New Year's Recipes for Good Luck

Start the year off on the right foot with these delicious New Year's recipes for good luck. If eaten on New Year's Day, tradition has it that these foods are thought to bring a whole host of bright things ahead, including prosperity, good fortune, and health.

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Familiar with lentils and sauerkraut, moving from the Northeast to the South introduced me to a broader, tasty world of good luck foods. Traditionally eaten on New Year's Day, these dishes are thought to bring good luck for the year ahead. Who wouldn't want that?

I wouldn't say I'm superstitious (just a little-stitious), but adding a flavorful side dish, soup, or main from the list below to my January 1 menu seems like the right move...just in case.

From the classic (Southern-style collard greens) to the non-traditional (collard greens in a smoothie), I hope these nine recipes shower you and yours with health, wealth, and all good things in the year ahead.

What Each Food Symbolizes

Collard Greens: It's all about the color as green symbolizes prosperity as the color of money.

Black Eyed Peas: These are often served with collard greens and pork in Hoppin' John, though my sauced-up recipe serves them solo. No need to pre-soak! I liked reading this article from Serious Eats regarding the origin of black eyed peas as good luck food, with quotes from culinary historians. Lots to learn.

Cornbread: A second color for prosperity and wealth - gold. I take more of a "Northern-style" approach to my cornbread as it's lightly sweetened (with honey) and less crumbly.

Lentils: Popular in Italian/Italian-American New Year's celebrations as their shape resembles little round coins (on-theme with more hopes of prosperity). These are often paired with pork.

Sauerkraut: A head of cabbage is round (like a jumbo coin, I guess) and green in raw form - double luck. Sauerkraut is often combined with pork for a main meal, though my shortcut version includes bacon for a luck trifecta. Big in Pennsylvania and German cultures.

Pork: I had to look this one up as I couldn't easily connect this one to being round or green! By nature, pigs root forward when foraging for food, unlike poultry which move in a backwards motion. Forward = positive momentum = good luck.

Menu Planning

Usually one or a few recipes are prepared for New Year's Day - not all of them. Though if you have big plans for the year ahead - running the gamut certainly can't hurt!

Collard greens, black eyed peas, and cornbread are traditionally grouped, with pork and sauerkraut being another combination. Lentil soup with pork (Italian sausage, in this case) is a pairing to itself.

Several recipes below use my favorite kitchen time speeder-up (the Instant Pot), so keep in mind timing if you'd like to make more than one of those recipes. I find all of the Instant Pot sides to be nice and hearty and great choices to make ahead of time to heat up later.

New Year's Recipes for Good Luck

Southern Instant Pot Collard Greens

These real-deal Southern-style collard greens are made in a flash in the Instant Pot! Perfectly tender and packed with flavor in much less cooking time, you'll never guess these hearty greens didn't simmer for hours on the stove.

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Collard Greens Smoothie

Think beyond spinach - collard greens can work in a smoothie, too. This collard greens smoothie features just the right mix of nourishing ingredients to result in a truly balanced flavor, including orange juice, yogurt, and more.

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Collard greens smoothie in a short glass.

Italian Lentil Soup with Sausage

This fiber-rich Italian lentil soup with sausage sneaks in extra flavor everywhere it can, from its Parmesan-infused broth to sweet Italian sausage crumbles to a swirl of balsamic vinegar to serve. Say goodbye to boring lentil soup!

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A bowl of Italian lentil soup with sausage with a piece of bread in it.

Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

Easily prepare Southern-style black eyed peas in less time! Hearty Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas develop a rich, seasoned flavor and tender texture all the while saving you time and effort. The prep is simple - no need to pre-soak the peas.

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A serving bowl of seasoned black eyed peas in front of an Instant Pot.

Honey Cornbread

Enjoy homemade cornbread sweetened only with honey with this easy recipe! Made with buttermilk, this honey cornbread is fairly moist and not too sweet or crumbly, making it a perfect pairing for chili or for enjoying by itself.

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Pieces of honey cornbread stacked on a plate with a wooden honey dipper.

Easy Instant Pot Sauerkraut

Instant Pot Sauerkraut is SO easy to make in a fraction of the time of traditional from-scratch versions. Just a handful of ingredients and a half hour are all you need to make this hearty side dish recipe.

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Instant Pot Ribs

Cooking juicy, fall-off-the-bone ribs takes much less time in the Instant Pot. This easy recipe features ribs with a scratch-made BBQ rub and extra-flavorful steaming liquid. Includes timing instructions for baby back and St. Louis/spare ribs.

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A half-rack of ribs sliced on a cutting board.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Raspberry Sauce

This recipe for roasted pork tenderloin with raspberry sauce makes an ideal Sunday dinner, but is not so lengthy or complicated that it couldn't work for weekdays, too! Lean pork tenderloin slices are smothered in a seriously good, sweet and tart raspberry balsamic sauce, with one easy trick guaranteeing you a perfect thickened texture and extra-bold flavor.

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