Holidays & Occasions New Year's 25 Traditional New Year's Recipes To Cook Up Lots Of Good Luck A traditional Southern New Year's Day supper will bring you fortune in the year to come. By Kimberly Holland Kimberly Holland Kimberly Holland is a writer and editor with 15 years of experience in food, lifestyle, health, and nutrition content. She has been published in Southern Living, Real Simple, Allrecipes, EatingWell, Cooking Light, and other publications. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on November 17, 2023 Reviewed by The Lifestyle Dietitian LLC, a nutrition private practice based in Atlanta. She has 15 years of experience in the field of nutrition and dietetics." tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> Jerlyn Jones, MS, MPA, RDN, LD, CLT Reviewed by Jerlyn Jones, MS, MPA, RDN, LD, CLT Jerlyn Jones is a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of The Lifestyle Dietitian LLC, a nutrition private practice based in Atlanta. She has 15 years of experience in the field of nutrition and dietetics. Learn more about the Southern Living Food & Nutrition Review Board Fact checked by Elizabeth Berry Fact checked by Elizabeth Berry Elizabeth Berry is a fact checker and writer with over three years of professional experience in the field. She has fact checked lifestyle topics ranging from destination wedding venues to gift guide round-ups for a variety of publications including Brides, The Spruce, and TripSavvy. In addition to her fact checking background, she also has over six years experience of reporting, writing, and copy editing articles for digital magazines including Woman's Day and The Knot. Elizabeth also has a strong background in e-commerce content as both a fact checker and writer. brand's fact checking process Close Photo: Photography: Alison Miksch, Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland, Food Styling: Melissa Gray According to Southern lore, you will have good luck for the entire year if you have the traditional New Year's Day supper. In the South, that means a meal of collard greens, hoppin' John, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and pot likker soup. For an auspicious year, we've rounded up some of our favorite traditional New Year's Day recipes. We have all the traditional New Year's recipes, from Southern-style collards to classic Hoppin' John. Thanks to handy gadgets like an Instant Pot, many of these recipes are easier than ever, like our Instant Pot Black-eyed Pea Soup. For a new twist on Southern traditions, try our Black-Eyed Pea and Grain Salad or our well-spiced, oven-roasted black-eyed peas. However you choose to cook up your New Year's staples, these traditional Southern New Year's Day recipes will fill your table with the perfect ingredients for an auspicious year. Now, we can guarantee that these dishes will taste great—the luck part is up to you. 01 of 25 Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas Photography and Styling: Caitlin Bensel Soaking time aside, this Instant Pot dish comes together quicker than your typical black-eyed pea recipe and cooks the peas to perfection. One Test Kitchen Professional said, "Dried beans and peas cook SO WELL in this appliance. These peas were perfectly creamy, but whole, and not mushy or blown out….so flavorful!" Get The Recipe 02 of 25 Hoppin' John Jennifer Davick Hoppin' John pairs black-eyed peas with rice. The rice and beans are cooked slowly with bacon, fatback, or ham hock along with onion and salt. "Skippin' Jenny," as the leftovers are known the day after New Year's, shows one's frugality: Eating it increases your chances of prosperity. Get The Recipe 03 of 25 Southern-Style Collard Greens Photographer: Fred Hardy II, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Props Stylist: Christina Brockman Slow-cooking collards with pork makes them mouthwatering and tender. Their soul-warming taste can be perfected only with the addition of vinegar. Be sure to save a few uncooked greens to tack to the ceiling for good luck or hang over the door to ward off evil spirits. Get The Recipe 04 of 25 Southern Skillet Cornbread Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Cornbread, which some say symbolizes gold, completes the Southern New Year's triad. Native Americans were the first to bake a cornmeal mixture, and Southerners made it daily when wheat was a rarity in the region. For authentic Southern flavor, choose a recipe that uses little, if any, sugar and flour. Don't forget the cracklings, the crispy morsels produced during the rendering of lard. Get The Recipe 05 of 25 Instant Pot Collard Greens Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist: Kay E. Clarke Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall These quick collards let you achieve the same smoky flavor without hours of cooking on the stove. They're so good that we recommend baking two batches and freezing one to enjoy later. Get The Recipe 06 of 25 Classic Hoppin' John Stacy K. Allen, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley New Year's Day just wouldn't be complete without Hoppin' John on the stove, slowly cooked until it develops its full flavor. This savory dish is going to be a family favorite for ringing in the New Year. Get The Recipe 07 of 25 Collard Greens With Smoked Ham Hocks And Pickled Collard Green Stems Recipe by Todd Richards, SOUL; Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Don't discard those collard green stems—with a little advance planning, they make a delicious pickled topping for a bowl of greens or your black-eyed pea soup. In this recipe from