Hoppin John Soup is a southern recipe that is typically eaten at midnight on New Year’s Eve and is said to bring you good luck throughout the upcoming year. Made with black eye peas, rice, sausage and greens, this homemade soup is hearty and delicious.
Hoppin John Soup
“Eat poor that day, eat rich the rest of the year. Rice for riches and peas for peace.” And so the Southern saying goes about eating Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day.
A dish of black eye peas, rice, onion, bacon and greens, Hoppin’ John Soup eaten on New Year’s Day is thought to bring good luck and prosperity in the new year.
Classically, Hoppin John is the first thing eaten at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve along with a glass of champagne.
Dating all the way back to the early 1800’s, there are many variations of this historical Southern dish, sometimes referred to as black eyed peas soup.
The black eye peas are a symbol of good luck and peace.
Pork represents progress in the new year. Pork can be in the form of bacon or sausage. I made this hoppin john recipe with sausage, specifically Italian sausage.
Feel free to use chicken sausage, turkey sausage or even andouille sausage.
The greens, being the same color as money, are a symbol of wealth.
I changed it up a bit more and made this Hoppin’ John Soup Recipe, which could also be called “stoup” because it’s so thick and hearty it could be considered a cross between a soup and a stew.
I also switched out bacon and added Italian sausage instead. Hoppin john with andouille sausage would be delicious too!
I decided to update the greens to a baby kale mix. You can use baby spinach if you prefer.
If you’d rather vegetarian hoppin john that can easily happen by leaving out the sausage and changing the chicken broth to vegetable broth. Easy peasy.
So if you’re looking for recipes for black eyed peas soup you’re all set.
This New Year’s Day go ahead and relax with a piping hot bowl of Hoppin’ John Soup and dream about the wonderful and prosperous new year ahead.
And don’t forget the hot sauce which is a delicious addition to this homemade soup! Cornbread is a great side dish to serve aong with a pot of hoppin john soup!
If you love sausage, you’ll want to check out our Air Fryer Sausage and Peppers recipe too!
Check out all these easy homemade soups too!
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How to make Hoppin' john
Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below
- In a large pot heat oil over medium heat.
- Cook carrots, celery, onion, sausage, garlic, thyme and kosher salt until vegetables are just tender and sausage is browned, stirring occasionally, 12-15 minutes.
- Add broth, black-eyed peas and rice and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer 20 minutes.
- Stir in baby kale mix and simmer until the greens are wilted, sausage is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes.
- Serve with hot sauce and cornbread!
Swirls of Flavor Recipe Tips
- This soup is delicious when eaten with a splash of hot sauce.
- Serve this soup with crusty bread or cornbread.
- Top a bowl of soup with our homemade croutons
- Add a chopped red bell pepper to the carrots, celery and onions for added flavor
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for added heat
Substitutions
- Substitute bacon for the sausage
- Substitute chicken sausage for the Italian sausage
- Use andouille sausage in place of the Italian sausage
- Substitute brown rice for the white rice
- Substitute collard greens for the baby kale mix but add the collard greens when you are cooking the vegetables and sausages.
- Substitute cajun seasoning for the dried thyme
- Make ham and black eyed peas soup and use chopped cooked ham in place of the sausage
Storage
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Soup will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- As always, I find it helpful to visit the FDA website for food storage guidelines
Easy soup recipes
Ingredients for hoppin johns soup
- olive oil
- carrots
- celery
- onion
- Italian sausage
- garlic
- dried thyme
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- chicken broth
- black-eyed beans
- cooked long grain white rice
- baby kale mix or baby spinach
Hoppin’ John Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- 2 carrots peeled, chopped, 1 cup
- 2 celery ribs chopped, 1 cup
- 1 onion chopped, 1 cup
- 8 ounces hot and/or sweet Italian sausage sliced 1″ thick
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) chicken broth
- 1 can (15.5 oz.) black eyed peas drained, rinsed
- 1 cup cooked long grain white rice
- 1 pkg. (5 oz.) baby kale mix or baby spinach, 5 cups
- hot sauce serving suggestion
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Instructions
- In large pot heat oil over medium heat.
- Cook carrots, celery, onion, sausage, garlic, thyme and kosher salt until vegetables are just tender and sausage is browned, stirring occasionally, 12-15 minutes.
- Add broth, peas and rice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 20 minutes.
- Stir in baby kale mix. Simmer until greens are wilted, sausage is cooked through and vegetables are tender, 2-3 minutes.
- Serve with hot sauce!
Notes
- This soup is delicious when eaten with a splash of hot sauce.
- Serve this soup with crusty bread.
- Top a bowl of soup with our homemade croutons
- Add a chopped red bell pepper to the carrots, celery and onions for added flavor
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for added heat
Nutrition
This is delicious! My only adjustment was to add about a cup of beef stock to make it a little more soupy. Very flavorful and hearty!!
I'm so happy that you enjoyed this recipe. The beauty of cooking at home is that you can adjust a recipe to your liking!