Spicy Black Eyed Pea Soup with Arugula & Rice is a mouthful to say but thankfully, it’s also a mouthful of deliciousness. I dunno what I’d do without beans and rice, honestly. They’re versatile, inexpensive, and heart healthy. This Spicy Black Eyed Pea Soup dish is easy to prepare and is on my list of Really Healthy Things to Feed Myself and Others. I’m always looking for ways to incorporate more leafy greens into my life besides just salads, and this is a refreshing way to do so. (Don’t get me wrong, I love a good summer salad, especially if it contains avocado, like this Avocado and Greens Salad with Lemon Mint Dressing)
Why I like this recipe (other than it’s warm and tasty)
- It’s oil-free, with 2 grams of fat per serving.
- It has 13 grams of protein.
- It gives you a serving of whole grains.
- This black eyed pea soup has 9 grams of fiber per serving.
- There is no cholesterol in this Spicy Black Eyed Pea Soup.
- Arugula counts as a cruciferous vegetable AND a leafy green food.
- Even though there is no dairy in this recipe, you get 8% of your daily calcium needs.
- Speaking of dairy-free, this recipe is vegan friendly.
- This Spicy Black Eyed Pea Soup with Arugula and Rice is also gluten free.
- This recipe has only 246 calories (including the rice), making it a good choice for a light dinner or lunch.
- This recipe is low sodium, just 216 milligrams, so if you’re feeling a bit bloated or are watching your blood pressure, you’re good to go!
- If you’ve been doing yard work, gardening, or spending time outdoors in the heat, this recipe will help replenish your potassium levels, with 612 mg
- 4 cans low sodium black eyed peas
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 7 stalks celery, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 1½ tsp oregano
- ½ Tbsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp coarse black pepper
- 2 tsp. soy sauce (use tamari if gluten free)
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 5 oz. fresh arugula or mixed greens
- 2 cups cooked short grain brown rice
- Cholula Hot Sauce or hot sauce of your choice.
- Heat a dutch oven on the stove on medium heat, spray with a non-stick spray. . Dice your onions, carrots, and celery, then add to heated oven. Mince garlic and measure out all spices and set aside in a small bowl. Saute your vegetable mixture until onions become transparent.
- While onions and vegetables are cooking, drain and rinse your black eyed peas. Add your garlic, spices, and soy sauce or tamari, then add your black eyed peas, stirring to combine.
- Next add your vegetable broth. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then turn heat down to simmer, and place lid on dutch oven. Allow to simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.
- After soup has simmered for 30 minutes, add your Arugula. Stir until wilted, then measure out 2-3 cups of soup into a blender, and blend on low speed until mostly smooth. Add this pureed soup mix back into dutch oven and stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt and other seasonings as needed.
- Ladle into bowls with brown rice and drizzle liberally with hot sauce.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Spicy Black Eyed Pea Soup with Arugula and Rice
Step 1
First, heat a dutch oven on the stove on medium heat, spray with a non-stick spray if needed. Note: Some people have asked what stock pot / dutch oven I use. Currently, I use an All Clad one and this is by far the most used item of all my stove top cookware. It cooks evenly, is big enough to cook even my large batches of soups and mega-batches of pasta, and when I’m done making a mess cooking, it goes straight into my dishwasher and cleans up beautifully. If you want one like mine, you can get one here: While your dutch oven is heating, dice your onions, carrots, and celery, then add to the pot. Mince garlic and measure out all spices and set aside in a small bowl. Saute your vegetable mixture until onions become transparent.
Step 2
While onions and vegetables are cooking, drain and rinse your black eyed peas. Add your garlic, spices, and soy sauce (if gluten-free, use Tamari) and stir for another minute until garlic is fragrant, then add your black eyed peas, stirring to combine.
Step 3
Next, add your vegetable broth. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then turn heat down to simmer, and place lid on dutch oven. Allow to simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.
Step 4
After soup has simmered for 30 minutes, add your arugula. Stir until wilted, then measure out 2-3 cups of soup into a blender, and blend on low speed until mostly smooth. Add this pureed soup mix back into dutch oven and stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt and other seasonings as needed.
Step 5
Finally, ladle into bowls with brown rice and drizzle liberally with hot sauce.
Sometimes, I feel like I get into a bit of a food rut. I make a LOT of dishes with carrots and cucumbers, okay? While they’re undoubtedly good for me, sometimes I want to break away from the foods I normally reach for, and try something NEW. Thus, here is Part 1 of my new recipe series that I’m lovingly dubbing “Stranger Foods” – where I choose a food item that I or others may have felt unfamiliar with or a bit intimidated by (or just plain don’t know what on earth to do with!) , and try to make something delicious out of it. Today’s recipe is Roasted Acorn Squash with Cranberry Walnut Quinoa.
No-cook recipes are sometimes my favorite. Avocado and Greens Salad, thank you for existing. Really. Last week, I was busy-and I mean, really, really busy. Here’s some of what I’ve got going on right now: day job, second job, a volunteer project I’m working on for a friend, and of course this blog. For these reasons, plus normal household stuff to maintain my Not-Living-In-Squalor Status, I was feeling stretched a bit thin. Meanwhile, I’ve got a pile of things in a laundry basket by the front door waiting to get dropped off for donation, but we’re not going to acknowledge it this week.