9 Traditional New Year Foods for Good Luck in 2025

Black-eyed peas are the key ingredient in Hoppin' John, a smoky, pork-studded stew commonly enjoyed on New Year's Day. Eating the creamy legumes are thought to bring luck and prosperity in the year ahead, a tradition that is said to have originated in the 1800s in the Low Country of South Carolina (though some historians speculate that it has roots in West Africa). The idea is that the more you eat, the more good fortune will come your way...so be sure to fill up!

Try it in these recipes:

Hoppin' John

Cowboy Caviar

Coconutty Rice and Peas

From the Midwest to Germany to Eastern Europe, many people believe pork symbolizes progress because pigs root forward as they eat. This protein is often paired with cabbage or sauerkraut, but it's also found in Hoppin' John, another New Year's dish, or paired with long noodles or greens, which are also thought to be lucky.

Try it in these recipes:

Aleppo Pork Chops With Potatoes and Greens

Pork Meatball Banh Mi Bowls

Baked Tonkatsu

Eat 12 grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve for luck and prosperity in the new year, say the Spanish. Originating in Spain in the late 1800s, this tradition is known as las doce uvas de la suerte or "the twelve grapes of luck." Each of the dozen grapes represents a month of the year.

Try it in these recipes:

Ricotta Cheesecake with Roasted Grapes

Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Red Grapes and Cabbage

Waldorf Chicken Salad

This category of leafy vegetables (think: collard greens, Swiss chard, kale) resembles paper money. Eating them is thought to encourage prosperity, a tradition with roots in the African diaspora and the Civil War. They're often served with black-eyed peas, which may represent coins. As if that's not enough, eating a plate full of greens will start your year on a healthy note.

Try it these recipes:

Air Fryer Salmon and Swiss Chard

Kale and Chickpea Toasts

Mushroom Fried Rice

In Greece, it's tradition to smash a pomegranate by the front door on New Year's Day. The more seeds that spread out, the more fortune you can expect. In Judaism, pomegranates are said to contain 613 seeds, which is the number of commandments in the Torah. At Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, each pomegranate seed represents a wish for the coming year. In Brazil, people eat pomegranate seeds in groups of seven, a lucky number, for financial prosperity.

Try it these recipes:

Sparkling Pomegranate Punch

Escarole Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Chocolate, Hazelnut & Caramel Tart

In Eastern Europe, Ireland and parts of the United States, cabbage is associated with luck and fortune since its green hue resembles paper money. It's often enjoyed in cabbage rolls or with other Eastern European ingredients like pierogi or kielbasa.

Try it in these recipes:

Pierogi with Sautéed Cabbage

Sheet Pan Okonomiyaki

Crispy Skillet Carrot Latkes

In Scandinavian, Eastern European, Chinese and Jewish communities, fish is associated with a hopeful new year for many reasons: fish symbolize progress because they swim forward, they symbolize abundance because they swim in schools and fertility since they produce multiple eggs at once. At Rosh Hashanah the whole fish is served, including the head, to symbolize the prayer "let us be the head and not the tail."

Try it in these recipes:

Crispy Striped Bass with Citrus Soba

Creamy Fish and Clam Chowder

Easy Rice with Ginger-Soy Salmon and Broccoli

In many Asian cultures, people eat long noodles on New Year's Day because they symbolize longevity and prosperity. Soba is popular on New Year's Eve in Japan, while "longevity noodles" are a popular Lunar New Year dish in Chinese and Taiwanese cultures.

Try it in these recipes:

Pork and Green Bean Lo Mein

Chilled Ramen Salad

Mason Jar Instant Noodle Soup

Thought to resemble coins, lentils are eaten in Italian communities on New Year's Day in order to bring good fortune in the year ahead. The tradition dates back to ancient Rome when Romans would give leather purses filled with lentils, which they believed would turn into gold coins, as gifts to wish friends and neighbors prosperity.

Try it in these recipes:

Herby Lentil and Burrata Salad

Vegan Bolognese

Halloumi and Eggplant Salad