Pigeon peas are easiest to find once you search by the name your recipe uses: gandules at a Latin market, gungo peas at a Jamaican shop, and toor dal at an Indian grocer. Most US supermarkets carry at least the canned green version in the Hispanic or international aisle, Indian grocers carry the split dried form, and Amazon, Walmart.com, and Goya’s own shop cover everything else. The catch is that the canned, whole dried, and split forms behave nothing alike in a pot, so pick the form first and the store second.
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Which Pigeon Peas Does Your Recipe Need?
The dish decides the form. A Puerto Rican rice pot wants the canned green seed, Jamaican rice and peas wants the whole dried one, and an Indian dal wants the split, skinned kind. Work through it in this order:
- Name the dish, because a Latin rice pot, a Jamaican stew, and an Indian dal each want a different product from the same plant.
- Match the dish to a form in the table below.
- Search under the regional name, since shelf tags and store apps rarely use the English one.
- Judge quality inside that form, then compare price per pound or per can, not per package.
| Form | Also labeled | Best for | Prep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canned, green | gandules verdes, green pigeon peas | Arroz con gandules, moro de gandules | Drain, rinse, add late |
| Whole dried | gungo peas, tur whole | Rice and peas, pelau, stews | Soak, then simmer |
| Split and skinned | arhar dal, tuvar dal, red gram dal | Indian dal, sambar, purees | Rinse and simmer, no soak |
| Fresh or frozen | fresh pigeon peas, frozen gandules, green pods | Side dishes, Caribbean stews | Shell young pods, or cook from frozen |
If the recipe says only “peas” and comes from the Caribbean, it almost always means this legume, not the garden pea. When in doubt, the canned green type is the most forgiving starting point.
What They Are, and Why One Plant Has So Many Names
A pigeon pea is the seed of Cajanus cajan, a perennial legume in the family Fabaceae, eaten green as a fresh vegetable or dried as a pulse. India is considered the primary center of origin, with Africa a second major center, and the crop reached the Caribbean and Latin America through the African diaspora. That route explains the names. Gandules (singular gandul) traces to African languages, gungo comes from the older English “Congo pea,” and tur, toor, arhar, and red gram are Indian names, red gram referring to the reddish seed of many Indian varieties.
The plant is a woody shrub suited to tropical and subtropical regions, and it handles semi-arid ground well. Its root nodules host Rhizobia, the bacteria behind nitrogen fixation, which is why farmers also grow it as a cover crop and green manure. India dominates global production, and Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, and Uganda lead in Africa. Home growers in warm zones can harvest young pods green for shelling or leave the seed pods to dry on the plant.
Nutrition depends on the form. USDA data cited on the Wikipedia entry for the crop puts mature raw seeds at about 21.7 g of protein and 15 g of dietary fiber per 100 g, while the immature green seeds carry about 7.2 g of protein and 5.1 g of fiber. Either way it is a solid source of protein and naturally gluten free.
Where to Buy Pigeon Peas in Store
Check the Hispanic, Caribbean, or Indian aisle first, never the regular bean shelf. Supermarkets file this crop by cuisine, so a store can stock three versions and still have none beside the kidney beans and chickpeas.
Latin and Caribbean Markets
An independent Latin or Caribbean market is the strongest single stop, since it often carries canned, dried, frozen, and sometimes fresh pods at harvest time. Use the Spanish or Jamaican name at the counter and someone points you to the shelf. These stores also stock green and ripe plantains and fresh jicama for the rest of the meal, and many butcher counters there sell the cuts for a Jamaican oxtail stew served with rice and peas.
Indian Grocery Stores
Indian grocers are where the split, skinned form lives, in 2 and 4 lb bags from brands including Deep, Swad, Laxmi, and 24 Mantra Organic. Larger stores also keep the whole dried version, labeled arhar whole or tur whole. If dal is what you cook, this is usually the cheapest channel per pound.
Walmart, Kroger Banners, and Target
The Goya 15 oz green can is the item most chains carry. Walmart, Target, and Kroger-owned stores such as Fred Meyer all list it, and Northeast chains including Stop & Shop, Giant, and Hannaford also sell their own store-brand green cans. Set your store in the retailer’s app and check stock before you drive over. Shop the selection at Walmart or browse the Target listing.
Whole Foods and Warehouse Clubs
These are the weakest bets. Whole Foods stocks the crop inconsistently, and neither Costco nor BJ’s treats it as a regular item, so search the app before making a trip. If you do want to check your local Whole Foods Market, look in the canned bean and international sections.
Ordering Online: Amazon, Walmart.com, and Goya
Online is the reliable route with no ethnic market nearby, and the only practical way to buy a full case of cans.
Amazon
Amazon has the widest range of any single retailer: canned cases, whole dried bags, the split form in several sizes, and organic options. Check who ships and sells each listing, because third-party sellers set their own return terms and grocery items are often non-returnable. Shop on Amazon #ad
Walmart.com and Goya Direct
Walmart online opens up bag sizes and brands that never reach local shelves, and store pickup avoids the delivery fee on heavy cases. Goya sells direct too. In October 2026 its shop listed the 15 oz green can at $2.99 each, with the per-can cost falling to about $2.07 in a 48-pack, which makes a case worth it if arroz con gandules is a regular dish. Shop the Walmart online store or order from Goya.
