While New Year’s Eve is a time for celebration, New Year’s Day is filled with superstition. Every January 1st, a unique collection of historic rituals is performed to invite good fortune for the coming year. One such enduring tradition is eating black-eyed peas, a practice believed to bring luck, wealth, and prosperity, especially common in the Southern United States. But why? Like many cultural traditions, particularly those involving food, its origins are layered and nuanced. If you want to start 2026 on an optimistic note, cooking a pot of black-eyed peas is a tasty way to do it.

What Are Black-Eyed Peas?
Despite the name, black-eyed peas are actually a type of bean, or cowpea. They are pale and kidney-shaped, with a distinctive black spot that looks like an eye. Native to West Africa, they were brought to the U.S. through the transatlantic slave trade. Enslaved West Africans cultivated these beans, which is why they became a staple in Southern cuisine.

Why Do People Eat Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s?
Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is thought to invite good fortune and prosperity. The beans symbolize coins, the greens served with them represent paper money, and cornbread stands for gold. They are also traditionally cooked with pork, which signifies progress because pigs root forward.

Where Did the Tradition Originate?
The origin of eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day isn’t straightforward. Black-eyed peas are native to West Africa and were brought to the Southern U.S. through the forced migration of Africans. In West Africa, these beans were eaten on special occasions, like the birth of a child, and were associated with warding off the evil eye, but they weren’t specifically linked to New Year’s luck.

The practice of New Year’s Day superstitions comes from Europe, including immigrants to the Southern U.S. (and from Central and South America, where traditions like jumping seven waves in Brazil honor a sea goddess). Over time, these traditions merged. By the 19th century, eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck had become common. As culinary historian Michael Twitty notes, the practice is European, but the food itself is African.

How to Serve Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day
The tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day has evolved over time and varies across the South. Jon Murray, founder of Noko and Kase x Noko in Nashville, says, “Growing up in South Carolina, there has never been a New Year’s Day that I haven’t had black-eyed peas.” His favorite childhood memory is of Hoppin’ John, a classic Southern dish made with black-eyed peas, ham hock, rice, and vegetables.

Chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, who grew up in Houston, now features black-eyed peas on the menu at her Austin restaurant, Birdie’s. Her family tradition involved braising the peas with garlic and sage and serving them with honey-baked ham and cornbread. At Birdie’s, she uses locally grown field peas (another type of cowpea) with house-made orecchiette and pecorino for a Texas-style pasta e fagioli.

For Arvinder Vilku of Saffron, growing up in India meant eating curried black-eyed peas and rice in winter, but without the symbolic meaning. After moving to New Orleans, he started making black-eyed peas with cabbage for his family each New Year to welcome blessings. “They’re freshly harvested this time of year, and cooking them fresh is always the way to go—dried peas are never quite the same.”We are all the same!

Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs About Eating BlackEyed Peas on New Years Day

Q1 Why do people eat blackeyed peas on New Years Day
A Its a tradition believed to bring good luck and prosperity in the coming year The peas symbolize coins representing wealth

Q2 Where did this tradition come from
A Its exact origins are debated but its strongly associated with the American South It may have roots in West African Sephardic Jewish or European customs that merged in the Southern US

Q3 Do I have to eat them a certain way
A The most common way is in a dish called Hoppin John which mixes blackeyed peas with rice pork and onions Eating them with greens and cornbread is also traditional

Q4 How many peas should I eat for good luck
A Tradition often says to eat at least 365 peasone for each day of the new year But even a spoonful is commonly thought to count

Q5 Is this just a Southern US thing
A While its most popular in the Southern United States the tradition is observed in various forms by people across the country and even has parallels in other cultures

Q6 What if I dont like blackeyed peas Do I miss out on the luck
A The spirit of the tradition is what matters most Many believe that simply having them on your plate or in your home is enough to invite the good fortune

Q7 What do the other foods served with them symbolize
A
Greens Symbolize paper money and financial fortune
Cornbread Represents gold
Pork Pigs symbolize progress and rooting forward as they root in the ground moving ahead

Q8 Can I use canned blackeyed peas or do they need to be dried
A You can use either Dried peas cooked from scratch are considered the most traditional but canned peas are a perfectly acceptable and convenient modern shortcut

Q9 Are there any rules about when or how to eat them