This Creole Black Eyed Pea Soup includes the trinity along with ham, chicken stock, seasonings, and fresh greens for some southern goodness in a pot.
We’ve had some wild weather around here lately. Nothing like they’ve experienced in the Northeast, but for Georgia it has been exceptional.
Two weekends ago, we had an ice storm that left every leaf, twig, and blade of grass encased in a layer of ice. Yes, it was cold (10 degrees), but oh my gosh it was so beautiful! The sun shining on the trees looked like millions of sparkly diamonds everywhere.
If your weather is wintry-wild, too, then you’ll really enjoy this delicious soup recipe. This Creole Black Eyed Pea Soup, like many Creole and Cajun recipes, begins with the trinity of Louisiana cuisine – onions, celery, and bell pepper. Then some ham, chicken stock, and Creole seasoning goes into the pot along with fresh greens.
The result is a soup that will warm you up no matter how icy and cold it might be outside.
How to Make Creole Black Eyed Pea Soup
Start by dicing the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Mince the garlic and set it aside for now.
Place a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil and saute the onion and celery, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and the celery softened. Add the ham, bell pepper, and garlic and continue cooking for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in the chicken broth, peas, and tomatoes.
Add the Creole seasoning, black pepper, oregano, and salt.
Bring the mixture up to a boil. Add the turnip greens or spinach. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 1 hour.
Serve with cornbread or garlic toast.
🧾 More Recipes You’ll Like
- Leek and Potato Soup
- Creole Beef and Okra Soup
- Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup
- Peas and Greens Soup
- Lentil and Sausage Gumbo Soup
Have a question or thought to share?
If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
Thank you for stopping by. It means a lot to have you here.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox.
Creole Black Eyed Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- ½ large green bell pepper diced
- 8 ounces cooked, diced ham
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 30 ounces canned black eyed peas drained and rinsed (2 cans)
- 30 ounces canned petite diced tomatoes (2 cans) or one-28 ounce can
- 8 ounces fresh turnip greens or spinach
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil and saute the onion and celery, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and the celery softened. Add the ham, bell pepper, and garlic and continue cooking for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken broth, peas, and tomatoes. Add the Creole seasoning, black pepper, oregano, and salt. Bring the mixture up to a boil. Add the turnip greens or spinach. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 1 hour.
- Serve with cornbread or garlic toast.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
I’m Lana Stuart, an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, and lifelong cook raised deep in Southwest Georgia. I started Lana’s Cooking in 2009 to share the tried-and-true recipes I grew up with. Around here, the food is full of flavor, the traditions run deep, and there’s always room at the table.
I love soups and stews like this. It is indeed a celebration of the holy trinity of Louisiana cooking!
This will be perfect for today…..it’s not supposed to snow even though it is. I need something warm and comforting to help me recover from this unwelcome weather.
I must be going blind–in the instructions you add tomatoes, but I can’t find tomatoes in the list of ingredients.
Thanks for pointing that out, Janice! I’m so sorry I left that out. I used two 14 ounce (or one 28 ounce) can of petite diced tomatoes. I’ve also edited the recipe to include that ingredient.
Looks great. You know, Daddy would have loved this soup. His favorite flavor profile.
Miss P
He would, wouldn’t he? He was all about some ham, blackeyed peas and turnips!
Perfect for this cold, snowy weather we’re getting here! Love the flavors in this soup!
I really, really want a big portion of this right now, it’s so cold here!
Love the ingredient collage photos in this. Easy to see exactly what you did. More snow on the way today. Definitely soup weather.
Loving the turnip greens in your soup recipe – what a bowl of pure comfort!
I’m heading to Louisiana next week for a business trip (my first time) and I can wait to taste the foods – like this amazing recipe!
how can I make my own creole seasoning? I can’t get to market to buy, but have lots of individual spices on jhand.
I don’t have a recipe for a Creole seasoning blend, but there are lots of them online. Just do a search for “creole seasoning recipe” and you’ll find many from which to choose.
There is nothing better than a spicy soup to warm us up on chilly days. This would be a fantastic way to ring in the New Year and get good luck all in one dish! :-)
It would be quite appropriate for New Year’s wouldn’t it?
Sometimes YUM really is the word! This looks so warm and inviting and right now exactly what my freezing cold body needs. I try to hard to conserve energy but I’m ‘THIS CLOSE’ to turning up that heat; maybe a bowl of spicy soup would help?
A spicy soup would warm you right up, Barb! I’m sitting here wrapped up in a blanket with the heat turned up to 74 and I’m still shivering.
What a great soup. This reminds me of a soup I had in New Orleans.
Thank you for the nice recipe.
Those chunks of ham…those greens…that bowl right there has my name written all over it. Greens always satisfy a craving I didn’t realize I had. Looks fantastic, Lana!
I’m crazy about greens, too (except kale – can’t stand it) and try to sneak them in anywhere I can!
Love Creole food. One of my co worker is from New Orleans and she has me hooked to her food. May be now I can surprise her with a delicious soup using your recipe!
Creole and Cajun recipes are so unique and interesting. It’s really a cuisine all its own!
Lana this looks amazing. We’re having yet ANOTHER snow day today. I’m so over winter but a giant bowl of this soup would def warm me up.
I’ve been over winter since October. Looking out my window at big, fat wet snowflakes right now and just cringing.
We’ve had a bit of this awful icy weather this week and I can’t think of anything better than this Creole Black Eyed Pea Soup! Amazingly delicious!
Thanks, Milisa. It definitely warmed us up during last week’s ice storm!
Your black eyed pea soup would certainly hit the spot today!!! What a winter!
Here, too, Liz with more snow falling today! I’m so ready for Spring!