Weight Watchers-Friendly Instant Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup

Instant Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1.5 cups lean ham, cubed (or use leftover ham bone or hock, see notes)
• 1 lb dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight in water, rinsed, and drained
• 6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (from about 2 sprigs)
• 15 oz canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 cups roughly chopped kale or collard greens, packed
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Turn your Instant Pot/pressure cooker to the “sauté” setting.
2. Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in the olive oil (1 teaspoon) for 2-3 minutes or until softened.
3. Add the minced garlic (1 clove) and cubed lean ham (1.5 cups); sauté for 2-3 more minutes. (If using a ham bone or hock, just add the garlic, then add the ham bone in the next step).
4. Add the pre-soaked, drained, and rinsed black-eyed peas, reduced-sodium chicken broth (6 cups), smoked paprika (1 teaspoon), bay leaf, and fresh thyme (1 teaspoon). Stir together.
5. Set Instant Pot/pressure cooker to manual/high pressure for 10 minutes.
6. Allow to naturally depressurize for 20 minutes, then quick release the pressure.
7. If you used a ham bone/hock, remove it at this time. Take the meat off the bone, chop it up, and add it back to the pot. Discard the bone.
8. Stir in the 2 cups packed kale (or collard greens) and canned diced tomatoes to the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. The residual heat of the soup should cook the greens through, but you can always set the pot to “sauté” to simmer it for a few minutes if needed.