. Before cooking, drain and rinse well.
Bacon – Cook the bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. Reserve 3 Tbsp drippings in the pot.
Vegetables – To the pot add green pepper and onion. Cook until softened and beginning to brown. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute longer..
Ham – Add ham, Worcestershire sauce, black eyed peas, chicken broth, canned tomatoes, seasoned salt, cumin, black pepper, chili, red pepper flakes, bay leaf and cilantro to the pot. Mix well.
Cook – Simmer covered for 1 hour 15 minutes until the peas are tender.
Cook Uncovered – Uncover and remove bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoned salt and pepper to your taste. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to reduce sauce and thicken slightly. Stir in the remaining cilantro just before serving.
Serve – Serve with a scoop of rice and garnish with bacon crumbles.

How to Make the BEST Tex-Mex Black Eyed Peas Recipe

Ingredients you’ll need to make homemade Tex-Mex Black Eyed Peas – One pound dry black eyed peas, thick cut bacon, sweet onion, jalapeno or poblano or green pepper, garlic, smoked ham, chili seasoned tomatoes [I used Del Monte Zesty Chili Style], low sodium chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, ground cumin, freshly ground black pepper, dark chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, bay leaf and cilantro.
Kitchen tools you’ll need: Large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot with a lid, sharp knife and cutting board, colander, measuring cups and spoons and large spoon for stirring.
If you don’t like the flavor of cilantro you can omit it or replace it with parsley.
The level of spice in this recipe can be adjusted. You can use less crushed red pepper flakes and chili powder. You can also replace jalapeno using green bell pepper in its place.
Store cooked Tex-Mex Black Eyed Peas chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave in single serving portions.
You can freeze these black eyed peas for up to 2 months.

Tex-Mex Black Eyed Peas And Ham in a Dutch oven

Quick Soak Method for Dried Peas and Beans

If you’re running short of time, it’s quite possible to enjoy dried black eyed peas or beans using a quick soak method. To do so:

Rinse the black eyed peas, and place into a pot.
Cover with water allowing 1 inch over the top.
Bring to a boil on the stove top and boil for 1 minute covered.
Remove from the stove and allow the peas to sit for 1 hour covered.
Rinse, then proceed with the instructions in the recipe.
This same quick soak method will work with pinto beans, navy beans or butter beans.

Side Dishes to Serve with Black Eyed Peas

If you’d like to add collards to your black-eyed peas meal checkout my recipe for Cajun Collard Greens with Bacon.
Another classic addition to the menu would be a big Skillet Honey Cornbread slathered with sweet cream butter.
Should you choose to serve this with rice checkout my recipe for Oven Baked Rice.
Bake these Cornbread Muffins in a cupcake pan for individual servings.
This sweet Easy Cornbread Casserole will balance the spice in these black eyed peas.
You can also serve these with my Green Chile Cornbread.
Sweet and tangy Hillbilly Cole Slaw can be made in advance for a time saver.
Tejano Red Rice from Southern Living.

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