Black Eye Pea Chili

My friend and running partner, Suzanne, recently shared a wonderful black eye pea chili recipe with me.  We chatted about the recipe as we ran through the woods and she convinced me that I might actually like black eye peas.  I wasn’t sure, but now I know that I do indeed like black eye peas.  Suzanne also told me that it is black eye peas and not black eyed peas.

Here is Suzanne’s recipe.  I changed it up a bit; be sure to read my notes.  Either recipe is a winner!

Black Eye Pea Chili
1 lb. sausage
1 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 cup celery (chopped)
4 - 15-oz. cans black eye peas
1 - 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 - 10-oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)
1-2 tbsp. chili powder

Brown sausage. Add onions and celery and sauté. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.

My Changes:
I used a jar of my home-canned tomatoes in place of the 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes and 10 oz. can of Rotel.  I added an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce and a small can of diced chilies.  Since I have a freezer overflowing with beef, I used a pound of ground beef in place of the sausage.  I also added salt since I used ground beef instead of sausage.

(I forgot to include the tomato sauce in my picture.)

Brown the beef until it looks done and the veggies are soft.


Add the other ingredients and simmer for at least 30 minutes.


The chili will thicken as it simmers.


Doesn’t this look good?  You may think you don’t like black eye peas; this recipe could be what changes your mind.


Talk about a great meal after a long day.  This would be perfect served with a salad and a slice of cornbread or a biscuit.



I made a Glog for this recipe.  If you click on the link below, you should be able to print the recipe from Glogster.  If you click on the pictures from the Glog below, they get big.  Pretty cool, huh?

Printable Recipe