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This Hoppin' John black eyed peas recipe is an annual Southern New Year's tradition! It's dish usually served on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day for good health, prosperity and good luck in the coming year.
It consists of black-eyed orpurple hull peas, seasoned with celery, onion, bell pepper (also known as The Holy Trinity) and is often served over white rice or brown rice.
The peas represent prosperity in the New Year, and who couldn't use a little of that?
Most often, this New Year's dish is served as anentree,to ensure a prosperous year,but if you're serving a large meal, it's an excellentside dishalong with some slow-cooked Southern greens and a piece of homemadecornbread!
This easy Hoppin' John black eyed peas recipe is easy to make and a healthy (and lucky) side dish!
What is Hoppin' John?
It's a Southern New Year's"good luck" dish(also known as South Carolina Peas and Rice.) This is a super easy black-eyed peas recipe that you can make in advance if you like. You can use dry beans, frozen or canned; dry black eyed peas do not require an overnight soak.
It consists of "field peas," typically black-eyed peas orpurple hull peas, onion, celery, bell pepper, and seasonings. It is usuallycooked with bacon or a ham hockand served with rice andcollard greens. Some folks add leftover turkey, chicken or sausage to their recipe.
Thetheory behind this annual, Southern "good luck" dishis this: eat a bowl of Hoppin' John at the stroke of midnight onNew Year's Evewith a side of Southern greens - mustard greens, turnip greens or collardgreens- and a slice ofcornbreadand celebratory glass of bubbly for good luck in the New Year!
The Hoppin' Johningredients are all about good fortunein the new year and represent the color of money: the brownpeas represent "pennies"or coins, thegreens represent "dollars"and thecornbread represents "gold."
You can add Kielbasa sausage, or Polish sausage to this dish to make it even heartier! Or, if you prefer, you can use vegetable broth, omit the meat and have a vegetarian Hoppin' John recipe.
What you'll need
There are many variations of this New Year's black eyed peas recipe, but here's how I make it.
- Black eyed peas- this particular recipe usesfrozen black eyed peas, however, you can use canned or dried black eyed peas. (See recipe notes below for cooking canned or dried.)
- Seasonings- bacon. The traditional Southern way toseason black-eyed peas(and other types of peas) is to use somesort of fat in the cooking water- eitherbacon, smoked sausage, smoked ham hock, or smoked turkey leg. This gives the broth and peas a deep, rich flavor.
- Chicken broth -or chicken stock. You can also use plain water. For vegetarian or vegan versions of this recipe, omit the meat and use either water or vegetable broth.
- The remaining ingredients are pretty simple:yellow onion, a few celery stalks, green bell pepper, (you can use red bell pepper as well), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper and prepared long grain white rice. Grab a few green onions for garnish.
You can dress up Southern Hoppin' John to your liking, but this traditional "soul food" recipe is pretty simple, with simple ingredients, but very flavorful.I find myself serving this on New Year's Day as a side dish toslow cooker corned beef brisket and cabbage!
How to make it
The traditional way to make Hoppin' John on the stovetop in a large pot or Dutch oven. The black-eyed peas cook pretty quickly, so there's really no need to use a slow cooker or pressure cooker.
This recipe uses frozenblack eyed peas which are are slightly blanched when processed. Simmer the peas for about30-45 minutes in seasoned brothuntil they're tender. Season with salt and pepper last.
Dried beans will take longer to cook than frozen or canned. See Recipe Notes in the recipe card below if using canned or dried peas.
- In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon till crispy; remove bacon pieces and drain on paper towels; leave the bacon grease in the pot
- Add chopped onion, celery and green bell pepper to the stockpot; saute onion mixture on medium heat for about 5 minutes
- Add in the chicken stock or broth, black eyed peas, onion powder, garlic powder (you can use a few minced garlic cloves), cayenne pepper. If you don't have onion garlic and cayenne powders, use a teaspoon of Cajun seasoning - I like Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning. Let this cook on a low simmer until the peas are tender
- Taste for seasonings before serving and add a bit of salt and ground black pepper if you like
- Serve over prepared rice; garnish with chopped green onions, bacon crumbles and serve with a side of cornbread!
Yield
This recipe uses a 20-ounce package of frozen peas, which yields about 4 cups of Hoppin' John (peas and rice) which makes a perfect meal.
(20 ounces of frozen peas is 2 cups, so, if you make this with a pound of dried peas, you'll need to increase the amount of onion, celery, bell pepper, broth and seasonings a bit.) One cup of dried peas yields about 3 cups of cooked peas.
If you'reserving this as the main dish, you may want to double the recipe-after all, nobody wants to start their happy new year hungry, right?
Recipe tips
Frozen black-eyed peas are slightly blanched when processed, so it takes about 30-45 minutes until they're tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
If you're not using bacon, but using cooked ham steak, leftover ham bone or salt pork as your seasoning protein, I recommend boiling it in a large pot of hot water for about 1 hour before adding the peas and remaining ingredients. (This is called "pot likker" and gives the cooking water extra seasonings.) This extra cooking time seasons the delicious soup that flavors the peas.
If you're looking for a little heat, try adding in a few red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper to this great side dish
If you use dried peas, note that they'll need a little more cooking liquid and may require a bit longer cook time than frozen or canned. Dried peas do not need an overnight soak.
You can make this recipe in a slow cooker or crockpot on low heat, just make sure you've got enough liquid to cover the peas and don't overcook them- they will get mushy if overcooked
Recipe FAQ
What kind of peas should I use for Hoppin' John?
