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

FAQs

What do you eat black-eyed peas for on New Years? ›

According to Southern tradition, eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day will bring a year's worth of good luck and/or monetary gain. Black-eyed peas are also traditionally served on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year).

Some say you'll have the best chance at luck if you eat exactly 365 black-eyed peas, one for each day of the year. Others will even add a coin to the pot that the peas cook in, and it is said that whoever gets the coin in their dish will have the most luck in the coming year.

The black-eyed peas are for luck, or prosperity, the peas represent coins and greens foldin' money. The peas swell when cooking, which means an increase in your fortune. Eating humble food shows that you are a humble person worthy of good fortune. Peas bring peace.

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. Pour boiling water over your beans and allow to soak for 15-20 minutes.

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.

Other black-eyed peas combos

One unusual but common New Year's Day black-eyed peas tradition involves putting actual money in the dish. Some add to their “luck” by cooking their pot of peas with a penny or dime inside. Whoever gets the bowl with the coin in it, according to legend, has the best luck for the new year.

Today, the tradition of eating black-eyed peas for the New Year has evolved, as many traditions do, into a number of variations – but most hold the theme of luck and prosperity that harkens back to the Civil War days when people felt lucky to have black-eyed peas to eat and help them survive the cold, harsh winter ...

According to author and food scholar Adrian Miller, eating black eyed peas on New Years Eve or New Years Day promises good luck, health, and abundance. The bean has taken the form of good fortune and has even adopted a few different aliases along the way.

Eating black-eyed peas, a Southern tradition that goes back hundreds of years could leave you feeling lucky. Eating black-eyed peas for New Year's has long been an African-American and Southern tradition. It signifies luck or prosperity, one of several New Year's foods that are associated with good fortune.

Sneak a Bite

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!

What happens if you don't soak your black-eyed peas? ›

Not soaking the black-eyed peas can slightly impact the texture, as they can take longer to cook and may be slightly firmer compared to soaked ones. However, the taste will remain similar whether you soak them or not.

When sealed properly dried black-eyed peas can last for up to 1 year. Canned black-eyed peas will stay safe up to 3 years. Black-eyed peas that are already cooked should be allowed to cool then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.

Cris Phillips of our Urban Agriculture team says “Traditionally every Black household served black-eyed peas and collard greens as part of every New Year's celebration to remember the years during slavery when the black-eyed peas represented the hard times and provide an abundance of servings.”

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 at least 365 black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. Black-eyed peas eaten with stewed tomatoes represent wealth and health.

On New Year's Day, millions of people will dutifully eat some amount of black-eyed peas with the hope that it will lead to prosperity throughout next year. This superstition has its strongest hold on people with some connection to the South, whether by birth, bloodlines, or current residency.

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.