Let’s explore four distinctive southern pea varieties that deserve a place in your pantry and on your table.

Lady Cream Peas: The Delicate Jewel

Lady Cream peas stand out for their delicate appearance and elegant flavor. These small, pale legumes cook to a creamy consistency while yielding a clear pot liquor, prized in southern households for their subtle sweetness and refined texture. The key to perfect Lady Cream peas lies in gentle simmering and careful seasoning – they absorb flavor beautifully without requiring heavy spicing.

Lil’ Auntie’s Lady Cream Peas

This treasured family recipe enhances the peas’ natural creaminess with seasoning meat (or butter), aromatics, and herbs. After gentle simmering, they develop a tender texture perfect alongside cornbread or as a base for grilled fish.

Crowder Peas: Bold and Beautiful

Named for the way they crowd themselves within their pods, Crowder peas deliver robust flavor and hearty texture that stands up to bold seasonings. These hardy peas thrive in the southern climate, creating a deep, dark broth when cooked. Crowder peas offer a perfect foundation for building complex flavors with smoky pork, onions, garlic, and herbs.

Clayton’s Crowder Peas

This family recipe honors the peas’ natural earthiness with classic southern cooking methods – simmering with seasoning meat before adding sautéed aromatics and herbs, resulting in a rich pot liquor perfect for sopping up with bread or serving over rice.

Field Peas: The Soul Food Staple

Field peas are similar in flavor and texture to blackeye peas but with their own distinctive character. Part of the cowpea family brought to America from Africa, these adaptable, heat-tolerant legumes have become a cornerstone of soul food cooking. When prepared traditionally with smoked pork, sautéed aromatics, and herbs, they develop a flavorful pot liquor that carries their unique earthy essence.

Patricia’s Perfect Field Peas

This heritage recipe showcases the peas’ distinctive flavor, while the Field Peas & Snap Beans variation adds fresh green beans, salt pork, and dried red chili pepper for color, texture, and a gentle heat that complements their natural earthiness.

Blackeye Peas: The Good Luck Charm

Perhaps the most widely recognized of all southern peas, blackeye peas have earned their place as both a cultural icon and a culinary staple. No southern pea holds more cultural significance than the blackeye pea on New Year’s Day. Served with greens and pork in Hoppin’ John, they’re believed to bring prosperity, with the peas symbolizing coins and the greens representing paper money.

Bessie’s Best New Year Blackeyes

This cherished recipe enhances the peas with seasoning meat, aromatics, and a touch of herbs like thyme and sage. For a classic Hoppin’ John, simply add rice, tomatoes, and green onions – served alongside collard greens for both flavor and fortune.

The Southern Pea Heritage

From humble beginnings, southern peas have evolved into beloved ingredients that carry cultural significance and family memories. Each variety offers its own personality and cooking properties, but all share the adaptability, nutritional benefits, and rich history that make southern peas truly special.

As you experiment with these recipes, you become part of the continuing story of southern cuisine—a tradition of transforming simple ingredients into soul-satisfying meals that bring people together.

Lady Cream Peas, Crowder Peas, and Field Peas

Some of our favorite Southern staples include three delicious varieties of peas that are treasured among those who know them, love them, and probably grew up eating them. Lady Cream Peas, Crowder Peas, and Field Peas are humble, endearing, and homespun. They’re also commonly known as “cowpeas” or “southern peas”. And with one simple recipe that can be personalized to your liking, they’ll simmer into a delightful pot of creamy goodness to be enjoyed alone or alongside other Deep South delights.

If you’re not familiar with these peas, here’s a bit of backstory. Despite their names, none of these varieties is actually a pea. These beans were brought to the New World from Africa and became part of the Southern diet beginning in the 1600s. Cowpeas are commonly grown in the South since they are adaptable, heat-tolerant, and drought-resistant.

Cook up any of these three pea varieties, and the result will be a perfect comfort food dish for rounding out your favorite Southern meal. What you’ll find here is one simple, original recipe from the Hayward family (owners of Camellia beans), that was personalized and named for the particular pea varieties and the family members who loved them. (Our Lil’ Auntie loved lady cream peas, Patricia favored field peas, and Clayton had to cook up crowder peas!) The recipe is easy to follow and brings out the flavors of each of the three different peas; simply personalize the pot based on the pea variety and seasoning meat you choose. You can also make these peas vegetarian by using olive oil or vegetable oil. Otherwise, the basic recipe features butter or oil, diced onion, mashed garlic, a generous mixture of dried herbs that’s often called a bouquet garni, as well as salt and pepper. These Hayward family favorites are still served today at get-togethers and holidays!

Lil’ Auntie’s Lady Cream Peas

Here, Lil’ Auntie’s Lady Cream Peas are simmered with a hearty ham shank for meaty flavor, then combined with the sautéed vegetables and seasonings, and cooked till tender. With a sweet flavor, creamy texture, and clear pot liquor, Lady Cream Peas are lovely served over rice, and this dish pairs well with other Southern pleasures like smothered okra and homemade cornbread.

