Hopping John Soup has black-eyed peas, ham, and collard greens, and this is my favorite dish to make for luck in the New Year! This lucky New Year’s soup does have some carbs, but see tips for making a version that’s lower in carbs if you prefer.
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Hopping John Soup is a recipe I’ve been making for years for good luck in the New Year! And if you’re willing to eat a few carbs to get some good luck, I highly recommend making this soup; it has all the luck-bringing properties of traditional Hopping John.
If you’re not familiar with Hopping John, it’s eaten throughout the southern U.S. on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it’s thought to have come from the Creole French pronunciation of the pigeon peas used in the dish.
I took the Hopping John ingredients of black-eyed peas, ham, and collard greens and turned them into a soup years ago. And this recipe is what I’ve been making for New Year’s luck ever since! And I hope you’ll make it and get some good lucky; Happy New Year everyone!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient.)
What is the symbolism of the Hopping John ingredients?
Recipe variations for Hopping John abound, but all contain ham, black eyed peas, and collard greens. The peas are representing coins and the collard greens are representing dollar bills for financial luck in the new year.
What are Black-Eyed Peas?
Black-Eyed peas are legumes that are grown around the world. Here’s more about this tasty ingredient that are sometimes called Black-Eyed Beans.
How can you make Hopping John Soup lower in carbs?
If you want good luck but not so many carbs, you can definitely make this soup with more ham, celery, and collards and fewer black-eyed peas. That will make it lower in carbs, but it will still be lucky!
How to Make Hopping John Soup:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
More recipes with Black-Eyed Peas:
Check out my collection of Black-Eyed Peas Recipes for the New Year if you want more ways to prepare this lucky food!
Hopping John Soup
Hopping John Soup is a tasty soup recipe with ingredients that are supposed to bring luck in the new year!
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
If you don't have homemade chicken stock you can use water with Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base (affiliate link) or canned chicken broth (affiliate link) instead.
I also like to use Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link) for more ham flavor. (Or if you have Homemade Ham Stock I would definitely use that for this recipe, in which case you won't need the ham flavor base!)
You can use 6 cups freshly cooked black-eyed peas or 4 cans black-eyed peas to make this soup.
One bunch of collard greens is about 2 cups when measured after chopping, but next time I would use more.
This recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from The Gourmet Cookbook.)
Nutrition Information
Yield
Serving Size
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Black-eyed peas are not low in carbs, but if you want to reduce the carbs for this soup use more ham, celery, and collard greens in proportion to the amount of black-eyed peas. Hopping John Soup would be approved for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, but limit serving sizes for phase one.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This lucky Hopping John Soup was first posted in 2006, and I’ve been making it every year since then! The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.
