These 40+ amazing recipes will help you celebrate with traditional New Year’s Day food! Whether you’re searching for luck and good fortune or just looking to host a fun party, this list has what you need.
New Year’s Day Traditions
Different places have different traditions for the joyous holiday of New Year’s Day! In the southern United States, there are several foods that are believed to give good luck. On the downside, there are also a couple of foods you don’t want to eat in case they lead to a bad year. Here are the traditional New Year’s foods in the South:
What to eat on New Year’s Day
- Pork – This is a symbol for progress and prosperity. When pigs are rooting (or looking for food), their move forward with their snout. If a pig can keep going and moving forward, so can you!
- Greens – These meaning behind eating greens (usually cabbage, collar greens, swiss chard, etc.) is to accept the money coming you’re way in the new year. Get it, green leads to more green?
- Beans, Peas, and Lentils – These are meant to symbolize coins, money, and financial success. Wouldn’t it be great if you earned money for every single black-eyed-pea you ate?!
- Cornbread – Beautiful golden cornbread will hopefully turn into beautiful gold in your pocket. This is all about gaining more wealth this year.
What not to eat on New Year’s Day
- Chicken – There are two beliefs behind this one. First, chickens scratch backwards when looking for food, so you may experience some setbacks. Second, chickens have wings, and that might cause your luck or loved ones to “fly away.”
- Lobster – Lobsters also walk backwards, so eating this may lead to undoing some previous progress and getting you further from where you want to be.
- Crab – Crabs walk sideways, so eating them may lead to a stalemate year… No progress, no gaining, no losing, just a new year with no changes.
FAQs about New Year’s Day Food
For wealth, luck, and good fortune, you’re supposed to eat these foods at midnight on New Year’s Eve. This means it will really be your first meal of the year and will be the first step to achieving what you want!
No, different regions often have different beliefs and traditions! This follows the traditions of the southern United States.
New Year's Day Recipes
These 30+ recipes will help you celebrate with traditional New Year’s Day food! Perfect for dinner, parties, and finding luck and good fortune.
New Year's Day Appetizers
These recipes are perfect for New Year's Day parties or for snacking while waiting for midnight!
These Bacon Wrapped Scallops require just five ingredients and require about 12 minutes of cook time! This is an easy low carb appetizer or elegant dinner recipe!
Easy Keto Stuffed Mushrooms are loaded with spicy sausage and cheese for the perfect party appetizer!
These easy Chili Cheese Collard Green Chips are loaded with flavor and pack a huge nutritional punch. If you want to go into the new year healthy, just snack on these!
These Ham Wrapped Roasted Potatoes are served with Smokey Honey Mustard for a new and exciting appetizer! These are the perfect size for serving guests at your New Year's Day party.
Tender green beans are wrapped in salty bacon for the ultimate low carb, gluten free, keto side dish or appetizer. It's an easy way to get in some veggies while also enjoying the lucky pork for New Year's!
New Year's Day Side Dishes
Pair these with just about any entrée, and you're going to have a meal worth drooling over!
This easy Keto Bacon Wrapped Cabbage is a tasty low carb side dish that can be grilled or baked!
The BEST Instant Pot Collard Greens loaded with bacon, ham and perfectly tender! This recipe includes low-carb options as well.
This is the Best Cheesy Cornbread loaded with savory butter and sharp cheddar cheese! This naturally gluten free cornbread is perfect with your favorite soup.
These Keto Ham and Cheese Pinwheels are smothered in a garlic poppyseed sauce and are under 2 net carbs each! It's a very kid-friendly way to eat a lucky New Year's food.
These Cheddar Cornbread Muffins are a delicious blend of savory and sweet! Make these as a delicious pairing with soup or to complete a traditional Southern meal!
Black Eyed Peas Salad – start off the New Year with good health and a lucky streak thanks to black eyed peas and leafy greens – both traditionally considered “lucky” foods.
Swiss chard is PERFECT for the new year! This healthy veggie is paired with garlic and bacon for an easy recipe that is naturally low carb and gluten free.
This Southern Fried Cabbage is loaded with crispy bacon and cooked until tender perfection! This one pan, low carb side dish is a true Southern delicacy.
This Roasted Cabbage is the perfect healthy side dish! Ready in 30 minutes, requires very little effort and cleanup, and has under 4 net carbs per serving.
New Year's Day Soups
Warm yourself from the inside out with these delicious soups. Each one incorporates one or more of the traditional New Year's "good luck" foods!
This Cabbage and Sausage Soup is the perfect way to warm up on a chilly night! This soup is rich, comforting and about 5 net carbs a bowl.
This Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Soup is the perfect easy keto soup! At just under 6 net carbs and packed with meat and vegetables this is a low carb soup you'll enjoy all season long!
This Cabbage and Black-Eyed Pea Soup is packed with black-eyed peas, onions, bell pepper, cabbage, and tomatoes! Perfect for New Years!
This Collard Green and Black Eyed Pea Soup is the ultimate comfort food! Loaded with ground beef, carrots, collard greens and black eyed peas this is the perfect winter meal.
A Modern Twist On A Southern Classic! This Instant Pot Black-Eyed Pea Soup Is Chock-Full Of All The Fixings, Only It’s Ready To Go In Half The Time!
I love Ham Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Collard Greens since it's thick and creamy. The perfect comfort food on a cold day.
This five ingredient Black Bean and Sausage Soup is a simple hearty dish perfect for busy weeknights! Leftovers are delicious (and a thrifty way to start the new year), too.
Instant Pot Bean and Sausage Soup is so easy and SO good! Make this delicious healthy meal from dried UNSOAKED black eyed peas and low fat chicken sausage in about an hour. Chicken is not actually recommended on New Year's, but this recipe is delicious and worth considering.
Instant pot lentil Soup with chicken sausage is a wonderfully healthy dinner idea. Again, chicken can be considered unlucky, but you could replace it with pork sausage!
It is easy to whip up this famous Hoppin John soup using affordable pantry staples and enjoy it on New Year’s day for good luck or any day of the year.
New Year's Day Meals
Full of delicious pork, greens, peas, and more for a dinner that will bring you good fortune all year long.
Crock Pot Black Eyes Peas and Collard Greens are the ultimate Southern Comfort food!
Zesty rice, tomatoes, and black beans are simmered to perfection and topped with tender, spicy pork chops! You won't believe how easy this is!
Need an easy low carb, one pan dinner? I've got you covered! This Keto Sausage and Cabbage Skillet is ready in under 20 minutes and has less than 6 carbs per serving!
These Keto Cabbage with Sausage Foil Packs are loaded with spicy sausage, bell pepper, onion, and cabbage in a buttery sauce. It's a great low-maintenance meal!
This Keto One Pan Cabbage Casserole is a low carb, easy dinner ready in 30 minutes! The perfect easy keto dinner! Under 9 net carbs per serving!
These thick-cut pork chops are incredibly juicy and flavorful -- You will LOVE having this as your celebration dinner!
This easy smoked pork tenderloin is flavored with the most amazing homemade dry rub, then slow cooker to perfection on the grill!
Just like any good Southerner, serve a Lucky New Year's dinner -- complete with pork, greens, and Aunt Bee's Hoppin' John! The easy rice dish comes together quickly (thanks to a few shortcuts) and is the perfect way to complete your meal!
This easy One Pan Pasta is a quick, 30-minute meal that is packed with Spicy Sausage and Black Beans! It's the perfect family dinner year-round, but definitely on New Year's!
This Keto Sausage and Cabbage Breakfast Hash is an incredibly hearty low carb breakfast! This is perfect for celebrating at breakfast instead of staying up all night.
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day or cozy up on a cold winter evening with a flavorful meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage! Just dump the ingredients in one pot and let the beef, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage slowly roast for an easy and comforting dinner -- with just 10 minutes of prep.
This Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin is perfect for an impressive New Year's meal. Meal prep this for an easy meal when the new year falls on a busy day!
A great New Year's recipe!
Sautéed onions, garlic, and fried cabbage in a brown ale mustard sauce, with delicious smoked kielbasa, all topped off with a chopped sweet apple. A delicious one-pan meal ready in 30 minutes!
This foil pack dinner means you have very little cleanup and little effort while it cooks! Heat up the grill for these while everyone parties in the warm house to celebrate New Year's!
Slow Cooker Sausage and Cabbage Recipe - Easy and Ready in 6 Hours
Slow Cooker Sausage and Cabbage is a easy crock pot recipe ready in 6 hours! Add Sweet Italian Sausage links and vegetables (potatoes, cabbage, carrots and onion!) into your slow cooker for a delicious comfort meal!
New Year's Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut with Kielbasa (low carb too)
This New Year’s Instant Pot pork and sauerkraut dish with kielbasa is an easy meal that you can make in the slow cooker too. A traditional meal to start your New Year and it’s low carb! Each serving has only 4.6g net carbs or 2.4g for the low carb version.
This easy gluten-free Red Beans and Rice with Sausage is an easy one pot meal perfect for busy weeknights! It is so comforting, you're bound to have happy, positive feelings about the new year while you eat this.
Make these easy one pan Garlic Herb Pork Medallions with Tuscan White Beans for a hearty comforting dish ready in under 30 minutes.
