Here’s the best Instant Pot Hoppin John with ham recipe that’s made in just 30 minutes. We use dried black eyed peas with no soak required either! Great with leftover or ham hocks. You’ll love this traditional New Years recipe.
You’re either here because you’re wondering what the heck Instant Pot Hoppin John is, or you’re looking for an easy Hoppin John…either way welcome to The Typical Mom!! We have a lot of easy Instant Pot recipes here so if you’re looking for dinner beyond this popular New Years dish we’ve got you covered! (affiliate links present)
Instant Pot Hoppin John
Either way this easy Hoppin John recipe with ham is super yummy and a great way to use leftover ham like we did here. I used dry black eyed peas with NO soaking required when using your pressure cooker but if you’d like to use frozen that is an option too.
Same goes with our Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas and Ham recipe that we tend to make year round. Difference is this doesn’t incorporate the kale or cheese on the top. Of course those are optional as well and it is fantastic without them, just use what is your favorite ingredients beyond the basics.
Jump to:
- Instant Pot Hoppin John
- Ninja Foodi Hoppin John
- Why is it called Hoppin John?
- What do you eat with Hoppin’ John?
- Instant Pot Hoppin John Recipe Ingredients
- Additional Instant Pot Hoppin John Ingredients
- Can you use canned and pre cooked black eyed peas instead of dry?
- Can you use something other than black-eyed peas to make Hoppin John?
- How can you make Hoppin’ John better?
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
Ninja Foodi Hoppin John
I don’t like canned because they can get quite mushy in the Instant Pot so I’d opt for frozen or dried, dried is best. This is what ours looked like when it was done….and in just 30 minutes! If you haven’t tried this fun comfort food before I suggest that you do. It might become a new year tradition for your family too.
Don’t have an IP? No problem, it can be made in a Crockpot Express or as a Ninja Foodi recipe too with the lid that is not attached. As long as it is electric and has the high pressure function this can be made to be enjoyed year round really.
Why is it called Hoppin John?
What is Hoppin John anyway?? Well I have to be honest, I had no idea until a friend of mine said she was making it for dinner the other night. I am a sucker for recipes with fun names so I asked her about it and she said it was a popular southern dish made for New Years but she loved it so much they made it year round.
So…..I did a little research about where the name came from and it’s origination and this is what I found. Tradition began in the Southern United States. Eating Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck.
What do you eat with Hoppin’ John?
Serving leafy green vegetables (we used kale) served along with this dish (or inside like I did) are supposed to add wealth since it’s the color of money!
- Another traditional side served with Hoppin John is cornbread, you can make our pressure cooker cornbread recipe to serve with it.
- On the day after New Year’s Day leftovers are usually called Skippin’ Jenny bringing a hope for an even better chance of prosperity in the New Year.
Doesn’t this look yummy ?? Topped with smoked gouda it really was a hit with all 5 of us.
Instant Pot Hoppin John Recipe Ingredients
- Bag of black eyed peas – can use frozen or canned but time will be different than that in the recipe card below
- Ham – diced leftover ham is what we used, can use a ham hock
- Can of diced tomatoes
- Butter
- Chicken broth
- Onion and celery is optional
- Rice – make separately, here’s how to make perfect Instant Pot white rice
- Smoked gouda
- Spices
- Kale is wonderful and traditional
Additional Instant Pot Hoppin John Ingredients
When it comes to adding vegetables really the sky is the limit. The only thing you really want to remember is that everything should be submerged to get tender. If you add too many then they will sit out of the sauce/liquid and not work well.
- Add diced celery
- Add diced bell peppers
- Don’t the kale I added inside and/or serve sauteed collard greens on the side
- You could use frozen black eyed peas vs. dried but that will alter the cook time. 30 minutes on high pressure vs 12 would be the difference.
- You could omit the smoked gouda cheese on top, or use a different type but this is our favorite
- Use a ham hock instead of diced ham like we did, and some like adding bay leaves
You could use 4 cups water instead of chicken broth but that wouldn’t add any flavor so I wouldn’t suggest that substitution but is an option.
Leftovers are great too, just make a fresh pot of rice and serve on top with cheese and you’ve got a second meal! Watch our video to see how easy it is to make this traditional New Years recipe
Can you use canned and pre cooked black eyed peas instead of dry?
You could but it will be mushier. See timing difference in step 4 if you want to do it this way. Timing with this cooking method is 12 minutes instead with a quick release. I’m telling you that to pressure cook dry beans is super easy. I would highly recommend this method.
