We’re a few days past Labor Day and that means we’re instantly ready for stews and sweaters and pumpkin with our spice. I get it. We’re ready for any kind of familiar change that will liven up and steady this heck of a year. I don’t really mind a few more weeks in my white dress and a few more steamy walks down to the river but heck if I’m ready to make it out of fire and hurricane season. Let’s fall back into some of fall’s comforts. It might be a little early but that just means there will be plenty of time to settle in. Let’s settle in with today’s black eyed pea recipe!
Here’s what you’ll need for today’s black eyed pea recipe:
• A few links of Italian sausage uncased. You could also totally use a vegetarian sausage alternative. For another easily vegetarian comfort dish see: Caramelized Mushroom and Dumplings.
• Frozen and thawed black eyed peas. (Canned would work just fine too – the beans will just break down a bit more during simmering.)
• Onions and garlic and thyme to make everything taste stewy.
• Chicken or vegetable stock.
• For the dumplings: cornmeal and flour, leavening and salt, buttermilk and green onions. Add any other herb or cheese you might think is nice, too!
Let’s start by browning the sausage.
We’re building flavors here and I like to start by giving the sausage a hard sear – so much that it sticks to the bottom of the pan a bit. That’s ok. We’ll get all those delicious bits up.
Add the onion and saute until the onion is soft, translucent and beginning to brown.
This takes about 5, maybe 7 minutes.
Add the peas, thawed and drained.
Give the mixture a good stir and you’ll start to see some of the browned bits come up off the bottom.
Add the broth. Add the thyme.
Give it time but bring everything to a low simmer.
While the beany soup comes to a simmer, hustle together the dumpling batter.
Start with cornmeal, flour, leavening and salt.
Give it all a whisk and add the cold butter chunks.
Once the cold butter is broken down into bits, toss in the green onions.
Chives, parsley, or thyme would be good substitutes or additions to these dumplings. Really – add anything that sounds like it belongs. Grated cheddar even? Sure!
Pour in the buttermilk and stir into a wet but smooth batter.
It’s ok if there are a few lumps from the herbs, but please no lumps of dry ingredients hiding out in our batter.
Make sure the soup is simmering and using two big spoons or an ice cream scoop, dollop eight or nine spoonfuls of batter into the simmering liquid.
Cover the pot, turn down the heat, and wait for the magic to happen.
Let the dumplings simmer for 10 minutes before removing the lid.
They’ll be puffy and float. Feel free to remove one of the dumplings and cut through it to test its doneness. Add a good dash of fresh herbs just before serving.
Generously spoon into bowls and add plenty of hot sauce.
This is the kind of dinner you enjoy on the couch with a movie. Settle in. Let it be cozy.
Photos with my friend Jon Melendez. This recipe is adapted from a Weight Watchers Magazine recipe I found at my mom’s house. Thanks Mom! Thanks Weight Watchers!
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Black Eyed Peas with Cornbread Dumplings
- Prep Time: 35
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
A warm and comforting weeknight dinner fall!
Ingredients
- For the Black Eyed Peas:
- 2 Italian sausage link, uncased
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (a scant 1 tablespoon)
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 (16 ounce) package frozen black eyed peas (about 2 1/4 cups)
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste if desired
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- For the Dumplings:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- For Garnish:
- Hot sauce
- Chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven (I used a 10-inch wide pan) over medium heat. Add the uncased sausage and cook, breaking the sausage up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Once the sausage has released some oil and started to cook through add the onions. Cook until onions are tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add chicken stock, peas, water, thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, partially cover the pan and reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- While the beans simmer make the cornbread dumplings. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter cubes and break the butter bits into the dry ingredients until the butter bits resemble oat flakes. Toss in the scallions. Add the butter milk and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Once the beans have simmered to tender, spoon the cornbread batter into the simmering beans, making 8-12 dumplings. Cover and allow to simmer for 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat and enjoy warm with a sprinkle of parsley and hot sauce.
- I find that this dish is best the day its made but you can store leftovers in the fridge and reheat gently on the stovetop within a day or two.
54 Responses
I made this for dinner the other day, a combined effort with my husband. He made the stew, I made the dumplings. We doubled it – it came out perfect and gave us enough to freeze for later. It’s so hearty, cozy, and delicious, and the ingredients are so simple and easy to find. Thanks for a great, what is now going to be a, go to recipe!
