Blackened Chicken Black-Eyed Peas Bowls

These Black-Eyed Peas Bowls with Blackened Chicken are just the thing you need when you're craving some comfort food but want to keep it healthy. It's like when soup meets stew, loaded with flavorful little blackened chicken pieces, tender black-eyed peas, and a few veggies. You can serve it on its own or over rice, spooning the tasty juices all over the rice.

The great part is that this dish is ready in just over a half hour and is very easy to make! If you're looking to try a unique black-eyed peas recipe that is light but flavorful, this is it!

Healthy black-eyed peas dinner

Many people have black-eyed peas exactly one time a year: on New Year's Day. But there's no reason to not eat these tasty, nutritious little beans the rest of the year! Black-eyed peas can make a healthy addition to so many recipes.

These black-eyed peas chicken and veggie bowls might not be a traditional southern recipe—there's no smoked ham or heavily buttered collard greens—but they're still so so tasty! The veggies pieces of blackened chicken in this recipe are chopped small, so you get delicious flavor and a little bit of everything in every bite.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast, diced into 1-2 inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons blackened seasoning (or Cajun seasoning, use less if you are not sure you want a spicy dish, see tips below)
• ½ teaspoon salt (optional, use only if you blackened seasoning doesn't contain salt!)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced into small pieces (⅓ - ½ inch pieces, about 1.5 cups diced carrots)
• 8-12 oz fresh green beans (2.5 - 3 cups), ends trimmed and sliced into 1-inch pieces (not any longer)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes (do not drain! You'll use the juices)
• 1 (14-oz) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed (about 2 cups cooked black-eyed peas)
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, finely diced (see notes below for substitution ideas)

Equipment

• What type of pot/pan to use: for this recipe, you'll need to brown the chicken, then set it aside and add it back to the dish at the end. You can either get a pan to brown the chicken and then a soup pot to cook the rest of the dish. Or if you have a heavy bottom soup pot or casserole pot (such as this) where you can brown the chicken, you can cook the dish in 1 pan and just set the chicken aside.
• Medium/large bowl to season the chicken
• Cutting board or two: You can use 1 cutting board if you chop all the veggies and herbs first and then chop the chicken. Or use 2 cutting boards and save time on prep and cooking, if you're coordinated in the kitchen and don't do mise en place: chop the chicken first and start cooking it, then as the chicken is cooking you can chop the carrots and onion on the second cutting board. Then as the carrots and onions are cooking, you can prep the green beans. 

Instructions

Step 1: Combine the diced chicken in a bowl with the blackened seasoning and salt, if using (skip the salt if your seasoning is already salted). Mix together until the chicken is fully coated in seasoning.

Step 2: Preheat a large skillet or a heavy bottom soup/casserole pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the seasoned chicken in a single layer. Let the chicken cook undisturbed for a few minutes until browned, then flip each piece and brown on another side for 2-3 minutes. Stir and continue to cook until the chicken is completely cooked. Remove the chicken from heat and set aside.

Step 3: Lower the heat to medium-low (or grab a soup pot) and add the other tablespoon of olive oil, the chopped carrots and onion. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, taking care not to burn the veggies.

Step 4: Add the chopped green beans, chicken broth, and the diced tomatoes with the juices. Stir together and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the green beans are cooked to your liking (about 5-10 minutes if you don't want the green beans too soft). You can add more chicken broth if you want to a more soupy consistency, or you can uncover the pot and let some of the liquid boil off.

Step 5: Add the drained black-eyed peas, cooked chicken, and diced parsley. Stir to combine and remove from heat. Serve hot as a soup, or spoon over rice.

Recipe notes and tips

→ Blackened seasoning: every seasoning brand has a different spice level (I used this one). Adjust the amount you use to taste. If you're not sure how much to use and don't want a spicy dish, start with less and add more to the broth once the dish is finished. Check the ingredients to see whether the seasoning contains salt (or give the seasoning a taste). If not, you'll need to season the chicken with a little salt as well.