Hoppin' John Recipe - Black Eyed Peas & Rice Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2024)

Get a pot of Hoppin’ John simmering for your New Year’s celebration to ensure prosperity for your household throughout the coming year!

Celebrate New Year’s Day in southern United States and you may be served Hoppin’ John. What is Hoppin’ John, you may wonder. It doesn’t really sound like something you eat but more like a cardio work-out or a yoga move.

Hoppin’ John is actually a stew made with black-eyed peas and rice, flavored with ham or bacon, and often served with cooked collards or other greens. This dish is thought to bring prosperity for the coming year, with the greens representing dollars and the peas standing in for coins (thanks, Wikipedia!).

While I won’t make any promises to you about prosperity (although I wish I could!), I can promise that you’ll love this traditional stew, with black-eyed peas and smoky ham. It’s filling, warm, and satisfying, and smells so good as it simmers gently on your stove.

I confess, we enjoy this black-eyed pea stew all year round, not just on New Year’s Day. Hoppin’ John is a great bean soup with an interesting tradition attached to it. We love it! I often make golden cornbread muffins to go along with it. This whole wheat cornbread recipe is great, too.

PS: There are all sorts of interesting theories about the history of Hoppin’ John and I won’t try to go into all that here. If you’re interested, check out Robert Moss’ research on Serious Eats. It’s really quite fascinating!

Looking for more Southern-style eats? Try my jambalaya recipe or one pot Cajun chicken pasta.

About This Recipe

Call it a soup or a stew, Hoppin’ John is thick and meaty. I like to serve it in a shallow bowl with steamed white rice which I prepare separately.

Begin by soaking the dry peas overnight. Drain and rinse the peas when you’re ready to get cooking. This soup is easy to prepare but it needs some time to simmer.

When you’re ready to start cooking the stew, sauté the veggies in a large soup pan or Dutch oven until they’re fairly tender. Add the peas, broth, and seasonings, and give everything a good stir.

Nestle the ham hocks into the mixture, bring the soup to a boil, then cover the pot, and simmer for an hour or so. You’ll enjoy the delicious aroma as the soup cooks.

When the soup is nearly done, carefully remove the ham hocks and put them on a plate to cool briefly. The ham hocks are in there mostly for the smoky flavor they give the stew but there is a fair amount of meat on the bones. Trim off the skin and fat, and remove the ham from the bone. Shred it and throw it back into the soup.

Simmer until the stew looks just the way you like it. I like to simmer it uncovered for an additional 15 minutes to thicken it up a bit. Hoppin’ John is not fussy about time. It will be just fine hanging out on your stove keeping warm, until you’re ready to serve it.

What’s in traditional Hoppin’ John?

Most modern recipes use black-eyed peas, field peas, or cowpeas (iron clay peas), rice, chopped onion, and sliced bacon. You might find variations with sausage, ham hocks, fatback, or smoked turkey. Some recipes add green peppers, vinegar, and Cajun spices.

What You’ll Need

• Black-Eyed Peas: They’re really kind of cute with their little black eyes! Buy a one-pound bag of dried peas.
• Ham Hocks: You’ll need one or two, depending on how large they are and how meaty you like your stew.
• Broth: Since ham broth isn’t widely available, I usually use chicken broth or stock. Unsalted or low-sodium broth is preferable.
• Green Bell Pepper, Celery, Onion: This trio of vegetables is often combined to make a savory base for soups and stews.
• Garlic: The recipe calls for two cloves of fresh garlic. The amount of added garlic really depends on your taste.
• Cajun Spice Blend: This blend of spices and herbs is mildly spicy but not too assertive. Look for a commercial blend or try making your own Cajun seasoning. The recipe does includes a substitution if you don’t happen to have it.
• Bay Leaf, Thyme, and Salt: Dried herbs are fine.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Adds just a dash of acidity to make the flavors really sing.
• Rice or Cooked Greens for serving, along with chopped green onions for garnish.

Make It Your Own

• Like things spicy? Add more Cajun seasoning, red pepper flakes, or hot peppers.
• Prefer vegetarian? Omit the ham hocks, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth, and add smoked paprika, to taste. Add a half teaspoon of liquid smoke, if desired, to replicate the flavor of the ham hocks.
• Can’t find black-eyed peas? They can be a little difficult to find, depending on the season and the region in which you live. Substitute another dried bean such as cranberry beans, navy beans, or pinto beans. Black beans would be fine, too, but be aware that the end product will be a different color.

Storage & Reheating Tips

Hoppin’ John is great leftover! In fact, if you want to make it ahead to save time on New Year’s Day, it will be just perfect. Store it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for a month.

To serve, thaw it overnight in the fridge if it’s frozen, and reheat the soup slowly in a pan on the stove. Add additional broth or water if the Hoppin’ John seems too thick.

More Recipes Using Dried Beans

Dried beans are so economical, you can store them indefinitely, and they’re so good for you, too! Here’s more great recipes for you:

• Instant Pot Pinto Beans (no soaking needed!) — you can use this recipe for other types of beans, too!
• Frijoles Borrachos (Drunken Beans)
• Crockpot Refried Beans
• Instant Pot Refried Beans
• 15 Bean Soup
• Easy Split Pea Soup Recipe
• Instant Pot Black Bean Soup