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Home › Recipes
9 Comments

Deep South Hoppin’ John Black Eyed Peas

Stacey Pirtle

by Stacey Published: Dec 29, 2020

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As Southern as it is delicious, this traditional black eyed pea recipe enjoys the rich flavors of pork, bell peppers, onion, celery, herbs and spices served over rice.  Hoppin’ John is comforting, stick-to-your ribs, real kind of food.  And even though it’s a favorite New Year’s Day dish, just one bite will have you wanting to dig in all year long!

A bowl of southern hoppin john black eyed peas and rice

Hoppin John scripture Isaiah 43:19

 

What is Hoppin’ John?

Besides being deliciously savory comfort food, Hoppin’ John is a traditional southern black eyed pea recipe cooked with pork, peppers, onion, spices and either served over rice or with rice cooked in it.  Usually served on New Year’s Day with greens, cornbread and sometimes ham, Hoppin’ John’s claim to fame is that it brings good luck all year to those who eat it on January 1.  And while we don’t put much stock into the superstitions, we do have a deliciously fun time enjoying all the traditions.

But you don’t have to serve Hoppin’ John just on New Year’s Day!  We enjoy it all year long.  Spooning it up like a soup or stew or serving it alongside a crisp salad is a perfect way to enjoy homecooked vegetables anytime.  Just don’t forget the splash of hot sauce to top it off!

 

Ingredients to make southern hoppin John

 

What You Need To Make Hoppin’ John 

  • frozen or fresh black eyed peas 
  • thick cut bacon
  • onion
  • celery
  • red & green bell peppers
  • minced garlic
  • chicken broth
  • bay leaves
  • dried thyme
  • salt, pepper, cayenne
  • cooked rice
  • garnishes: green onions or parsley

 

Hoppin john black eyed peas and rice seasoned with pork upclose

 

Why doesn’t this recipe use ham hock?

Since Hoppin’ John is just about as old as it gets, there are all kinds of recipes and variations for it.  Adding ham hock or a ham bone to peas and beans and other vegetables when cooking them is longstanding way to impart deep flavor.  So why use bacon?  

This recipe starts with cooking bacon in a dutch oven or stock pot and then sautéing all the vegetables in the bacon and bacon drippings.  Wow!  You want to talk about flavor!  Afterwards, chicken broth, or stock, is added to drippings and sautéed veggies to create a deeply flavored base for cooking the peas. This rich base infuses layers of flavor into every Hoppin’ John ingredient from start to finish.  Not to mention thick cut bacon is an easy ingredient that almost everyone is familiar with- where to get it and how to use it.

 

A bowl of hoppin john black eyed peas and rice

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Tips for Making The Best Hoppin’ John

Southern vegetables don’t have to be “cooked down” to almost nothing to be good.  As a matter of fact, they shouldn’t be.  Everyone agrees a variety of color and texture make a dish better!  To make sure your Hoppin’ John is full of flavor, color and texture, follow these simple steps!

  • Don’t add all of the bell pepper at once.  Hold back half of the red and half of the green bell pepper when sautéing your veggies in the bacon drippings.  Add the halves you held back when there is only about 10-15 minutes left for the peas to cook.  This will ensure that those peppers will still have lots of eye popping color and a bit of bite to them.
  • Some recipes cook the rice in the peas.  This, too, can create that “cooked down” texture.  To keep your rice fluffy, cook your rice and Hoppin’ John separately and either serve the black eyed peas over the rice or fold the rice into the peas right before serving.
  • We serve our Hoppin’ John peas over Easy Green Chile Rice for an extra punch of savory flavor!

 

Serving Hopping John with Rice

 

Other Southern Favorites You’ll Love

  • Ultimate Okra & Tomatoes Skillet with Smoked Sausage
  • Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas & Ham
  • Louisiana Dirty Rice
  • Southern Cornbread Pudding (Spoon Bread)
  • Heirloom Tomato Pie

 

IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, BE SURE TO LET ME KNOW!

RATE IT, LEAVE A COMMENT OR SNAP A PHOTO.

