Hoppin' John is the traditional New Year's Eve food made from black-eyed peas in the southern United States.
The dish usually combines black-eyed peas with rice and often includes smoked pork, such as bacon, ham hock, or a related cut. It is strongly associated with the American South, especially the Lowcountry and broader Southern food traditions.
Eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is widely said to bring prosperity. The peas symbolize coins, while greens may symbolize paper money and cornbread may symbolize gold. These symbolic pairings are popular modern explanations, though regional customs differ and not every serving includes all of them.
The dish has African, West African, and Southern American culinary connections. Its name is recorded in nineteenth-century sources, but the exact origin of the phrase remains uncertain. Hoppin' John is not interchangeable with succotash, which traditionally combines corn and lima beans or other shell beans.