Welcome to The Typical Mom, where we bring you the most delicious and easy-to-make recipes for your family! If you’re searching for a traditional New Year’s dish that promises luck and prosperity, look no further than our incredible Instant Pot Hoppin’ John with ham recipe. This flavorful Southern classic is ready in just 30 minutes, using dried black-eyed peas—no soaking required! Whether you’re using savory leftover ham or tender smoked ham hocks, this pressure cooker method guarantees a perfectly tender, deeply seasoned dish that will become a cherished yearly ritual. Say goodbye to long cooking times and hello to a quick, comforting, and lucky meal!
Discovering Hoppin’ John: More Than Just a Meal
Perhaps you’re wondering, “What exactly is Hoppin’ John?” or maybe you’re a long-time fan looking for the simplest way to prepare this iconic dish. Either way, you’ve arrived at the perfect place! Hoppin’ John is a beloved staple of Southern cuisine, traditionally served on New Year’s Day. Its rich history is intertwined with promises of good fortune for the year ahead, a belief that dates back centuries in the Southern United States.
The tradition behind Hoppin’ John is fascinating. Eating this hearty dish on the first day of the year is thought to bring prosperity and luck. The black-eyed peas symbolize coins, representing wealth, while the accompanying collard greens or kale symbolize paper money. Together, they form a meal that’s not only incredibly delicious and comforting but also steeped in cultural significance. Many families consider it an essential part of their New Year’s celebrations, a tasty way to ensure a fortunate future.
Why Pressure Cooker Hoppin’ John? Speed, Flavor, and Convenience
Modern kitchen appliances like the Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi have revolutionized the way we cook traditional dishes. Hoppin’ John, known for its long simmering times on the stovetop, is perfectly suited for pressure cooking. Our Instant Pot Hoppin’ John recipe dramatically cuts down on preparation and cooking time, delivering a deeply flavorful and tender dish in just about 30 minutes of active cooking. This means you can enjoy this classic comfort food without spending hours in the kitchen.
One of the biggest advantages of using an Instant Pot for black-eyed peas is that no prior soaking is required. Traditionally, dried black-eyed peas would need an overnight soak to soften, adding significant planning time to your meal prep. The pressure cooker bypasses this step entirely, cooking the dried peas to perfect tenderness directly from the bag. This makes it an incredibly convenient option for busy weeknights or impromptu gatherings, not just for New Year’s Day.
Beyond speed, pressure cooking infuses the ingredients with incredible flavor. The sealed environment traps moisture and aromas, allowing the ham, vegetables, and spices to meld beautifully, creating a richer, more complex taste than stovetop methods. Whether you have an Instant Pot, a Crockpot Express, or a Ninja Foodi (using its pressure cooking function), this recipe is designed to deliver delicious results consistently. It’s truly a game-changer for Southern comfort food.
Essential Ingredients for Perfect Hoppin’ John
Creating an authentic and flavorful Hoppin’ John starts with selecting the right ingredients. Each component plays a vital role in building the signature taste and texture of this beloved dish. Here’s a closer look at what you’ll need and why:
Black-Eyed Peas: The Heart of the Dish
You’ll begin with a dry bag of black-eyed peas. While frozen or canned options exist, we highly recommend dried peas for the best texture. Canned peas can become quite mushy under pressure, leading to a less satisfying result. The beauty of pressure cooking is that there is absolutely no soaking required for dried peas—your Instant Pot does all the hard work of tenderizing them beautifully and quickly.
Smoked Ham: The Flavor Foundation
The smoky, savory element of this dish typically comes from ham. You can use diced ham, which is perfect for utilizing leftover ham from a holiday meal. For an even deeper, more traditional smoky flavor, consider using smoked ham hocks. Alternatively, if you’re making this year-round and don’t have leftovers, diced ham steaks work wonderfully to impart that essential meaty richness. The ham not only adds flavor but also a satisfying texture to the beans.
Aromatic Vegetables: Building the Base
To start, you’ll need one medium diced onion and minced garlic. These aromatics are sautéed in butter to create a foundational layer of flavor, softening and releasing their sweet and pungent notes into the pot. While not explicitly in the original list, many Southern recipes for Hoppin’ John benefit from a “Holy Trinity” base, which also includes diced celery and bell peppers, adding more depth and freshness.
