It’s a Southern tradition to eat Hopping John (Black-eyed Pea Stew) on New Year’s Day for good luck all year, and this year, I’m not taking any chances!

I started with Ree Drummonds recipe. Ree adds a ham hock and says that you can also add a can of diced tomatoes, or a few cups of torn-up Kale. I skipped the ham hock, but may try the tomatoes or kale the next time I make it. If you don’t like black-eyed peas, it’s also good with black beans – it’s a great, comforting dish perfect for a cold Winter’s Day!

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter (or 2 Tbsp bacon drippings & 2 Tbsp olive oil) (Or just 4 Tbsp olive oil for a vegan version)
1 large yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, any color, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 14-oz cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed (or 1 lb dried, soaked overnight and rinsed*)
1 quart chicken stock (or veggie stock for vegan) I used Better than Bouillon
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Good pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. white wine or Apple Cider vinegar
White rice

Heat butter or bacon drippings and oil in a cast iron skillet. Add, onions, bell pepper and celery. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add garlic and sauté another 2-3 minutes.

Add black-eyed peas, chicken stock and seasonings. Don’t add the vinegar yet! Bring to a simmer, cover and let cook 30 minutes. Remove lid, stir and let cook another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat. There will still be quite a lot of liquid.

Take out about 1/2 the liquid from the beans (I just used a teacup to remove it) and place in a smaller pan. Heat the sauce for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced down to half or less. That way the sauce gets thickened but the beans don’t turn into mush. Add thickened liquid back into the beans and gently reheat.

Add vinegar and stir. Check seasonings. Serve in a bowl over hot rice.

*If you end up using dry Black-eyed peas, but didn’t soak them over night, I found an easy fast method from onestopchop_ on Instagram.

He says bring a pot of water to the boil and add the dry peas. Let them boil for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, put the lid on and let them soak for 1 hour. Actually, I strained them out after half an hour and added them to the veggies, along with about 1/2 a cup of the bean water, since I knew I was going to simmer everything for another 60 minutes. Worked like a charm.

Updated 1/01/2025.