Black-Eyed Pea Recipes for Good Luck in the New Year! (2024)

FAQs

What are you supposed to eat with black-eyed peas on New Year's Day? ›

Cornbread, often served with black-eyed peas and greens, represents gold. For the BEST chance of luck every day in the year ahead, one must eat exactly 365 black-eyed peas, no more or less. Black-eyed peas eaten with stewed tomatoes represent wealth and health.

Often referred to as hoppin' john, black-eyed peas and collard greens are commonly eaten as part of a Southern tradition to bring forth good luck and prosperity in the new year.

Bottom Line. If beans make you uncomfortably gassy, sprinkle a little baking soda into their soaking water. It will reduce the volume of gas produced by the legumes, plus, they will cook quicker. If you're even shorter on time, you may want to try some of our favorite recipes to make with a can of black beans.

Greens, pork, and cornbread, as well as black-eyed peas, cowpeas, or beans, are some of the typical symbolic foods served on New Year's Day. When planning your dinner menu, add the Southern foods that some say bring good luck and avoid those that may do just the opposite in the new year.

If you are planning to celebrate the New Year in the Southeast, it is most likely that you will be offered black-eyed peas in some form, either just after midnight or on New Year's Day.

If you want to ensure that the new year is a lucky one, take part in the classic Southern tradition: eat black-eyed peas on New Year's day. As the tradition goes, a serving of black-eyed peas eaten on New Year's day is said to bring luck and wealth in the year ahead.

If you are cooking black-eyed peas on the stovetop, soaking them overnight will definitely save you some cooking time. Soaking beans overnight and discarding the water does remove some flatulence-causing compounds, and many people find that soaked beans are easier to digest.

Canned black-eyed peas are best in recipes that don't require slow cooking or a long cook time, which can make them mushy. If you're using canned black-eyed peas, simply rinse them in a colander to remove any liquid from the can as well as excess salt. Then you're good to go!

Do I need to soak black-eyed peas before cooking? Soaking black-eyed peas make the cooking process shorter. The ideal time for soaking any kind of bean in cold water is overnight or 8-10 hours. To speed up the process, try my favourite quick hot-soak method.

Greens, Black-Eyed Peas, Cornbread, and Ham | Photo by Meredith. Even folks who aren't from the South go all in on eating black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Day. Cook up an irresistibly soft, hearty dish that will also bring you good fortune.

What meal is good luck on new year's Day? ›

A ubiquitous New Year's Day good luck food in Europe and the United States, leafy greens from kale to collards are eaten to represent money and wealth. In the American South, collard greens especially are eaten with two other New Year's good luck foods, black-eyed peas and cornbread, for some extra fortune.

Black-Eyed Peas, Greens, and Cornbread. Luck factor: Even folks who aren't from the Southern United States go all in on eating black-eyed peas and leafy greens for good luck on New Year's Day.

In Southern cuisine, they are often paired with ham hocks or smoked turkey for added flavor. Jambalaya, a Cajun dish, and Hoppin' John, a traditional Southern dish combining black-eyed peas, rice, and pork, are popular choices. These pairings create a well-rounded and satisfying meal.

Like many other cultures, the Pennsylvania Dutch believe eating pork on New Year's Day brings good luck because pigs root around with their snouts in a forward motion. After all, we want to move forward, not backward, in the new year.

Pork and more so ham! That's because pork is considered lucky because of the way pigs “root forward.”Cornbread because the kernels represent coins. Ring-shaped items like doughnuts also symbolize good luck!

Cabbage rolls, sauerkraut balls or even herring have been tied to many families' New Year's mealtime traditions. The North loves their roast pork and sauerkraut, the South their ham, peas and collards while the Northwest has been known to eat salmon — all steeped in tradition to bring good luck and fortune.