This healthy vegan black-eyed pea stew is everything you want to eat on a cold winter's night. This one-pot soup is hearty, spicy, and oh so satisfying and delicious!
I am so excited to share this recipe with you! This one has been in the works for a while, and I never posted it last year. You know how life goes. I made a few more tweaks to the recipe, and it is better than ever.
Every time I serve this, my husband keeps saying, "This is awesome….This is everything I want in a soup….This is delicious", over and over. I am not kidding, even with the leftovers. This is my best soup recipe yet, and I can't wait for you to try it!
The secret is the Chile de árbol. If you don't have enough of it in this stew, this recipe will be good. But if you have enough of this chile in it and then some, this stew will have you asking for another bowl! It's that good!
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🍽 Equipment
What you're going to need to make this stew recipe:
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- wooden spoon
- large stockpot
- mortar and pestle for grinding the whole allspice
If you're going to cook the beans yourself, you can use the same stockpot you used to cook the beans. Just let it cool for a few minutes, wash it, and you're good to go. That's what I did to make this recipe.
🥘 Ingredients
Here's what you're going to need to make this recipe. The specific amounts are in the recipe card.
- Cooked black-eyed peas (or canned)
- Vegan stock - I used a "no beef base," which is terrific in this recipe if you can find it (mix with hot water first), or you can use a gluten-free vegetable broth.
- Coconut oil - I used virgin coconut oil, my favorite oil for this soup. The soup doesn't taste coconutty. You can also try olive oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Celery
- Green bell pepper
- Sea salt, adjust to your taste - I like my soups well seasoned!
- Bay leaves
- Poultry seasoning, a savory mixture of sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary. Some versions add nutmeg and pepper.
- Allspice
- Three dried Arbol chiles, also known as Chile de árbol, or bird's beak chile for spice and extra flavor. They can be found fresh, dried, or powdered. For this recipe, I use dried since that's what I had available.
- Kale; you can also try collard greens, turnip greens, or spinach
🥣 How to cook black-eyed peas
If you've never tried cooking black-eyed peas, or you're wondering what the fuss is about, you need to try making them yourself. When you add salt and Arbol chiles to black-eyed peas, the result is magical. It just takes a little pre-planning.
Here's how to do it:
- Soak 1 pound of black-eyed peas in water overnight on the counter in the same pot you'll be cooking them in. If you're in a warm or hot environment, you may want to refrigerate them overnight.
- Drain the beans in a colander and rinse them before you start cooking.
- Place the beans in the stock pot and cover them with two inches of water.
- Add one tablespoon Kosher salt and three Arbol chiles. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low or low-medium. Occasionally stir to make sure they're not sticking to the bottom, and cook for 45 minutes at a simmer, not a constant rolling boil.
- Taste the beans for doneness. Drain the beans and reserve the chiles to add the soup later after they've been chopped.
- To cool the beans quickly, place them on a baking sheet. Let cool, refrigerate half for making the soup again in a couple of days, or some other use. Otherwise, freeze the beans; see below for freezing directions.
🔪Instructions to make this black-eyed pea stew
- Start by heating a large stockpot on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add coconut oil.
- Add the onion, green bell pepper, celery, garlic, and salt. Cook for five minutes or so, occasionally stirring, until you see the onion starting to turn light golden. If the pot's bottom is getting brown, add a tablespoon of water and stir to deglaze it.
- Add the bay leaves, poultry seasoning, and allspice, stirring for a minute or two.
- At this point, add the stock and black-eyed peas. If you are using canned black-eyed peas, add the dried Arbol chiles. If you are using cooked from scratch black-eyed peas, add the chopped Arbol chiles if you've been following the directions above.
- Cook the stew for approximately 20 minutes, up to 30 minutes.
- A few minutes before serving, remove the whole Arbol chiles (if not chopped already), let them cool briefly, and chop them. Add them back into the soup.
- Stir in kale a couple of minutes before planning to serve the soup. Taste for seasoning, and serve.
♻️ Variations
Instead of kale, stir in collard greens, turnip greens, or spinach a few minutes before planning to serve the soup.
In some of the photos, you'll notice that I garnished the stew with kohlrabi sprouts. They are kohlrabi sprouts, which are a bit spicy (do you notice a theme here?). I thought they would make a lovely garnish.
