Pigeon peas sell under several names in American stores, and the name on the label tells you which aisle to search. Ask a Latin market for gandules. An Indian grocer knows them as toor dal. Jamaican shops say gungo peas. Settle which form your recipe needs before you buy, because the canned green version, the whole dried type, and the split, skinned kind behave nothing alike in a pot. This guide maps the names to the forms, and the forms to the stores that stock them.
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Pigeon Peas Explained: What They Are and Who They Help
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. The crop originated in India, moved west into Eastern Africa on old trade routes, and reached the Caribbean and Latin America through the African diaspora. That history is why one plant carries so many names: gandules in Spanish, gungo in Jamaica, tur or tuvar in western India, arhar and red gram in the north, and Congo pea on older imported bags.
Buyers are almost always cooking one dish. Puerto Rican kitchens want arroz con gandules, Dominican cooks want moro de gandules, Trinidad and Tobago puts it in pelau, and Jamaican rice and peas uses the dried type. In South Asian cuisine, the split form is the base of everyday dal and sambar. Flavor sits closer to a lentil than a garden pea: mild, earthy, and quick to take turmeric, coriander, ginger, and coconut milk. USDA figures list the cooked seed as a solid source of protein and dietary fiber, and it is naturally gluten free.
How to Choose Pigeon Peas: Features That Matter
Choosing well is a decision about form, not brand. Nearly every page ranking for this crop explains botany or cultivation, not which of the four products belongs in your cart.
- Name the dish, because a Latin rice pot, a Jamaican stew, and an Indian dal each want a different product.
- Match it 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, not price per package.
| Form | Also labeled | Best for | Prep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canned, green | gandules verdes, green pigeon peas | Latin rice dishes, moro | 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, green pods | Side dishes, Caribbean stews | Shell young pods, or cook frozen |
Uniform size, hard, and free of debris. Consistent dried peas cook at one rate, while mixed sizes leave a pot where some are mush and others chalky. Good stock rattles in the bag and holds no stones.
A short ingredient list on cans. The cleanest versions list the legume, water, and salt. Some add a firming agent such as calcium chloride, which holds the shape but changes the bite.
A visible packaging date. Older dried stock takes longer to soften, and open bulk bins give you no date to read. India, Malawi, Mozambique, and the Dominican Republic all export good and mediocre lots alike.
Pigeon Pea Buying Mistakes to Skip
The costly mistake is not overpaying. It is walking out of a store that had the product because you searched the wrong aisle.
Searching the regular bean shelf. Supermarkets shelve this in the international, Hispanic, or Indian foods aisle, not beside the kidney beans and chickpeas. Goya cans sit in the Hispanic section.
Buying the split kind for a Caribbean recipe. Split, skinned dal breaks down into a thick sauce. A pot of rice needs whole seeds that hold their shape, so the split product vanishes into starch.
Assuming a black-eyed pea or chickpea fills in. A black-eyed pea belongs to the genus Vigna and a chickpea to Cicer. Neither shares the flavor, so a recipe naming this legume means this legume.
Which Stores Carry Gandules, Gungo Peas, and Dal
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 in season. 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.
Indian Grocery Stores
Indian grocers are where the split, skinned form lives, in two and four pound bags from brands including Deep, Swad, Laxmi, and 24 Mantra Organic. Larger stores also keep the whole dried version, labeled arhar whole. If dal is what you cook, this is usually the cheapest channel per pound.
Walmart and Kroger
Both chains handle this through the international aisle, and the Goya green can is what is most likely to be sitting there. Walmart’s app and Kroger’s site each let you set a store and check stock before you drive over. Shop the selection at Walmart
Target, Whole Foods, and Warehouse Clubs
Target carries canned stock in some stores, again in the international or Hispanic section. Whole Foods stocks it inconsistently and prices groceries above conventional supermarkets. Neither Costco nor BJ’s treats this as a regular item. Browse the Target listing or check your local Whole Foods Market.
Best Places to Order Pigeon Peas Online
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. 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 is the dominant canned brand in US grocery, and its site covers the dry bag too. 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.
Substitutes That Work When You Cannot Find Them
Three substitutes get close, and each is honest about what it gives 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, and a can costs a couple of dollars shipped.
Our Top Pigeon Pea Picks
These four cover the three forms recipes call for. Ranges reflect a September 2026 check and shift with brand, bag size, and region.
Best for Caribbean and Latin cooking: Goya Green Pigeon Peas, canned, 15.5 oz. Ready from the can, no soaking, and the most widely stocked option in US grocery. Around $2 to $3 per can. Check price on Amazon #ad
Best for Indian cooking: Deep Toor Dal, split, 4 lb bag. Split and skinned, so it needs no soak and cooks down into a dal or sambar base. Takes turmeric and coriander well. Around $6 to $9. Check price on Amazon #ad
Best budget: Swad Toor Dal, 2 lb bag. A smaller bag at a lower entry price, and the right size for testing whether this earns a pantry slot. Around $4 to $6. Check price on Amazon #ad
Best whole dried: Goya Dry Pigeon Peas. The form Jamaican rice and peas and long stews want, and the one chains carry least often. Plan on soaking first. Around $3 to $5 per bag. 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 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 About Pigeon Peas
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.
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, separate species from separate genera. A black-eyed pea is Vigna unguiculata and this one is Cajanus cajan, which is why the two sit in different sections of the same store. Black-eyed peas are shelved with the ordinary dried beans; these are not. The swap works in an emergency, but the flavor is thinner.
Can you grow them at home instead of buying them?
Yes, in warm climates. The shrub thrives in tropical and subtropical conditions, and it fixes nitrogen through Rhizobia bacteria in its root nodules, which is why growers also use it as a cover crop. In cooler zones, start seed indoors and set plants out after the last frost, though the harvest window is short.
The wheretobuyguides.com editorial team checked retailer stock and pricing for this guide in September 2026.