Hoppin’ John is the traditional Southern U.S. dish made with black-eyed peas and associated with New Year’s Day good luck.
Hoppin’ John is usually prepared with black-eyed peas, rice, and pork such as bacon, ham hock, or another salted meat. The dish is especially associated with the American South and with Lowcountry cooking around South Carolina and Georgia. Recipes vary by household, so ingredients and seasoning are not completely standardized.
The New Year’s symbolism is often explained through a cluster of traditional foods: black-eyed peas represent luck or coins, greens represent money, and cornbread represents gold. Hoppin’ John is therefore commonly served on New Year’s Day, even though many celebrations begin preparing it around New Year’s Eve. The dish’s history is connected to African American and West African foodways and to rice cultivation in the Lowcountry. It is not the same as ordinary black-eyed peas served without rice and pork.