This field peas and snaps recipe is comfort in a bowl. It's a Southern side dish that is made with simple ingredients that gets even better when it simmers on the stovetop all day.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
If you've never had the pleasure of tasting field peas with snaps, you're in for a treat. It's pure comfort food in a bowl!
Let's dive into what makes these legumes so special. Despite their name, fresh field peas are actually a type of bean and bear a slight resemblance to English peas. There are different varieties of these fresh peas, including black-eyed peas, crowder peas, purple hull peas, lady peas, pink-eyed peas, and zipper peas.
And as for snaps, well those are tender, immature green beans that don't have seed pods inside. They're called snaps because they snap in half when bent.
In this classic southern field peas recipe, black-eyed peas are cooked to perfection on the stove top in a large saucepan. As is common in southern cuisine, bacon grease is a key ingredient, imparting a rich, smoky flavor to the dish. This savory concoction is simmered with snap beans, sweet onions, and a seasoned liquid of your choice with a few simple spices.
This delightful pot of peas isn't reserved solely for New Year's Day, when it’s traditionally eaten for good luck. In my family, we enjoy it year-round, especially as part of a hearty vegetable spread after hitting the local farmers markets.
It's accompanied by other beloved southern favorites like tomato gravy and rice and fried corn. The combination of fresh, locally sourced ingredients and time-honored cooking techniques makes eating field peas a cherished staple in our home.
You can serve them as-is or top with some pepper vinegar or chow chow.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Field Peas & Snaps: If you live in the south, you can probably find a bag of southern peas and snaps at your local farmers market. Pictsweet Farms sells frozen bags of Field Peas with Snaps which is what I'm using in this easy recipe. They're the best!
- Thick Cut Smoked Bacon: Bacon adds depth and smokiness to most southern recipes, and this one is no different! If you're against bacon fat, you can swap the bacon grease for olive oil but it won't have the same flavor. You could also swap this for salt pork or ham hock if you didn't want to deal with frying bacon.
- Vidalia Onion: Since these grow in the south, I recommend using this type of onion. However, you could swap it for a yellow onion, white onion or red onion if you needed to.
- Ham Flavored Concentrate: To get even more porky, salty goodness infused into the fresh peas, my mom always used a packet of ham flavored concentrate. But you could also add salt pork or a ham hock. If you are more into healthy recipes when it comes to cooking, I got you. Try swapping it out for chicken broth or vegetable broth - whatever your personal taste prefers.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Red pepper flakes add more depth than spice to this field peas with snaps recipe. But if you don't like them, you can leave them out.
- Brown Sugar: You could swap out the brown sugar for another sugar of your choice. It's mostly for balancing out the saltiness of the ingredients - not really for a sweet flavor.
- Kosher Salt: Kosher salt brings out the natural flavor more than other salts. If you use table salt or another type of salt, adjust accordingly.
- Black Pepper: I like adding some fresh cracked black pepper to my beans. But you could swap it for red pepper flakes if you're more into it.
- Optional Additions: If you want some more color on this dish, feel free to top with fresh parsley or sliced green onion. You could also top with a spoonful of chowchow or some sliced tomatoes with hot vinegar.
How to make it
This easy southern field peas and snaps recipe uses a frozen mixture instead of fresh field peas. You can find this at most grocery stores year round.
Create the Flavor Base: Add chopped bacon, onion, red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon salt to a large pot or over medium heat. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the bacon is slightly crispy and the onions are starting to brown.
Add Field Peas and Snaps: Next, add the bag of field peas and snaps, brown sugar, 1 packet of ham flavored concentrate and another .5 teaspoon kosher salt to your large sauce pot.
Simmer Beans: Cover the beans with as many cups of water as you need to cover the top of them. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat. Give it a good stir and drop the heat down to a low simmer. Simmer the beans until they're cooked through. If the liquid gets low, add more water or broth to cover the beans. You can use broth or water. Just an FYI, you don't want them to be dry.
Serve or Save: Taste and season the field peas with snaps with more salt and pepper. Place leftover field peas in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
What goes with it
Making this field peas with snaps recipe into a complete meal is easy! Simply pair it with some of these fresh vegetables side dishes!
- Candied Yams / Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Crockpot Collard Greens
- Sauteed Cabbage and Onions
- Southern Fried Corn
- Southern Tomato Gravy
- BBQ Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Southern BBQ Sauce
Recipe
Mama's Field Peas with Snaps Recipe (Southern Style)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 slices Thick Cut Smoked Bacon roughly chopped
- 1 large Vidalia Onion roughly chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt divided (plus more for finishing)
- 1 28 oz bag Frozen Field Peas and Snaps
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 1.41. oz packet ham flavored concentrate
Instructions
- Add chopped bacon, onion, red pepper flakes and ½ teaspoon salt to a sauce pot over medium heat. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the bacon is cooked through and the onions are starting to brown.
- Next, add the bag of field peas and snaps, brown sugar, 1 packet of ham flavored concentrate and another .5 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Turn the heat to low and let the mixture simmer until the beans are cooked through. If the mixture starts to dry out, simply add more liquid (water or broth) to cover the beans. Repeat as often as necessary. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.