Diced Tomatoes: A Burst of Tangy Flavor
A can of diced tomatoes adds a lovely acidity and brightness to the Hoppin’ John. We prefer petite diced tomatoes as they distribute more evenly, ensuring a burst of tomato in every spoonful. Canned tomatoes are generally recommended over fresh for this recipe, as their softer texture blends seamlessly into the dish after pressure cooking.
Chicken Broth: The Liquid Gold
For the cooking liquid, chicken broth is key. Unlike water, which would dilute the flavors, chicken broth provides a rich, savory base that enhances the overall taste of the Hoppin’ John. You can adjust the amount slightly depending on how “soupy” you prefer your dish, but always ensure enough liquid to properly cook the peas. For a vegetarian version, simply substitute with vegetable broth.
Spices: The Southern Soul
A blend of simple yet impactful spices brings this dish to life. You’ll use salt, pepper, cayenne, and thyme. The cayenne adds a subtle warmth and kick, while thyme offers an earthy, herbaceous note. Feel free to adjust the cayenne to your desired spice level, and consider adding a bay leaf during cooking for an extra layer of savory depth.
Fresh Greens: For Flavor and Fortune
Traditionally, leafy green vegetables are a vital component of Hoppin’ John, symbolizing money for the New Year. Kale is a fantastic option, wilting beautifully into the stew and adding a touch of vibrant color and nutrition. If you’re a fan of a more traditional Southern taste, collard greens can also be used, either cooked directly in the pot or served sautéed on the side.
Rice: The Perfect Accompaniment
Hoppin’ John is typically served over or alongside cooked rice. We recommend making your rice separately to ensure it’s perfectly fluffy and doesn’t absorb too much of the flavorful broth. Our guide on how to make perfect Instant Pot white rice is an excellent resource for this. Serving the Hoppin’ John over a bed of rice allows it to soak up all the delicious juices.
Optional Toppings: A Touch of Indulgence
While optional, a sprinkle of smoked gouda cheese on top adds a creamy, smoky finish that complements the dish beautifully. Other popular toppings include a dash of hot sauce, a splash of apple cider vinegar for brightness, or even pickled jalapeños for an extra kick.
Customizing Your Hoppin’ John: Variations and Substitutions
One of the joys of cooking is the ability to adapt recipes to your taste and what you have on hand. Hoppin’ John is wonderfully versatile, allowing for several delicious variations:
Vegetable Additions
The sky’s the limit when it comes to adding more vegetables. Diced celery and bell peppers are classic additions, often sautéed with the onion and garlic to build a deeper flavor base. Just remember that all vegetables should be submerged in the liquid during pressure cooking to ensure they become tender. Don’t overload the pot, or some ingredients might not cook evenly.
Greens Options
While kale is our choice for this recipe, you could easily substitute or add sautéed collard greens, mustard greens, or turnip greens. Some prefer to serve these greens on the side rather than mixing them into the main dish, offering a different texture and experience.
Meat Choices
Instead of diced ham, using a large smoked ham hock will impart a richer, more profound smoky flavor to the entire dish. You can also experiment with other smoked meats like smoked turkey leg or even bacon, rendered crispy and then crumbled into the finished stew. For a vegetarian version, simply omit the ham and use vegetable broth, perhaps adding smoked paprika for a hint of smoky flavor.
Spice Profile
To enhance the flavor profile, you can add a bay leaf or two during cooking, removing them before serving. For those who love more heat, a pinch more cayenne pepper, a dash of hot sauce, or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes can be added. Cajun seasoning or Creole seasoning can also introduce a spicy, robust flavor to the dish.
Liquid Alternatives
While chicken broth is highly recommended for its flavor, you could technically use water. However, this would result in a less flavorful dish. If using water, compensate by increasing your spices and perhaps adding a bouillon cube or two for depth.
Dry vs. Canned Black-Eyed Peas: A Texture Showdown
The choice between dry and canned black-eyed peas can significantly impact the final texture of your Hoppin’ John. While convenient, canned black-eyed peas tend to be softer and can become quite mushy when cooked in a pressure cooker. If you must use canned, adjust the cooking time to just 12 minutes on high pressure with a quick release, as they are already pre-cooked. However, for a more satisfying bite and a more authentic texture, we strongly recommend using dried black-eyed peas.