Tag me on Instagram at #southerndiscourse

Hoppin john black eyed peas and rice seasoned with pork upclose

Deep South Hoppin' John

As Southern as it is delicious, this traditional black eyed pea recipe enjoys the rich flavors of bacon, bell peppers, onion, celery, herbs and spices served over rice.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: comfort food, New Year's Day, southern favorite
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 people
Author: Stacey | SouthernDiscourse.com

Ingredients

  • 6-8 slices thick cut bacon
  • 1 medium sweet onion, diced
  • 3 celery sticks, diced
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
  • 2-3 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 16 oz frozen black eyed peas
  • 32 oz chicken broth
  • 1-2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried thymes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne
  • finely chopped green onion tops, topping
  • 3 C cooked rice (We use Easy Green Chile Rice.)
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Instructions

  • Chop bacon into ½ inch pieces. Cook in a dutch oven or large stock pot over medium heat.
  • When bacon is almost crisped, add ½ of the diced green bell pepper and ½ of the diced red bell pepper. Add all of the diced celery, onion and minced garlic. Cook together until bacon is crisped.
  • Add chicken broth to bacon and vegetables, scraping any bacon drippings from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and add frozen peas. Return to a simmer. Add bay leaves, thyme, salt, cayenne and black pepper. Cook covered for 15-20 minutes. Add remaining bell pepper. Cook for 10-15 more minutes. Taste. Add salt if needed. Peas should be tender. Extend cooking time if needed.
  • Serve over cooked rice or fold rice in to the peas to make a one pot dish.
Hoppin john black eyed peas and rice seasoned with pork upclose
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As Southern as it is delicious, this traditional black eyed pea recipe enjoys the rich flavors of pork, bell peppers, onion, celery, herbs and spices served over rice.  Hoppin' John is comforting, stick-to-your ribs, real kind of food.  And even though it's a favorite New Year's Day dish, just one bite will have you wanting to dig in all year long!

 

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Filed Under: Recipes, Side Dishes Tagged With: comfort food, New Year's, southern classics, vegetables

Meet Stacey

Southern Discourse is a place where you can find southern family dishes, along with special recipes & table settings. Bringing connection & friendship back to the table by wrapping everything in the faith & grace from which true hospitality springs! Read More

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    5 from 3 votes

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Stacey Pirtlestacey

    March 8, 2021 at 12:14 pm

    5 stars
    As Southern as it is delicious, this traditional black eyed pea recipe enjoys the rich flavors of pork, bell peppers, onion, celery, herbs and spices served over rice. Hoppin’ John is comforting, stick-to-your ribs, real kind of food. And even though it’s a favorite New Year’s Day dish, just one bite will have you wanting to dig in all year long!

    Reply
  2. Avatar photoTony C

    November 12, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    I am wondering how much dried peas I should use as I live in the southwest USA and frozen blackeye peas are not readily available.

    Reply
    • Stacey Pirtlestacey

      November 12, 2021 at 5:17 pm

      Hi, Tony! The amount of peas doesn’t change between dried or frozen peas, but the cook time and how this recipe would come together definitely does. Dried peas have to cook at a low boil for about an hour in order to be tender. The peas would have to be cooked and tended separately, then added (without any of their liquid) to the rest of the recipe in step #3 to finish the recipe as directed. Hope that helps! Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. Avatar photoShai

    January 1, 2024 at 8:23 pm

    5 stars
    Even my northern friend who doesn’t like black eyed peas loved it!

    Reply
    • Stacey PirtleStacey

      January 3, 2024 at 2:42 pm

      Hi, Shai! That makes my day! Awesome! Thank you and Happy New Year!

      Reply
  4. Avatar photoCarolyn

    January 2, 2024 at 1:31 pm

    5 stars
    This was delicious and saved the day when we forgot to buy black eyed peas for New Year’s. My store had the frozen and your dish worked beautifully.! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Stacey PirtleStacey

      January 3, 2024 at 2:44 pm

      Hi, Carolyn! You are so welcome! I am glad this recipe helped you celebrate the New Year! Thank you so much for making this Hoppin’ John and loving it!

      Reply
  5. Avatar photoDonna

    December 25, 2024 at 5:28 pm

    Can you add your collards green in hoppin john?

    Reply
    • Stacey PirtleStacey

      December 26, 2024 at 12:16 pm

      Hi, Donna! You sure can! Let me know how it goes! Happy New Year!

      Reply

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Meet Stacey

Southern Discourse is a place where you can find southern family dishes, along with special recipes & table settings. Bringing connection & friendship back to the table by wrapping everything in the faith & grace from which true hospitality springs! Read More

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