💭 Top tip
I highly recommend cooking black-eyed peas versus opening a can or jar. The difference in taste is evident! I like to keep canned beans as a backup but cooked at home beans rule for taste and texture. They're so good I can eat them right out of the stockpot. Can you say that about canned beans? To save time, make them the day before.
I highly recommend cooking the dried beans with three dried Arbol chiles, as mentioned above and in the recipe. When the beans are finished cooking after 45 minutes, reserve the chiles and chop them after they cool. Stir them into the soup as it's cooking if you enjoy even more flavor and spice!
If you're using canned beans, you can stir the three Arbol chiles into the soup as it's coming together. When the soup is done cooking, remove the chiles, chop them, and stir them back into the soup.
🥣How to serve this black-eyed pea stew
I love to serve this black-eyed pea stew with cornbread, or a crusty loaf of sourdough and plant-based butter. If I'm feeling extra hungry, I'll serve a salad first. If you wish, you can serve it as an appetizer. This soup is so flavorful; it's best as a main dish, in my opinion.
Storage
- Refrigerate the stew within two hours of cooking. Let it cool on the counter first.
- Refrigerate the bean stew promptly in covered airtight containers.
- Properly stored, the stew will last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Can this stew be frozen?
- To further extend the shelf life of this black-eyed pea stew, freeze it in covered airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags.
- It will maintain the best quality for about 4 to 6 months but will remain safe beyond that time.
- How long does the stew last after being frozen and thawed? Cooked bean stew that has been thawed in the fridge can be kept for an additional 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator before cooking; bean stew that was thawed in the microwave or in cold water should be eaten immediately.
More recipes
Try these recipes to keep you warm and cozy throughout winter!
Vegan Butternut Squash Chili with my Vegan Southwest Skillet Cornbread
Wild Mushroom and Leek Risotto
Vegan Polenta with Roasted Mushrooms
If you make this Vegan Black-Eyed Pea Stew, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. You can follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me! Just tag me @resplendentkitchen and hashtag #resplendentkitchenrecipes.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Black-Eyed Pea Stew
Equipment
- mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- 4 cups water if using bouillon, otherwise use 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1.5 tablespoons vegan no beef base
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil virgin
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 celery stalk halved and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic diced
- ½ teaspoon Celtic finely ground sea salt
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice freshly ground, or previously ground
- 3 ½ cups cooked black eyed peas save from 1 pound cooked black eyed peas cooked with 3 dried arbol chiles and 1 tablespoon kosher salt; chop chilies and add to soup when cooking
- 3 Chile de Arbol dried (if using canned beans, otherwise add them to your black-eyed peas when cooking them)
- 1 cup fresh kale packed leaves, reserve stems for another use
- 2 cups water optional, if the soup is too thick, add water
Instructions
- Heat 4 cups water in a pot, add vegan no beef base and stir until dissolved. Set aside. If using vegetable stock instead, set 4 cups aside for later.
- Preheat a large soup pot on medium heat for 3 minutes, add coconut oil and swirl in the pan. Add onion, green bell pepper, celery, garlic, and sea salt and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the bottom and edges of the pan start browning, add a tablespoon or two of water.
- Stir in bay leaves, poultry seasoning, and allspice. Saute for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently.
- Pour stock slowly in the sauce pan, add 3 ½ cups cooked black eyed peas and Arbol chiles; bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the soup is too thick, add 1 to 2 cups of water.
- Take out the Arbol chiles, let cool briefly, chop them if needed, and stir them back into the soup. In the meantime, remove bay leaves.
- Stir in kale and serve.
Notes
- Serve with salad and crusty bread.
- Leftover soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 to 4 days.
- Soup can be frozen in a glass container for up to 6 months.
- If the leftover soup is too thick for liking, add more water until you achieve the consistency you want.
- If you make the beans the day before, this recipe comes together in 30 minutes.
- Add more chiles de Arbol when you are reheating leftovers!
Nutrition
This recipe is adapted from the cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.
Brian
The addition of arbol chilies to the beans as they cook is awesome. Nice heat and great flavor.
Emily
Thank you Brian, I'm so glad you enjoyed this!
Ana F.
What a gorgeous soup Emily! Truly delicious and can't wait to make it!
Emily
Thank you so much, Ana. It is packed with flavor, I can't wait for you to try it!