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Golden, herb-forward, and perfectly seasoned—your new favorite Southern soul food side with global rhythm.
They're so good they made our list of best blackeyed pea recipes.
These black-eyed pea falafel cakes aka "Hush Puppies" take a New Year’s Day staple and flip it into something crispy, modern, and deeply rooted. Think hush puppy energy with falafel technique—no mushy centers, no bland bites—just soaked peas, fresh herbs, and a hot skillet doing what it does best. Fast enough for weeknights, soulful enough for Sunday.
What is a falafel?
Falafel is a traditional Arab food I'd describe as a vegetable fritter made from a legume. Choice of legume varies by region/country but chickpeas are most common. In countries like Egypt fava beans are preferred. Here, I used blackeyed peas to give it a soul food twist.
Beats and Eats (music to pair with blackeyed pea falafel cakes)
Pair with: “Complexion (A Zulu Love)” by Kendrick Lamar
This track is layered, thoughtful, and grounded in heritage—just like these cakes. Black-eyed peas carry history, herbs bring freshness, and the crunch hits like a beat drop. It’s food that honors where it’s from while moving forward with intention.
Flavor Profile (What Makes This Dish Unique)
Herbaceous and savory:
Fresh herbs lead the charge, keeping the peas bright and aromatic instead of heavy.
Crispy outside, tender inside:
Falafel-style grinding and proper leavening give you a crackly crust with a fluffy, satisfying bite.
Key Flavor Ingredients (Why They Matter)
- Dried black-eyed peas: The foundation—nutty, earthy, and sturdy enough to hold shape without turning dense.
- Fresh basil: Adds a sweet, peppery lift that keeps things lively.
- Fresh parsley: Brings clean, grassy balance to the richer peas.
- Fresh thyme: Earthy depth that nods to Southern kitchens.
- Flour: Binds the mixture so cakes fry clean and hold together.
- Baking powder: The quiet hero—adds lightness and prevents heaviness.
Serving Suggestions
These cakes make for the perfect side, appetizer, or meatless main dish. Serve tucked into pita or flatbread with greens. I like them alongside spicy tahini, vegan Southern style collard greens, and tomato salad.
Recipe Variations & Ingredient Substitutions
- Spice it up: Add cayenne
- Extra crunch: Fold in minced onion or scallions
Test Kitchen Tips for Best Results
- Pulse, don’t purée: You want grit, not hummus.
- Test one first: Adjust seasoning before committing the whole batch.
- Ball size matters. Smaller is better for achieving a more crispy falafel. Think of it like this, the larger the ball then the more surface area there is to cook which impacts the ratio of inner moisture vs. crispy exterior
- Go heavy with the herbs, it's a Middle Eastern dish after all! Ditto for spices as falafel can otherwise be pretty bland if not seasoned properly
- Use dried vs. canned blackeyed peas. Flavor-wise dried nets more intense, clean black-eyed pea flavor whereas you get that tin canned taste from the canned version. Even worse, it's a bitch trying to get canned peas to bind.
- Use the overnight method of soaking the blackeyed peas. The quick-soak method doesn't work because the peas need to be totally raw for optimal flavor and texture.
- Deep frying works better than shallow frying
These cakes are proof that Black-eyed peas don’t just belong in bowls—they belong center stage, fried golden, seasoned right, and played loud.
make the recipe
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Vegan Blackeyed Pea Falafel Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried black-eyed peas soaked overnight
- ½ white onions minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic chopped
- 1 cup fresh herb mix chives, basil, parsley, thyme
- 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon flour
- peanut or canola oil for frying
- 2 tablespoon tahini paste
- 2 tablespoon almond milk
- 1 tablespoon chili paste or hot sauce of choice
- Juice from ½ small lime
Method
- Combine the blackeyed peas, onion, garlic, and herbs in a food processor and puree. Don't worry if mixture never reaches fully smooth consistency.
- Transfer to a bowl and mix in baking powder and flour. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll black-eyed pea into medium sized oblong balls and then flatten to desired shape.
- Heat oil in large skilet and fry the falafals for about 3 minutes per side.
- Remove from oil and let cool and drain on cooling rack or paper towel lined pan.
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Adjust consistency with water as needed.
Are the black eyed peas cooked a little before processing or just soak and process??
just soak and process afterwards
The only issue I have is that I wondered whether the two cups of black eye peas is before soaking or after soaking because my final product wasn't as green as your product and I wondered whether it was because they were too diluted by the black eyed peas.
I used 2 cups pre-soaking. The color varies depending on the amount and type of herbs you use in the recipe.
Made exactly as listed! Cooked in the air fryer at 400 , 15 minutes. Crispy and golden on the outside, perfect inside. Made this for my new year’s “good luck” meal!!
Love it! Air Fryer is great!
I have fresh peas grown in my garden. I would like to use these. So I would not cook them first. Just use as they are?
That's golden! Yes I think you should be fine just blending the fresh peas. I wish I had them in my garden lol.
Has anyone ever made the mixture and then frooze it for future use?
Great question.I've never tried freezing the mixture ahead of time, but have left it in the fridge overnight as part of make-ahead meal prep.
Made these last night and loved them. As we ate, we thought of two vegan friends we MUST make them for ASAP. I did have a mishap: when I put in the smoked paprika, it didn't seem like enough, so I put in 2 teaspoons. As the dough/batter chilled I put things away and saw that the "paprika" container was actually "cayenne pepper." YIKES!
I tasted the dough. YIKES. I divided the dough in two. Half I left alone. To the other half, I added some canned white kidneys pureed with canned pumpkin, and a teaspoon of sugar. This amended dough needed additional flour to hold together, and some baking powder to make up for that loss.
I made a few cakes with the original 2 tsp cayenne dough to get a sense for what the texture would be like next time. We found the texture nearly identical in both versions. Both versions were fantastic, and the spiciness of the cake wasn't outrageous after the frying.
I think half an hour in the fridge is a bare minimum. I returned the dough to the fridge as I fried each batch of cakes, and it got noticeably firmer as we went through the cooking.
Hey Jim thanks for the feedback! Some of my best work has come by mistake lol. The pumpkin sounds interesting and is worthy of food fidelity experimentation. I love the tips...
Jessica thanks for the compliments. They are actually pretty easy to make and it's also easy to add your own personal spin to them.
Yes! Try different herbs depending on your taste preferences.