New Years Black Eyed Peas and Greens
New Years Black Eyed Peas and Greens- all you need is 25 minutes to make this nutrient packed, plant-based meal that’s thought to bring good luck in the new year!
Hey party people! I hope you all had a nice holiday filled with love and lots of delicious food. Tell me, what did you have for dinner?
We enjoyed butternut squash lasagna for Christmas Eve and this vegetable bolognese for Christmas dinner. Between both of those carbolicious meals, a batch of these cookies, and a little bit of hot chocolate, it’s safe to say I’m about ready for that New Year detox. After a little New Years Eve champagne, of course. :)
But for New Years Day, we will definitely be eating some black eyed peas and greens! Peas for good luck and greens for good fortune. To be honest, I’m not a very superstitious person so I can’t say that I entirely believe that’s true. However, I’ll take any excuse to eat black eyed peas and I can’t think of a better way to start a new year than with a healthy servings of greens so it all works out.
New Years Black Eyed Peas and Greens Ingredients
The ingredient list is super basic because it’s a super basic meal. But don’t let that fool you! Served with a side of cornbread, it’s satisfying and perfectly delicious. Here’s what you need to make it.
- Oil- We need oil to sauté the vegetables and my go-to is avocado oil for it’s high smoke point and neutral flavor. You can use whatever kind of oil you like to cook with, dairy-free butter, or substitute a splash of broth if you want to make it oil-free.
- Onion and Garlic- This combo helps add flavor to the greens so don’t skip them! You can also use shallot or red onion in place of the yellow onion, if desired.
- Greens- Most greens tend to cook down a lot so we’re using 2 big bunches in this recipe. I prefer collards or swiss chard but kale is also a great option. You’ll want to remove any tough stems and chop them into bite size pieces. For the chard, I only cover and cook for about 3-5 minutes as they can get overly wilted pretty fast. Collards are heartier and are usually best around 5-7 minutes, while kale is somewhere in between. Either way, keep an eye on them as they cook for best results.
- Vegetable Broth- Adding a splash of broth to the greens and covering with a lid creates steam and cooks them in all of that delicious flavor. I always use Better Than Bouillon to cook my greens because I think it has the best flavor.
- Black Eyed Peas- Using canned black eyed peas makes this recipe come together super quick but you can cook your own from dried, if desired. You’ll need about 3 cups cooked peas in place of the cans.
- Lemon Juice- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice adds acidity and tang while also aiding in proper absorption of the iron in the peas and greens. It’s pretty much a necessity in my book.
- Crushed Red Pepper- Just a pinch of crushed red pepper adds a little pizazz but you can’t skip this if you like.
How to Make New Years Black Eyed Peas and Greens
- Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic then cook until fragrant.
- Add the greens and vegetable broth. Cover and cook until wilted.
- Add the cooked peas, fresh lemon juice and crushed red pepper. Cook until heated through.
- Serve warm with a side of cornbread and let the good luck roll in!
If you buy precooked peas, this only takes 25 minutes to throw together. It’s the perfect quick and nutritious meal to get you back on track after a looooong night. Cheers to a happy and healthy new year!
Want more black eyed peas? Be sure to check out my Mexican-inspired version of black eyed peas and greens!
New Years Black Eyed Peas and Greens
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil, I like avocado oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 bundles of greens, about 5 cups, stem removed and chopped (collard greens, swiss chard, kale, etc.)
- ½-1 cup vegetable broth, I like Better Than Bouillon
- 2 15-ounce cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- salt & pepper , to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- To the skillet, add the greens and 1/2 cup vegetable broth. Cover with a lid and cook until greens start to wilt. The time will vary depending on the variety of greens you choose. Chard cooks in just a few minutes while kale takes a little longer and collards take the longest. Keep an eye on them as they cook, stirring intermittently and adding more broth, if needed.
- Once the greens are cooked, add the cooked black eyed peas. Stir and cook until heated through. Squeeze in the fresh lemon juice and sprinkle with crushed red pepper. Serve warm with salt & pepper (to taste) and enjoy!
