Black-eyed pea what?! Don't judge it until you try it. Sometimes you are in the mood for chili and you don't have any beans. It happens. After a little rummaging through the pantry, we thought peas would be a better addition to this chili recipe than Spaghetti-O's. Thus, our Black-eyed Pea Chili Recipe was born. Our recipe is easily adapted to what you have on hand, but we've gotta say...this version is pretty dang delicious.
This Black-Eyed Pea Chili Recipe is just as awesome as you think.
Black-eyed peas have a unique earthy flavor, and bring a new flavor to a classic chili recipe.
We cooked black-eyed peas from dry using our slow cooker method with a shorter cooking time, but feel free to use canned or frozen. (If using canned, rinse them first.)
In a large pot or dutch oven, get a really good sear on your lean ground beef. This makes sure you get the best flavor possible. Then throw in chopped onion, salt and pepper and cook it up.
Add the bell pepper (any color is fine). For our Black-eyed Pea Chili, we went with sweet red and yellow bell peppers.
Toss in all the spices, tomatoes, broth, and beer.
(You might have to get sneaky and steal a beer from your husband's cooler when he isn't looking. Just a suggestion. Not that I would do anything like that.)
[clickToTweet tweet="(You might have to get sneaky and steal a beer from your husband's cooler when he isn't looking. Just a suggestion. Not that I would do anything like that.)" quote="(You might have to get sneaky and steal a beer from your husband's cooler when he isn't looking. Just a suggestion. Not that I would do anything like that.)" theme="style3"]
Dump in your green chiles or TAMED jalapenos, which is what we used. They have a great pickled pepper flavor but very little heat.
We. Love. Chili. Try our Texas Tailgate Chili.
If you are looking for more Homemade Chili + Homemade Soup Recipes, CLICK HERE.
You can leave these out altogether, but it really does brighten the chili recipe, both in color and flavor.
Pour in your black-eyed peas, stir to combine all the magic ingredients. Looks amazing, doesn't it?
Heat to a low boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, simmer, and serve.
We loved our Black-Eyed Pea Chili Recipe with a little cheddar cheese and our Cornbread Recipe #9. Also goes well with Cornbread Recipe #23.
Love it or hate it? Tell us what you think in comments.
Black-Eyed Pea Chili
Ingredients
- 2 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 4.5 ounces can green chiles undrained or ½ cup chopped tamed pickled jalapenos
- 3 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 28 ounces can diced tomatoes undrained
- 15 ounces can crushed tomatoes
- 12 ounces beer
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas drained
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil and garlic until you can smell the garlic and it starts turning brown. Add ground beef and sear until brown.
- Add chopped onion, salt and pepper, stir and cook until meat is cooked through and no longer pink. Stir in the bell pepper.
- Mix in the chili powder, cumin, paprika, pepper flakes and coriander. Stir in diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, beer and broth. Add the green chiles or jalapenos. Combine, then add the black-eyed peas.
- Heat chili to a low boil, stirring frequently. Reduce to a simmer. Cook on low for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with cornbread and your favorite chili toppings.
Nutrition
Stacey Keeling
This is absolutely something we would love at our house. Pinning to remember. 🙂
Teri
Thank you! Let us know how you like it.
Lisa
Stumbled upon your recipe when I wanted to make chili and only had black eyed peas on hand. This chili was amazing! Husband and eight year old ate two huge bowls each! ???? Will be making again soon!
Lisa
Made this last night, amazing! Husband and eight year old son ate two huge bowls each! Will be making again soon. 🙂
Teri
That is great, I am glad you loved it and thank you for taking the time to let me know. (The black eyed peas are surprisingly good!)
April Holland
Gotta say the seasoning makes it! I made a vegan version replacing the ground beef with tempeh and veg broth instead of chicken broth and it was delicious! Also, I had some leftover chickpeas and baby green lima beans, so I added those with the black-eyed peas. Yummy!
Teri
Thank you for sharing the vegan version. 🙂
Tascha
Thank you for giving me the courage to try this! It was exactly the situation you described: no other chili-appropriate beans on-hand, just a couple bags of dry peas. “Dare I?” To Google I turned, and voila! There you already confirmed my hopeful speculation. I didn’t use beer (that would definitely be missed!), just doubled the chicken stock and substituted 1lb of spicy Italian sausage in with a pound of good quality organic ground beef. I loved the tip about adding the diced onions (also minced fresh garlic) *after* searing the meat! I didn’t have any fresh bell peppers on hand but I did have a jar of pickled sweet red bell pepper strips that piqued my curiosity at the dollar store recently; I now know why these are great to have on hand. 🙂 I’m excited to try your cornbread #9 recipe -including the part about naming my stove and cast iron flat top griddle 😉 Thanks again, and if you can’t already tell, I’m pretty delighted to have discovered your site! Will definitely stay tuned. Best…
Teri
Ohhh, I love your twists. That's my favorite thing about cooking...just experimenting with an idea and then being pleasantly surprised with the results. I am glad you found us. 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave such a great comment.