Black-Eyed Peas and Sausage Dumplings (Printable)

Smoky sausage and tender black-eyed peas in a rich broth, crowned with light cornmeal dumplings for ultimate comfort.

# Components:

→ For the Stew

01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 12 ounces smoked sausage, sliced
03 - 1 medium onion, diced
04 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced
06 - 1 medium carrot, diced
07 - 1 green bell pepper, chopped
08 - 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
09 - 2 cans (15 ounces each) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
10 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
11 - 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
12 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
13 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
14 - 1 bay leaf
15 - Salt to taste

→ For the Dumplings

16 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
17 - 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
18 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
19 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
20 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
21 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
22 - 3/4 cup buttermilk

# Method:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the sliced sausage and cook until browned, approximately 5 minutes.
02 - Add diced onion, minced garlic, diced celery, diced carrot, and chopped bell pepper. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until vegetables are softened.
03 - Pour in chicken broth and stir in black-eyed peas, dried thyme, smoked paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper if using, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes.
04 - In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, yellow cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in melted butter and buttermilk until just combined without overmixing.
05 - Remove the bay leaf from the stew. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed with additional salt and pepper.
06 - Drop spoonfuls of approximately 2 tablespoons each of dumpling batter onto the simmering stew. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes until dumplings are puffed and cooked through. Do not lift the lid while dumplings are steaming.
07 - Serve hot, optionally garnished with fresh parsley.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's the kind of one-pot dinner that makes your kitchen smell incredible while you're still prepping ingredients.
  • Those buttermilk dumplings are impossibly fluffy and somehow always a surprise to people eating it for the first time.
  • Everything cooks while you sit down, so it's actually easier than it looks.
02 -
  • The moment you drop those dumplings on, lower your heat to low—if the stew is still boiling hard, the dumplings will break apart and turn gummy instead of staying fluffy.
  • Not lifting the lid during the final cooking stage is genuinely non-negotiable; the burst of cool air that escapes will sink your dumplings every time.
03 -
  • Toast your spices in a dry pan for thirty seconds before adding them to the stew—it wakes them up and makes the whole dish taste more intentional.
  • Keep the dumpling batter cold until the very moment you drop it; warm batter spreads and turns heavy, while cold batter puffs and stays tender.
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