Patricia’s Perfect Field Peas

Patricia’s Perfect Field Peas are cooked here with smoked sausage for wonderfully savory flavor — and then, just like the lady cream peas — mixed with the sautéed vegetables and seasonings, and simmered till soft. Ideal in soul food dishes, field peas are similar in flavor and texture to blackeye peas — in other words, they’ve got a distinctive, delicate flavor all their own. And when served over rice, alongside creamy mac ‘n cheese and a loaf of crusty French bread, Patricia’s Perfect Field Peas are irresistible.

Clayton’s Crowder Peas

For a different kind of smoky flavor, we cooked Clayton’s Crowder Peas with smoked turkey legs and then simmered them till tender with the sautéed vegetables and seasonings. The crowder pea variety gets its name from the way its peas crowd themselves in the pod; it has a rich, hearty flavor and creates a dark pot liquor when cooked. Serve these beauties smothered over rice, alongside fried chicken and biscuits, and your family and friends will be in heaven.

Pick your pea, and get cooking. Or try all three, and see which one you prefer. They’re all delicious Southern staples that deserve their rightful place at the table.

Perfect Southern Peas

Ingredients:

• 1 (1-pound) package Camellia Brand Crowder Peas, Lady Cream Peas, or Field Peas
• 1/2 pound seasoning meat or 1/4 pound butter
• 10 cups water
• 1 teaspoon butter or olive oil (optional)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 toe garlic, pressed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons your favorite dried garden herbs or Camellia’s suggested Dry Herb Blend
• Salt
• Coarse ground pepper

Directions:

1. Rinse and sort peas.
2. Cover peas with water, add seasoning meat or butter, and simmer about 1 hour.
3. Sauté onion and garlic in butter or olive oil, add to pot with remaining ingredients, and  cook 1/2 hour or until soft.
4. Salt and pepper to taste.

Taking steps to truly eat well can be easier and tastier than you might think. And with a little ingenuity, you can enjoy a healthier take on your favorite southern meals. They key is being creative and mindful of the things you can do to use healthier cooking methods, increase nutrition, and take advantage of the amazing health benefits of dried beans, peas and lentils. This is one southern meal that lets you savor what you love, while treating your body right: Golden Sautéed Catfish, Warm Wild Greens Salad with Pecan Dressing and Crowder Peas with Okra.

While fried foods and pork products can be oh so tasty in a lot of our favorite recipes, occasionally replacing them with other flavor-enhancing tricks can help you cook healthier dishes that still taste delicious.

Golden Sautéed Catfish

For example, while a fish fry is great for an occasional weekend treat, it’s a good idea to enjoy your fish sautéed during the week. These filets are brushed with olive oil, coated with Creole seasoning that provides a punch, and cooked in one tablespoon of butter in a cast iron skillet — for great flavor and a nicely browned exterior. Lemon wedges squeezed over the finished dish bring out the brightness. Golden Sautéed Catfish is fast, easy and full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. And you can easily substitute snapper, flounder or tilapia for the catfish.

Warm Wild Green Salad with Pecan Dressing

Cooking greens down with bacon and ham is a beloved tradition, but you can also enjoy greens (turnip, mustard and collard) barely wilted and tossed in a warm dressing of balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil and chopped pecans. Chock full of sweet, crunchy flavor, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, this Warm Wild Greens Salad with Pecan Dressing is a wonderful way to eat your greens and feel good about every bite.

Crowder Peas and Okra

As you might already know, dried beans, peas and lentils have high amounts of fiber, iron, protein and nutrients that work to protect your body from free radicals and aging. With our Crowder Peas and Okra, cooked simply in a mixture of aromatic vegetables, broth and seasonings — you end up with a great-tasting, vegetarian dish that lets you reap all the health benefits that the peas naturally offer. Try these additional tips for adding meatless flavor to vegetarian beans.

Yes, you can enjoy your favorite southern dishes and still be good to yourself. And this complete meal is a wonderful place to start.

Crowder Peas Succotash

While most succotash recipes call for lima beans, this one features crowder peas — as well as fresh or frozen corn kernels, chopped onion, red and green bell pepper and seasonings. It’s a great way to add a pop of color and fresh flavor to your holiday table and will complement any main dish.

Cauliflower Lima Bean Au Gratin

With all the goodness of a creamy mac ‘n cheese, our Cauliflower Lima Bean Au Gratin brings together cauliflower, buttery large lima beans, and a heavenly bechamel sauce made with butter, flour, milk, seasonings, sharp cheddar and freshly grated Parmesan. Topped with bread crumbs, and baked till bubbly and brown, this cheesy dish will complement ham, roasts or turkey. And it will be gobbled up by adults and kids alike.

Blackeye Pea Salad

This delicious recipe from Chef Jennifer Hill Booker is a real crowd pleaser, no matter what the occasion. A slightly different take on the ever-popular Cowboy Caviar, it features cooked Camellia Brand Blackeye Peas, fresh thyme, parsley, red and green bell pepper and a tangy apple cider vinaigrette with a touch of honey and red pepper flakes. Serve it with big Frito scoops, crackers, and chips and watch it disappear.

Buttermilk Cornbread in Cast Iron Skillet

Featuring the flavors of browned butter, tangy buttermilk, and sweet maple syrup, this cornbread recipe is a southern favorite that’ll get gobbled up as a side dish (or the next day for breakfast)! It’s especially helpful for scooping up other sides like succotash. The recipe is versatile, so if you like a sweeter cornbread, feel free to add more maple, honey or agave syrup to suit your taste.