This classic Southern dish uses "good luck"black-eyed peasbut you can also usepurple hull peasfor easy Hoppin' John.
Can I use canned or frozen black eyed peas for Hoppin' John?
You can use canned, fresh, frozen or dried peas for this easy recipe.Canned is quickest; frozen and dried offer the best flavor and texture.If you use canned black eyed peas, be sure to drain and rinse first.
This recipe usesfrozen black-eyed peas. Some brands of frozen peas are slightly blanched before they're packaged, so this shortens the cooking time.
Do dry black eyed peas need an overnight soak?
No. Just a good rinse to remove any dirt or rocks which you may find in a package of dried black eyed peas.
What do you serve with Hoppin' John Black eyed peas recipe?
No matter how you're serving these Southern New Year's Eve black-eyed peas, you're gonna need a side ofhomemade cornbread!
This dish also pairs well withbeef tenderloin, ham or turkey,collard greens,corned beef and cabbageor simply by itself!
Make ahead, storage and freezing
Make Hoppin' John ahead of time and store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. (Store prepared rice separately in an airtight container.)
Freeze up to 3 months. When ready to serve, reheat on the stovetop (you may need to add a little water) and serve over prepared rice.
Variations
You can change up this recipe however you like! Southern Hoppin' John is often made with sliced beef sausage or Kielbasa.Simplyadd the sliced sausage linkto the stockpot midway through the cooking process.
If you don't have bacon to season the black-eyed peas, use asmoked ham hock or ham.
Want a Louisiana version of Hoppin' John? Add a littlecayenne pepper, Cajun seasoning, andouille sausage links anda dash of Louisiana Hot Sauce.
Another version is to give Hoppin' John a littleMexican flair with the addition of a can of Rotel™ tomatoes (diced tomatoes and green chiles)!
Hoppin' John is a delicious meal for your New Year's tradition and believe it or not, it's a relatively cheap meal and a great option to bring in the New Year!
Season your New Year black eyed peas to be as mild or spicy as you like! Be sure to have some of this good luck New Year's Eve or New Year's Day!
Related recipes
- How to Season and Cook Purple Hull Peas
- Southern Skillet Cornbread
- Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
- How to Cook Collard Greens
- Restaurant Quality Fried Catfish
- Speckled Butter Beans
- Southern Fried Okra
If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a rating and comment! I love to hear from you!
📋 Recipe
Southern Hoppin' John
A Southern tradition for good luck and prosperity in the New Year. Black-eyed peas, seasoned with bacon, celery, bell pepper, onion and sausage served over rice!
5 from 8 votes
Print Rate
Course: Entree, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Southern
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
Yield: 4 cups
Author: Anecia Hero
Ingredients
- 12 ounces frozen or canned black-eyed or purple hull peas
- 6 thick slices of bacon, chopped (reserve bacon grease); see recipe notes
- reserved bacon grease
- 1 pound kielbasa or polish sausage (optional), sliced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup chopped sweet yellow onion
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- ¼ cup chopped celery
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 cups prepared rice white or brown
Instructions
Prep
Rinse frozen black-eyed peas in a colander; allow to drain; set aside (See Recipe Notes if using canned or fresh peas)
12 ounces frozen or canned black-eyed or purple hull peas
Chop onion, celery and bell pepper; set aside
½ cup chopped sweet yellow onion, ½ cup chopped green bell pepper, ¼ cup chopped celery
Cook the Hoppin' John
In a large stockpot, add chopped bacon; cook till crispy; remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towel; reserve the bacon grease in the stockpot
reserved bacon grease, 6 thick slices of bacon, chopped
Add chopped onion, celery and green bell peppers to the stockpot with the reserved bacon grease; saute 5 minutes
½ cup chopped sweet yellow onion, ¼ cup chopped celery, ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
Add black-eyed peas, chicken broth and seasonings to stockpot; if you're adding link sausage, add it now (optional)
12 ounces frozen or canned black-eyed or purple hull peas, 2 cups chicken broth, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 pound kielbasa or polish sausage (optional), sliced
Cook on low to medium heat until peas are tender (about 45 minutes); place a lid slightly off center on the stockpot to prevent the broth from dissipating
Prepare rice while peas are cooking; set aside
2 cups prepared rice
Once peas are tender, season to taste with salt and pepper
salt to taste
Plate rice in a small bowl and pour peas over rice; garnish with remaining bacon and green onion
Notes
This recipe uses one 12 ounce package of frozen black-eyed peas. When measured out, it's about two cups. So, if you use canned or fresh peas, make the recipe with two cups of peas.
Yield
One 12 ounce package of peas, when cooked and incorporated with broth and rice, yields about 4-6 cups of Hoppin' John.
Peas
If you use canned peas, drain and rinse them first
If you use dried peas, cook them a little longer in the broth, bacon fat (or ham hock), onion and garlic powder; include the sauteed onions, bell pepper and celery as well. You do not need to soak dried black eyed peas overnight.
Bacon
You can use plain bacon, hickory smoked or pepper bacon. If you use pepper bacon, be sure to taste first before adding more black pepper.
If you don't have bacon, add a smoked ham hock, turkey leg or hog jowl to the broth (or water) and let it boil for about an hour to season the broth for the black eyed peas.
Sausage (optional)
If you want a heartier version of Hoppin' John, add some sliced link sausage to the peas while they're cooking!
Nutrition Estimate
Serving: 1cupCalories: 156kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 8gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 423mgPotassium: 278mgFiber: 5gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 56IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 3mg
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