Hi Sarah!!! How are you? I’ve had a fabulous time in Florida and have been eating great food. So guess what? Last week, I sent my Momma your recipe for the cranberries, roasted walnuts, roasted butternut squash, gorgonzola and kale salad and we had it for Christmas Eve dinner. It was so yummy! :)
Hey Ashley! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! It always makes me feel so good to hear that others enjoy my recipes. :)
And I’m so happy to hear that your time at home has been great. I wish you and your family all the best for a happy and healthy new year! xx
I’m the least superstitious person ever, so I’ve never had black eyed peas on New Year’s before! Our yearly tradition is to order a hangover pizza from Papa John’s instead haha.
Hope you were able to get some down time for Christmas! I know you’ve been working a lot, so hopefully you’ve squeezed in some relaxing :-)
Hey, there’s no shame in a little Papa Johns! :)
I hope you had a great Christmas too, Kelly!
So you prepared Italian dishes for Christmas… nice! Since I’m in Italy I had plenty of delicious pasta dishes as well. We are now following a more balanced diet and we’ll definitely have legumes+kale as one of the courses of the new years’ eve dinner.
I love that you guys had pasta for Christmas dinner! My husband never warmed to the pizza idea, haha. I’m also so ready for a New Years detox and some New Years good luck food! I’ve grown to love black eyed peas and plan on eating a ton! I love the addition of the greens!
I hope you guys had a great christmas!! So I had no idea until last year that black eyed peas were a superstitious / new year thing! It’s like I’ve been living under a rock! haha This dish looks awesome!
i always eat black eyed peas on New Years no matter what. I love them anyways and eat them a ton so it works out pretty good!
We made this last night with cannelini beans (cause that’s what was in our cupboards). Good luck, fortune and fiber, FTW!
That’s right! Cheers to healthy new year! :)
I’m not really superstitious, but I love the tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s. This traditional take on it sounds awesome!
This looks like a pretty decent start to Black Eyed Peas & Collards. I’m from Virginia and we do have a traditional New Year meal. The superstition isn’t necessarily about luck and money. The idea is that you start the year with a “poor” meal to attract good fortune. So we have the Black Eyed Peas, Collards, Chitterlings, Rice pudding, sweet potatoes and a few other things that escape me at the moment. One other thing, if you’re going to make Black Eyed Peas and Collards, some sort of smoked meat in the pot is a MUST! You can use some Smoked Ham hocks (also referred to as “seasoning”), Smoked Turkey wings, or a Dan Doodle.
Thank you for enlightening me, Sherrod! I had no idea that was the idea behind eating black eyed peas and greens. And I can imagine meat adds delicious flavor but I’m vegetarian so I try to do without. Happy new year to you!
WHOOOOA, I’ve been vaycaying for too long, obvi, because I missed this delicious post, AND the fact that your site has gone through a fab makeover! Ohmygerd, it’s gorgeous, my dear!! Let’s celebrate with champagne and all the black eyed peas of the world! xoxox
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This is exactly what I am cooking right now, fresh mixed greens, fresh black eyed peas and corn bread, all for New Year’s Day!! I am not superstitious, however I do love tradition! Wishing you a very Happy New Year!! Kisses to all!!
So easy and delicious! I used collard greens and added a couple tablespoons fresh parsley.
Delicious and easy. I prepped black eyed peas following the instructions on the package of dry peas. The recipe is easy and delicious. I didn’t use broth though I used water and it was still good. The kids liked it too. Happy new year.
PS I used kale (Lacinato/dinosaur kale).
Easy and delicious. It will become my New Years tradition.
I made this whole food, plant-based recipe (with no meat) today. I have carnivores in the home so I fried them a ham steak as a side. I wanted nothing to do with it, so it didn’t go in the pot :) I hardly use my Instapot, but I did today to cook the black eyed peas since I didn’t have BEP in cans. I cooked them a little under so that they didn’t turn to mush in this recipe. It was SO good. I used Kale as my green and the only thing I wish is that I had seen the part of the recipe calling for two bunches of greens. Seriously this was so good, it is so hearty and everyone including the 13yo and 11yo sang its praises. Im so glad I stumbled upon this recipe!
Added white wine occasionally, and a bit of chicken broth. Very tasty!
Turned out amazing! Love this vegan recipe so much! Thank you <3
Like the recipe but family doesn’t like ‘greens’. Any ideas for a substitute?
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