This has been a “go to” recipe in our house for over two years now. It is so satisfying and healthy! The hot Italian vegan sausage and some substitutions make this a perfect vegan stew that we enjoy along with our vegan daughter. yay!
This was PHENOMENAL. I definitely cooked with my heart in terms of proportions – used more sausage, added a bell pepper and some celery – and it was the most comforting and delicious dinner we’ve had in ages. What a wonderful way to ring in the new year. Thanks Joy!
I have made this several times and every time I make it, I say, we have to have this more often! What a hearty absolutely delicious and easy meal! I typically serve it with wilted spinach or creamy collards. Major flavor and definitely comfort food.
love this dish, thank you, even the black eyed peas, sausage too and of course, dumplings!
I’ve made this recipe several times over the past few years. Every time I make it it still surprises me just how delicious it is. The best beans I’ve ever eaten, in any form!
We have made this recipe for the last several years around New Year’s. It is my 7 year old’s favorite soup and her most requested dish. It is delicious, filling, and simple. Always a home run. Thank you!
Insanely good and I can’t believe how easy and perfectly the dumplings turned out! First time I’ve ever done this technique and now I want add dumplings to every pot of stew/soup I cook! I used vegetarian Field Roast Italian Garlic and Fennel sausage and it matched the flavor profile perfectly. I also used Rancho Gordo beans (soaked overnight beforehand), and added a dash of nutmeg and some fennel seeds to the simmering beans. Don’t forget the dash of hot sauce and parsley garnish. SO GOOD. Thanks, Joy!
This is a favorite – I make it every New Years Day! I veganize mine and also add collards (gives a real color boost) – but this recipe is wonderful!!
Can you used pre soaked dried beans in this too?
You can- they’ll just need much longer to cook before adding the dumplings!
This recipe was popular this New Years Day on the Rancho Gordo Bean Club page. I selected this as our Lucky 2022 BEP recipe and it did not disappoint! I followed the recipe as written and everyone loved it! I can’t wait to use the cornmeal dumpling recipes in other soups and stews this winter. Thank you for the recipe and Happy New Year, Joy!
This recipe was just delicious! Such a fun way to make black eyed peas for our New Year’s lunch. Who would’ve thought of cornbread dumplings?! It’s a keeper!
We made this today and it was delicious! My kids don’t much care for dumplings, in general, so I think next time maybe we will make them as drop biscuits on the side. Do you think that would work? Most importantly, we will be making it again!! Thank you and happy new year to you!
Absolutely fantastic!!! Added fresh chives to the dumplings. Also added chopped green pepper to the dish . Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. The key is to use dried beans soaked overnight. Once soaked I only needed 2 1/2 cups (kept the rest for another recipe). Simmer low and slow and use the back of a spoon to mash some of the peas to thicken the dish. Definitely a keeper!!
This recipe is a is a next-level upgrade to your favorite black-eyed pea routine! I’ve been making the same old peas on New Years for a long time, but I stumbled across this recipe and decided a little change might be good. So this will be my New Years routine for a long time to come!
Best black eyed peas I have ever made and/or eaten. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
This was incredibly yummy. It was my first time making dumplings and they turned out perfectly! Thank you for such a great recipe!
This was delicious! I started with a pound of dried BEPs and cooked them nearly until done, then doubled everything else in the stew portion. I used the cooking liquid in place of some of the broth, and made 1.5x the dumplings. The dumplings took a lot longer to cook but it all turned out excellent – will definitely make again.
I made it for my family and it was delicious! Will double it next time, with a family of 6 it went fast! Thank you
Doubling is definitely a good idea!
This recipe has become my go-to dumping recipe. I’ve used these dumplings in chicken and dumplings, in a Spanish bean stew and other bean and sausage combinations.
As much as I love buttermilk I never seem to have it around so I water down Greek yogurt and use that. Sometimes I add a hefty amount of black pepper to them too. I’m on a black pepper tangent lately.
Wonderful and comforting.
Thank you Joy.
Very tasty.
This was delicious! It was so fun to make the dumplings right on top of the soup. I’ve found it to be very versatile as well. I made it with high quality chicken sausage and added some kale at the end (just before the dumplings) – so good! The only thing I’d recommend in adding anything extra like that is more water and chicken stock, just so there is enough liquid. Yum, I’ll definitely be making this again on a cold winter day that needs some cozy-ing up.
WOW this is good!! I used Beyond sausage and a tiny bit of paprika and we couldn’t believe how delicious it was. A keeper for sure!