his cookbook Soul: A Chef's Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes, Atlanta chef Todd Richards cans the stems as a condiment. Get The Recipe 08 of 25 Slow-Cooker Peas-And-Greens Soup With Turkey Sausage Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling; Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Lighten up your New Year's meal with this healthier twist that's still chock full of black-eyed peas and greens. This recipe uses kale, a more tender relative of collards. Get The Recipe 09 of 25 Easy Black-Eyed Peas Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Karen Rankin, Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley Don't overcomplicate things: These Easy Black-Eyed Peas have the potential to be the star of your New Year's Day spread. While this slow-cooker recipe uses dried peas, we also provide instructions for cooking the recipe with fresh peas on the stove. Get The Recipe 10 of 25 Black-Eyed Pea And Grain Salad Photo: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kaye E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox This dish offers an updated take on black-eyed peas with bulgur wheat while still delivering the good luck of the traditional dish. Fresh corn adds an extra crunch and a jalapeño chile introduces some spice. Get The Recipe 11 of 25 Texas Caviar Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox The best New Year's snack? A bowl of Texas Caviar and a bag of tortilla chips. This dip is made of tomatoes, bell peppers, and, of course, lucky black-eyed peas. Get The Recipe 12 of 25 Chili-Roasted Black Eyed Peas Southern Living With the flavor-packed coating on these treats, you'll easily be able to eat 365—some traditions hold that you must eat one pea for each day of the coming year. Roasting the peas gives them a crispy texture that's perfect for snacking or serving as an appetizer on New Year's Day. Get The Recipe 13 of 25 Sautéed Mustard Greens With Garlic And Lemon Laurey W. Glenn Not a fan of collards? Swap them out for these lightly Sautéed Mustard Greens with Garlic and Lemon. They'll be ready to put on the table in 20 minutes. Get The Recipe 14 of 25 Southwest Black-Eyed Pea Dip Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christina Lane; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos Start your New Year's meal off right with this auspicious dip, chock full of black-eyed peas. This Southwestern take will add more fun—and spice—in your New Year. Get The Recipe 15 of 25 Cornbread Ice Cream Southern Living Finish up your New Year's Day meal with a scoop of Cornbread Ice Cream on a slice of leftover cornbread. Prepare the ice cream a day in advance so it has time to freeze before your celebration. Get The Recipe 16 of 25 Cracklin' Cornbread Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster If you don't have the option of making your own pork cracklings, you can find them at a grocery store or local butcher shop. Those crispy, salty fat trimmings are incredible in cornbread. Get The Recipe 17 of 25 Cornbread Casserole Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox If you find yourself plagued with dry cornbread, this casserole is the solution. Canned corn, sour cream, and eggs turn a box of corn muffin mix into a rich and moist casserole that falls somewhere between creamed corn and cornbread. Get The Recipe 18 of 25 Gluten-Free Cornbread Micah A. Leal Cooks who are sensitive to the gluten in wheat flour deserve a lucky year too. This cornbread is tender thanks to buttermilk and melted butter—just make certain to buy cornmeal that is certified as gluten-free. Get The Recipe 19 of 25 Vegan Black-Eyed Pea Soup Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis In the same spirit, we've added a meatless version of this lucky soup to our New Year's Day list. In place of smoked ham, this soup gets its depth of flavor from tomato paste and smoked paprika. Get The Recipe 20 of 25 Black-Eyed Pea Salad Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer This refreshing and healthy salad starts with canned black-eyed peas. Loads of chopped veggies and herbs add vibrancy to the dish. Get The Recipe 21 of 25 Turnip Greens Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Branch out this year and try turnip greens, a true Southern specialty. Fork-tender smoked turkey, crispy-chewy bacon, garlic, and red pepper lend smoky, salty, and warming flavors. Get The Recipe 22 of 25 Vegetarian Slow-Cooker Collard Greens Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Fire-roasted tomatoes and sweet onions star in this vegetarian version of the traditional dish. Allow for a full day of cook time so the collards reach just the right tenderness. Get The Recipe 23 of 25 Southern Braised Greens Greg DuPree, Food Stylist: Micah Morton, Prop Stylist: Kathleen Varner With the addition of chicken stock, these braised greens develop a very rich potlikker. This make-ahead recipe can be frozen and then reheated in a Dutch oven. Get The Recipe 24 of 25 Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Torie Cox Prefer to start the New Year off with fireworks? This spicy, cheesy cornbread should fit the bill. Don't remove the seeds from the peppers if you like more heat. Get The Recipe 25 of 25 Instant Pot Black-Eyed Pea Soup Photography: Alison Miksch, Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland, Food Styling: Melissa Gray Ham, collards, and black-eyed peas all make an appearance in this lucky New Year's Day soup. Be sure to sop it all up with homemade cornbread. Get The Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit