New Years Casserole

New Years Casserole–black eyed peas with rice, vegetables, seasonings and melty cheese. An easy one pot meal that you can make quickly in your Instant Pot.

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New Years Casserole

Today’s recipe is perfect for New Year’s Day because it has black eyed peas which are a symbol of good luck, prosperity and good fortune. It is so tasty you’ll be finding excuses to make it all the time. With chicken, rice and black eyed peas this recipe is super hearty. The seasonings, vegetables and Rotel tomatoes add a lot of flavor and a bit of kick. The gooey cheese ties everything together. Serve alongside some collard greens for a perfect New Year’s Day meal.

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Olive oil–or canola, vegetable
• Onion–yellow, white
• Celery
• Garlic powder–or granulated garlic
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Smoked paprika
• Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
• Boneless skinless chicken thighs–or 2-3 cups of chopped, cooked chicken
• Converted rice–or long grain white rice, jasmine or basmati
• Rotel–rotel is diced tomatoes with green chiles and seasonings, you can find it next to the diced tomatoes
• Black eyed peas–I used canned but you can also use frozen
• Tomato sauce
• Corn–canned or frozen
• Cheddar cheese–or another cheese of your choice

Steps

Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and swirl around. Add in the onions and celery and saute for 4 minutes.

Stir in the garlic powder, salt pepper, paprika and broth. Scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.

Add the chicken into the pot (evenly spread out).

Sprinkle the rice over the top. Dump in the Rotel, black eyed peas, tomato sauce and corn (don’t stir). 

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting and remove the lid. 

Stir. If there is excess liquid let it sit for a few more minutes and the rice will soak it up. Sprinkle the cheese on top and let it melt. Serve and enjoy.

Notes/Tips

• Try adding in an extra can of black eyed peas.
• Try adding in a diced green bell pepper.
• If you’d like to use chicken breasts in the place of thighs you can, although they won’t be as tender. Cut them into 1 inch cubes.
• Serve with collard greens, cabbage or salad.
• This recipe is gluten-free.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• What is converted/parboiled rice? Don’t confuse converted rice (or sometimes it is called parboiled rice) with pre-cooked or minute rice. Parboiled rice has been processed in its husk by soaking, steaming, and drying. As a result, all the nutrients from the husk are absorbed into the grain before it’s removed. The starch content alters in the process, making cooked parboiled rice less sticky than regular white rice. The rice kernels aren’t clumpy and glued together instead they are more separated. I found a bag of parboiled rice at Walmart next to the normal long grain white rice. Sometimes I buy it at Winco in the bulk section. I have also found it in the orange box (Ben’s brand) next to other rices.
• Other recipes you can make with converted rice are Instant Pot Spanish Rice With Beef and Instant Pot Janet’s Appalachian Casserole.
• Recipe adapted from Just a Pinch.

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More Recipes with Black Eyed Peas…

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.