Specialty and Online Ethnic Grocers
For dried product by the pound, Nuts.com sells small quantities alongside its lentil and chickpea range, which suits a first attempt better than a bulk sack. iGourmet carries imported specialty pulses. Dedicated online Indian and Caribbean grocers give the best value on large bags.
Reading the Label: Oily, In Sauce, Frozen, and Dried
Four label details trip up buyers more than price does, and each one changes how the pot turns out.
- Oily versus dry dal. Brands such as Deep and Swad sell both. The oily kind is coated with a little vegetable oil to protect it in storage, so rinse it in warm water until the water runs clear. The dry (unoily, or kori) kind lists split pigeon peas as the only ingredient.
- Plain versus “in sauce” cans. Goya’s standard can lists pigeon peas, water, and salt. Its in-sauce version adds squash and green bell pepper and carries roughly twice the sodium per serving, which throws off a recipe that already seasons with sofrito.
- Frozen bags named “dried.” Some freezer cases sell frozen green seeds under names that include the word dried. Read the storage line before you buy; a frozen bag goes straight into the pot, while a shelf-stable bag of dried peas needs soaking.
- Debris in dried bags. Goya’s 16 oz dry bag directions tell you to sort the contents for stones before cooking, then either boil 2 minutes and rest for an hour or soak overnight. Uniform, hard seeds cook at one rate; mixed sizes leave some mushy and others chalky.
The other common mistake is form, not label. Split, skinned dal breaks down into a thick sauce, so it vanishes into starch in a Caribbean rice dish that needs whole seeds holding their shape.
Substitutes When the Shelf Is Empty
Three substitutes get close, and each gives something up.
- Black-eyed pea. The best whole substitute when the seeds must stay intact. Flavor is grassier and the skin thinner, so the pot tastes lighter than it should.
- Red lentil. The nearest stand-in for the split form. It cooks faster and collapses further, so check it early and cut the simmer short.
- Mung bean, split as moong dal. Milder and sweeter, and a workable base for a sambar-style dish when nothing else is on the shelf.
Skip substituting entirely if you are cooking that Puerto Rican rice pot for someone who grew up on it. The seed is the flavor of that dish, not a texture you can swap.
Four Picks Across the Three Forms
These cover canned, split, and whole dried. Prices change with pack size and seller, so check the current listing.
Best for Caribbean and Latin cooking: Goya Green Pigeon Peas, canned, 15 oz. Ready from the can, no soaking, and the most widely stocked option in US grocery. The ingredient list is just the peas, water, and salt. Check price on Amazon #ad
Best for Indian cooking: Deep Toor Dal, 4 lb bag. Split and skinned, so it needs no soak and cooks down into a dal or sambar base that takes turmeric, coriander, and ginger well. Sold in dry and oily versions. Check price on Amazon #ad
Alternative split pick: Swad Toor Dal. A second widely sold Indian brand, including an unoily (kori) bag, useful when Deep is out of stock. Check price on Amazon #ad
Best whole dried: Goya Dry Pigeon Peas, 16 oz bag. The form Jamaican rice and peas and long stews want, and the one chains carry least often. Plan on soaking first. Check price on Amazon #ad
Start with the name your recipe uses instead of the English one, then match it to a form. If a Latin, Caribbean, or Indian market is within driving distance, go there first; otherwise order a case of cans and add a dried bag to it. For staples that pair with these dishes, see our guides to coconut oil, fresh coconuts, chickpea pasta, and canned soup. Bought in the right form, pigeon peas turn a plain pot of rice into the dish people ask for again.
Common Questions
What are pigeon peas called in America?
The name changes with the store. Latin and Puerto Rican markets label them gandules, Jamaican shops say gungo, and Indian grocers use arhar dal or tuvar dal for the split version. Imported bags may read Congo pea, red gram, or Cajanus cajan. Typing the Spanish or Hindi name into a store app often returns results when the English one returns nothing.
What does this legume taste like?
The flavor sits closer to a lentil than a garden pea: mild, earthy, and slightly nutty. The green canned seed is softer and a little grassy, while the dried form tastes deeper. Both take turmeric, coriander, ginger, and coconut milk well.
Is toor dal the same product as the canned green type?
Same plant, different product. The dal is the mature seed split in half with the skin removed and sold dry, so it collapses into a puree in about 30 to 45 minutes on the stove with no soak. The canned version is the whole immature green seed, already cooked, so it stays whole in the pot.
Are pigeon peas and black-eyed peas the same thing?
No, they are separate species from separate genera. A black-eyed pea is Vigna unguiculata and this one is Cajanus cajan, which is why the two often sit in different sections of the same store. The swap works in an emergency, but the flavor is thinner.