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Cowpea

Cowpeas are edible legumes commonly boiled, stewed, or ground into flour.

Cowpea — illustrative ingredient image

About Cowpea

Cowpea is the edible seed of a legume plant, commonly boiled and served whole, added to soups and stews, or mashed and ground into flour or batters. Fresh green pods or immature seeds may also be cooked as vegetables in some markets.

Dried cowpeas have a mild, earthy, slightly nutty flavour and become soft and creamy when cooked, with skins that may remain distinct. Seeds vary in size, shape, and colour, including cream, brown, red, and black-eyed types.

Packaged forms include dried whole seeds, split seeds, canned preparations, and milled products. Fresh cowpeas may be sold as green pods or immature seeds. Boiling, mashing, grinding, canning, and milling each alter their appearance and texture.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where will you meet it?

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Where cowpea appears

18 linked foods

Find foods to recognise by country and type. Recipes and products vary; these are recorded ingredient connections.

Showing 13–18 of 18

Soups

Rice dishes

Street food

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for cowpea

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

cowpea

English

Cowpea(Dongbu), Boiled

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Cowpea(Dongbu), Dried

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Cowpea(Dongbu), Imported, Boiled

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Cowpea(Dongbu), Imported, Dried

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Cowpea(Dongbu), Raw

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Cowpea nutrition & diet

Cowpea nutritional value

Cowpeas, common (blackeyes, crowder, southern), mature seeds, raw

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the recorded food form.

Calories
336kcal
Protein
23.5g
Carbs
60.0g
Fat
1.3g

Per 100 g of the named reference food. Preparation, cultivar and product formulation can change these values; use the stated form when comparing.

Portions & preparation

Identify the cowpea variety and use a reference matching dried, boiled, canned, sprouted, or ground form. Portion and preparation matter because soaking, cooking liquid, oil, vegetables, grains, and seasonings can change the served food substantially.

Compare the right form: Match the reference to the specific cowpea variety and dry, cooked, canned, sprouted, or flour form, including drained or undrained state.

Diet considerations

Cowpea is a plant-derived legume. Compatibility changes with animal stock, meat, dairy, coatings, wheat or other cereal ingredients, and processing such as canning or grinding. Its portion-dependent carbohydrate pattern differs between plain cooked beans, flour-based foods, and mixed stews served with grains.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Typically compatible
  • Vegetarian
    Typically compatible
  • Pescatarian
    Typically compatible
  • Keto
    Depends on the version
  • Paleo
    Typically incompatible
  • Low-carb
    Depends on the version
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Typically compatible
The plain ingredient profile is plant, fungal or mineral based. Added ingredients in a prepared product need a separate check.
Vegetarian · Typically compatible
The plain ingredient profile is plant, fungal or mineral based. Added ingredients in a prepared product need a separate check.
Pescatarian · Typically compatible
The plain ingredient profile is plant, fungal or mineral based. Added ingredients in a prepared product need a separate check.
Keto · Depends on the version
Compatibility depends on the portion and preparation. A sourced carbohydrate amount for a defined serving is not available.
Paleo · Typically incompatible
This profile falls outside the conventional paleo pattern used here (grains and pseudograins, legumes, dairy or refined sugar).
Low-carb · Depends on the version
Compatibility depends on the portion and preparation. A sourced carbohydrate amount for a defined serving is not available.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: USDA FoodData Central — Cowpeas, common (blackeyes, crowder, southern), mature seeds, raw ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .