This Sweet and Smoky Black-Eyed Peas and collard greens meal is the perfect way to kick off the New Year. The sweetness from the dates and smokiness from the smoked paprika or liquid smoke hits the taste buds in all the right places. This one-pot meal and soul food favorite may become your go-to recipe well past New Year's Day because it's delicious, satisfying, and healthy.
This recipe is a modified version of The Veggie Queen's Smoky Sweet Black-Eyed Peas. 🙏

Sweet and Smoky Black-Eyed Peas and Greens has 17 key ingredients
- Black-eyed peas, dry
- Onion
- Garlic
- Scotch bonnet pepper (or Jamaican pepper sauce)
- Red bell pepper
- Smoked paprika (or liquid smoke)
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Bay leaves
- Dried thyme
- Dried Oregano
- Chipotle chili seasoning
- Dates
- Jalapeno or green chili
- Low sodium vegetable broth (or water)
- Fire-roasted diced tomatoes (canned)
- Collard greens

How to Prepare
- There are three options for cooking the dried black-eyed peas: Stovetop, Instant Pot or Slow cooker. This recipe uses a stove method, but you can save a lot of time—going from dried to cooked in 30 minutes—using an Instant Pot. To prepare the beans stovetop method, soak the dried black-eyed peas in water for 8 hours or overnight. Before cooking, drain and rinse the soaked black-eyed peas. *Note: If you’re substituting dried black-eyed peas with two 15-oz. cans of black-eyed peas, be sure to drain and rinse.
- Heat a large pot that has a lid over medium heat. You'll need the lid for the 4th step. Dry-sauté diced onions uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes, adding a dash of water if they stick to the pan. Stir in the garlic, scotch bonnet pepper (or Jamaican pepper sauce), and diced red bell pepper. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in spices, chopped dates, minced jalapeno (or green chili) and cook, stirring, for another minute until fragrant.
- Add vegetable broth (or water) and black-eyed peas, and simmer until peas are cooked but not mushy for about 25 to 30 minutes. *Note: If using canned black-eyed peas, only add ½ cup of vegetable broth or water, and bring to a simmer.
- Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the finely chopped collard greens, cover with the lid, and let simmer for 3 to 5 additional minutes until collards are tender but still bright green.
Dish up and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
It's tradition, mainly in the Southern states, but adopted across the United States to eat black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year's Day. This tradition dates back to the era of slavery in America. The combination of black-eyed peas and collard greens symbolizes prosperity and wealth—peas as coins and greens as paper money.
Even though it's most popular on New Year's Day, we contend this heart-healthy, weight-loss-promoting bowl of deliciousness can be eaten on ANY day. Why? Because eating legumes like black-eyed peas and dark leafy greens like collard greens is a daily practice recommended by health experts for health and longevity.
You can substitute Jamaican Pepper Sauce (affiliate link). Alternatively, you can swap it out for your favorite red pepper sauce.
An easy way to vary this Sweet and Smoky Black-Eyed Peas with collard greens recipe would be to serve it over brown rice. This would make the dish a Hoppin' John. It also tastes lovely over a baked sweet potato. Another way to modify it is to add hot vegetable broth to make it black-eyed peas with greens soup.
If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze them for 3 months. If reheating from frozen, it's best to thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating it, so it doesn't get overly mushy.
For more healthy soul food inspiration, check out the Crustless Vegan Sweet Potato Pie and the Vegan Mac 'n Cheese.
Print
Sweet and Smoky Black-Eyed Peas and Greens
- Total Time: 9 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Sweet and Smoky Black-Eyed Peas and collard greens meal is the perfect way to kick off the New Year. The sweetness from the dates and smokiness from the smoked paprika or liquid smoke hits the taste buds in all the right places. This one-pot meal soul food favorite may become your go-to recipe well past New Years Day because it's delicious, satisfying, and healthy. #danielfastrecipes #blackeyedpeas #newyears #collardgreens #soulfood #veganrecipes
Ingredients
1 ½ cups black-eyed peas, dry (*okay to substitute two 15-oz. cans of black-eyed peas)
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 scotch bonnet pepper, with seeds removed (or ¼ tsp or more to taste of Jamaican pepper sauce)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 Tbsp minced jalapeno (with seeds removed) or green chili
1 tsp smoked paprika (or ½ tsp liquid smoke)
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chipotle chili seasoning
5 pitted dates, chopped
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water (½ cup of broth or water if using canned beans)
1 15-oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
4 cups finely chopped collard greens
Salt to taste
Instructions
- There are three options for cooking the dried black-eyed peas: Stovetop, Instant Pot, or Slow cooker (see How to Cook Dried Beans). This recipe uses a stove method, but you can save a lot of time—going from dried to cooked in 30 minutes—using an Instant Pot. To prepare the beans stovetop method, soak the dried black-eyed peas in water for 8 hours or overnight. Before cooking, drain and rinse the soaked black-eyed peas. *Note: If you’re substituting dried black-eyed peas with two 15-oz. cans of black-eyed peas, be sure to drain and rinse.
- Heat a large pot that has a lid over medium heat. You'll need the lid for the 4th step. Dry-sauté diced onions uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes, adding a dash of water if they stick to the pan. Stir in the garlic, scotch bonnet pepper (or Jamaican pepper sauce), and diced red bell pepper. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in spices, chopped dates, and cook, stirring, for another minute until fragrant.
- Add vegetable broth (or water) and black-eyed peas, and simmer until peas are cooked but not mushy for about 25 to 30 minutes. *Note: If using canned black-eyed peas, only add 1 cup of vegetable broth or water, and bring to a simmer.
- Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the finely chopped collard greens, cover with the lid, and let simmer for 3 to 5 additional minutes until collards are tender but still bright green.
Dish up and enjoy!
If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze them for 3 months. If reheating from frozen, it's best to thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating it, so it doesn't get overly mushy.
Notes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Soak Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Lunch/Dinner Entrée
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Soul Food
Keywords: black eyed peas, greens, sweet and smoky black eyed peas, onion, garlic, collard greens, red bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, smoked paprika, liquid smoke, dates, daniel fast recipes, daniel fast compliant, vegan recipes, gluten free, soy free, nut free, tomatoes, low fat, no oil, oil free, new year's day, black-eyed peas with collard greens, black-eyed peas and greens, black-eyed peas with collard greens, healthy soul food
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