Now with our Instant Pot red beans and rice I have used canned and it worked but in that dish you want them softer, at least we do.
Can you use something other than black-eyed peas to make Hoppin John?
I mean it wouldn’t be traditional that way but yes you could use anything since you’re making it yourself. Northern beans would work, or Pinto but either would have a totally different flavor profile. You could get close using the same other ingredients listed below though.
After you’d made this here are a few other Instant Pot dinner recipes you’ll enjoy
- Pressure cooker chili with dry beans is super easy to throw together from scratch.
- Healthy Instant Pot pinto bean soup
How can you make Hoppin’ John better?
There are many variations to traditional Hoppin’ John. Some cook black-eyed peas and rice in one pot with cajun seasoning to make it spicy. We omitted the rice and added diced tomatoes instead because we preferred it that way. Others insist on simmering ingredients separately.
We’re all about one pot meals though so that’s not our style. Some also like to add the collard greens to the pot, that isn’t my favorite veggie so I opted for kale. The favorite traditional way to eat this meal is with collard greens and corn bread.
Here is the printable recipe below, good luck!
Instant Pot Hoppin John
Ingredients
- 16 oz black eyed peas, dry, bagged
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 c ham, diced, or ham hock
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz.
- 32 oz chicken broth, could use vegetable broth if making vegetarian
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp thyme
- 2 c kale, cut into med. size leaves, optional
- 2 c rice, cook as directed separately
- 1 c smoked gouda, diced
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to saute and add your butter (allow to melt), diced onion, diced ham (if you’re using diced, if using ham hock don’t add that now), minced garlic, cayenne, salt, pepper, thyme, and any other spices you desire.
- Stir until well combined and until onions begin to soften and turn translucent. Turn your pot OFF.
- Add your can of diced tomatoes, bag of dry black eyed peas (or 16 oz of canned, though not recommended), and chicken broth, stir add ham hock into the middle if you’re using that too.
- Close lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 25 minutes. (if using canned just press the rice button which will set it to pressure high for 12 minutes)
- Do a quick release and stir, will thicken more as it sits. Can serve this over rice as is or if you want to add kale then gently press the leaves into your mixture and cook on high pressure for 4 more minutes.
- Cook rice separately. Quick release again, stir and serve over rice topped with smoked gouda cheese.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this recipe, I have made it two years in a row now. I add a bell pepper, two stalks of diced celery, extra kale and add an extra can of rotel tomatoes to the can of diced, and extra chicken broth as needed. Make two batches to serve a crowd and serve it over rice. They always scrape the pot clean!
yay!! Happy New Year!
Delicious! We pre-soaked our beans before we found the recipe, added a green bell pepper, some celery and reduced the cooking time to 20 minutes (the beans were still very hard even after the pre-soak). The Hoppin John turned out great! We served it with cornbread on the side and would use this recipe again! Thanks!
Delicious! Loved it although next time I will likely eliminate the cayenne as my kids wouldn’t eat it.
So glad you loved it.
Made this today – super good! The smoked Gouda made it extra tasty. Thank you!!
Do you need to presoak the black eyed peas?
Nope. Just follow the recipe as is. No Pre soaking requires with an IP
Do you know if the Instant Pot will hold a double recipe? We are having a New Years Brunch and wanted to use your recipe.
I’m unsure as mine is a 6 qt and with that size you couldn’t double it. Possibly with an 8 qt but haven’t tried it sorry.
With a bean or legume dish you don’t want to fill a pressure cooker more than half full with the total of your ingredients. Non-legume dishes, you can get away with 2/3 full, or to the maximum fill line.
The real story: Hoppin’ John came from West Africa, specifically Ghana (now called “red red”) and Nigeria (variation is moin moin or pili pili sauce), has been a staple there and was carried over to the Diaspora. Even after the ya’ know, little talked about, swept-under-the-rug slavery atrocities/descrinination/red-lining happened, it stuck and this is a pretty good rendition of hoppin’ John. Cheers
Yes true about the history!. And one more thing… no self-respecting Southerner would ever put Gouda (or any cheese) in their Hoppin’ John. Just. Don’t. Do. It. 🙂
I do something similar in the IP but use Rotel tomatoes with green chilies instead of the regular diced tomatoes. YUM!
This looks so comforting and delicious. I will be trying this one soon!
I’ve always wanted to make Hoppin John and then I ran across your recipe. I’m super excited to make your version, and I love the addition of the smoked gouda!