Small, round, beige-green legume. One cup cooked provides 11g protein, 11g fiber, 110% DV folate (one of the highest folate sources of any food), 20% DV iron, and significant potassium, magnesium, and zinc. The folate density is extraordinary — one cup cooked pigeon peas provides more than the entire daily folate requirement.
Available at Caribbean, West African, Latin, and Asian grocery stores. Goya brand canned pigeon peas at most mainstream grocery stores with any Latin presence. Dried pigeon peas at specialty stores and online. Affordable.
The folate content of 110% DV per cup makes pigeon peas one of the most effective single-food interventions for the homocysteine-stroke link in the Black American population. Combined with black-eyed peas (36% DV folate/cup) and wheat germ (23% DV/2 tbsp), a plate of rice and pigeon peas achieves complete folate adequacy from food alone — the most culturally embedded way to prevent stroke through nutrition. The iron + folate combination addresses both causes of anemia simultaneously: iron-deficiency anemia (from low iron) and megaloblastic anemia (from low folate). Potassium at 25% DV per cup supports blood pressure reduction through the dietary potassium-sodium ratio mechanism — each serving is a step toward the 4,700mg/day potassium target associated with blood pressure control.
Dried: soak overnight, simmer 45-60 minutes. Canned: drain and rinse. Jamaican rice and peas: pigeon peas + coconut milk + garlic + scallion + thyme + allspice berries + rice — the quintessential Caribbean Sunday meal. Add to soups and curries. West African pigeon pea soup: with palm oil + crayfish + scotch bonnet + leafy greens.
Free, no account needed to ask.