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.

Instant Pot Black-eyed Pea Soup
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

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!"

02 of 25

Hoppin' John

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.

03 of 25

Southern-Style Collard Greens

Southern-Style Collard Greens in a white bowl with a bowl of cornbread beside it
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.

04 of 25

Southern Skillet Cornbread

Southern Living Skillet Cornbread sliced to serve with butter

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.

05 of 25

Instant Pot Collard Greens

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. 

06 of 25

Classic Hoppin' John

Southern Living Classic Hoppin John in a bowl to serve with hot sauce on the side

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.

07 of 25

Collard Greens With Smoked Ham Hocks And Pickled Collard Green Stems

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.

08 of 25

Slow-Cooker Peas-And-Greens Soup With Turkey Sausage

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.

09 of 25

Easy Black-Eyed Peas

Southern Living Easy Black Eyed Peas in a bowl to serve

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.

10 of 25

Black-Eyed Pea And Grain Salad

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.

11 of 25

Texas Caviar

Texas Caviar Recipe
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.

12 of 25

Chili-Roasted Black Eyed Peas

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.

13 of 25

Sautéed Mustard Greens With Garlic And Lemon

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.

14 of 25

Southwest Black-Eyed Pea Dip

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.

15 of 25

Cornbread Ice Cream

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.

16 of 25

Cracklin' Cornbread

Southern Living Cracklin Cornbread with Whipped Jalapeno Butter sliced on plates to serve

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.

17 of 25

Cornbread Casserole

Southern Living Cornbread Casserole with a serving scooped out into a bowl

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.

18 of 25

Gluten-Free Cornbread

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. 

19 of 25

Vegan Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Vegan black-eyed pea soup in white bowl on white plate

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.

20 of 25

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Southern LIving Black Eyed Pea Salad on plates to serve

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.

21 of 25

Turnip Greens

Southern Living Turnip Greens in the pot to serve

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. 

22 of 25

Vegetarian Slow-Cooker Collard Greens

Vegetarian Slow-Cooker Collard Greens Recipe Image
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.

23 of 25

Southern Braised Greens

Southern Living Freezer-Friendly Braised Southern Greens in a bowl to serve

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.

24 of 25

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

Southern Living Jalapeno Cornbread with a slice cut out to serve

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.

25 of 25

Instant Pot Black-Eyed Pea Soup

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.

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