I made this with vegan sausage , Lightlife, and vegetable broth, added celery and red pepper flakes to the onions and served it over collard greens…so delicious! My family had no idea it was vegan and it was delicious!
Super recipe! My dumplings fell apart a bit but it’s all good! Awesome flavor!
I had to adjust a little, but this is absolutely delicious. I used cornmeal mix & omitted the salt, flour and baking soda. I’ve made it twice, & hubby loves it. Thank you for a great recipe. This was our new year’s meal with a side of collard greens. It was awesome!
Happy New Year Joy! I made this today for our New Year’s Day lunch and it was delicious, just perfect. I did not have sausage so substituted ground chicken with a little poultry seasoning. A delicious way to bring in the new year. Thank you.
Excellent recipe and a great way to bring in the New Year! I am not a huge fan of Black Eyed Peas, but they were great in this recipe. I might add some spinach next time I make this. Thank you, Joy, for a wonderful recipe. Wishing you prosperity in 2021!
Mine never looks pretty, but it sure is delicious!
I made this with Rancho Gordo black eye peas that I cooked in the instant pot. It is soooo good! My kids gobbled it up, too. Definitely a winner.
Hello from Niagara on the Lake, Canada! This is a keeper! Just made it and enjoyed while watching some tv. Really great flavour from such a simple recipe! Agree with previous poster re: inexpensive ingredients creating a really tasty meal. I didn’t tweak a thing and am very happy with the result.
I finally was able to try this recipe, after waiting almost a month for my order of cornmeal to arrive. It was worth it – I loved it. My mom was from Arkansas, so black eyed peas and cornbread is IT for me. But my husband liked it, too – and he doesn’t usually want to even try anything new. The dumplings were soft like heaven, and just wonderful.
Thank you!
My soul needed this. Used veggie sausage and stock and it was sublime. Definitely a new staple for the colder months!
This is one of the best recipes I’ve made in a long time. My dumplings took a little longer to cook (but I’m also at altitude, so that may be why). I used vegetarian sausage and it worked great. I also used two cans of black eyed peas.
My dumplings melted into the soup, so some kind of operator error there, but it was still tasty!
Hi Joy. I am having trouble finding black eyed peas in Minnesota. What do you think a comparable substitute would be? Maybe pinto? Thank you.
Tripled the recipe for a big family get together tonight and everyone loved it. It was so comforting. Thanks!
Made it without the sausage since we are vegetarian, and it was still delicious and flavorful. We loved the cornbread dumplings!
Very tasty, especially the dumplings!
Oh, that looks good! We are smoky, but OK in Ashland, OR. All are praying for rain, Just starting to bring in the plants from our porch. Thank you, Joy!
Saving this recipe for when it’ll turn colder outside, with more than 30 degrees I’m still into fresh meals!
I put the dumplings in a chorizo and veggie soup and they were wonderful. They retained their shape well but also added a nice thickness to the whole soup.
They kind of reminded me of spoon bread which I really love.
Excellent and inexpensive too.
thanks Joy.
Great idea making a cornbread dumpling! Cornbread anything really and I’m in, sausage and black eyed beans too, has just about all of my food groups covered, thank you!
OMG this was good. Like, we couldn’t believe how good it was and my husband had to put it away before we went back a third time and ate the whole thing. Also, my eternal gratitude for posting a recipe with inexpensive ingredients the day before payday. This was awesome.
Came together so nicely! Delicious.
Though this southern went to the store where I live in the west expecting to find black eyed peas easily but I guess they’re just a staple back south. Good with pinto beans for the record.
Yummy. I’m making this tonight!
I made this last night but used Chorizo instead of Italian sausage because that’s what I had on hand. I happened to have a bag of frozen black eyed peas in my freezer even though I normally don’t get frozen beans only dried or canned. It came out really good!
This sounds fantastic! On the menu soon….
I’d love to make this, but have dried BEP, not canned or frozen. Could I just soak overnight and start from there or would I have to cook them before proceeding with the recipe?
Good question – I would say you want to cook them just about fully through before making this recipe. There’s not a lot of liquid in the recipe for the time it takes dried beans.
Thank you!
For anyone trying to do this recipe with an instant pot: I did 1 cup dried beans, high pressure 22 min, natural release 20 min. I didn’t presoak + always season my beans when I cook—bay leaf, garlic clove, chili flakes/black pepper. I followed the recipe and it worked well! I think the beans took on more of the broth as it cooked so when I reheat I will add a splash of water but it’s great!