Cooking dry beans in a pressure cooker is surprisingly easy and yields superior results. They retain their shape better and offer a pleasant, firm-yet-tender consistency that stands up well in the stew. Our recipe uses 25 minutes on high pressure for dried peas, without any prior soaking, which is far more efficient than traditional methods. While some dishes, like our black-eyed peas and cabbage or Instant Pot red beans and rice, might benefit from a softer bean texture (depending on preference), for Hoppin’ John, the integrity of the dried pea is often preferred.
Can You Use Something Other Than Black-Eyed Peas to Make Hoppin’ John?
While traditional Hoppin’ John is defined by black-eyed peas, you certainly can experiment with other legumes if you’re making it for personal enjoyment and not strict adherence to tradition. Beans like Northern beans or pinto beans could work as a substitute. However, it’s important to note that using a different type of bean will fundamentally alter the flavor profile and character of the dish. The distinctive earthy, slightly nutty flavor of black-eyed peas is central to Hoppin’ John.
If you choose to use other beans, you might find that the resulting dish, while delicious, tastes more like a general bean stew than classic Hoppin’ John. To get closer to the traditional taste, ensure you still incorporate the other key ingredients like smoked ham, a good broth, and the Southern spice blend. Adjust cooking times according to the type of dried bean you’re using, as different legumes have varying pressure cooking requirements.
Instant Pot Hoppin’ John Recipe
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Equipment
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1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 16 oz black-eyed peas, dry, bagged, not soaked
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cup ham, diced, or ham hock
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz. (petite preferred)
- 32 oz chicken broth, could use vegetable broth for vegetarian
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp thyme
- 2 cup kale, cut into medium size leaves, optional
- 2 cup rice, cook as directed separately
Instructions
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Turn your Instant Pot to the “Sauté” function. Add butter and allow it to melt. Then, add the diced onion, diced ham (if using diced ham; if using a ham hock, do not add it yet), minced garlic, cayenne, salt, pepper, thyme, and any other desired spices.
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Stir the mixture well until combined and the onions begin to soften and turn translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Press “Cancel” to turn your pot OFF. This prevents a “Burn” error.
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Add the can of diced tomatoes, the bag of dry black-eyed peas (or 16 oz of canned peas, though dry is highly recommended for texture), and chicken broth. Stir gently to combine. If using a ham hock, place it in the middle of the mixture now.
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Secure the lid and set the steam release valve to the “Sealing” position. Cook on “High Pressure” for 25 minutes. (Note: If using canned black-eyed peas, reduce pressure cook time to 12 minutes on high pressure, then proceed with a quick release.)
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Once the cooking cycle is complete, perform a quick release of the pressure. Carefully open the lid. Stir the Hoppin’ John; it will thicken further as it cools. You can serve it over rice as is. If you wish to add kale, gently press the kale leaves into the hot mixture, close the lid (no pressure), and let it sit for 5 minutes to wilt, or cook on high pressure for 4 more minutes.
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Cook rice separately according to package directions or your Instant Pot’s rice setting. Serve the Hoppin’ John over a generous bed of rice, optionally topped with smoked gouda cheese or a dash of hot sauce. Enjoy!
Recipe Video
A video demonstration for this recipe can be found on our blog to guide you through each step for perfect results.
Nutrition
Calories: 501kcal,
Carbohydrates: 72g,
Protein: 22g,
Fat: 13g,
Saturated Fat: 5g,
Cholesterol: 39mg,
Sodium: 1745mg,
Potassium: 806mg,
Fiber: 6g,
Sugar: 5g,
Vitamin A: 2565IU,
Vitamin C: 46.3mg,
Calcium: 109mg,
Iron: 4.2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
Elevating Your Hoppin’ John: Tips for Best Flavor
While our recipe provides a straightforward path to delicious Hoppin’ John, a few extra tips can truly enhance its flavor and make it unforgettable:
- Deglaze for Depth: After sautéing the aromatics and ham, you might notice browned bits stuck to the bottom of your Instant Pot. This is called “fond,” and it’s packed with flavor. Add a splash of broth and scrape these bits up with a wooden spoon before adding the rest of the liquid to prevent a “Burn” warning and add incredible depth to your stew.
- Seasoning to Taste: Always taste and adjust your seasoning after pressure cooking. The sodium content of ham and broth can vary, so a final pinch of salt, pepper, or a dash more cayenne can balance the flavors perfectly.
- A Touch of Acidity: A secret weapon for many Southern dishes is a splash of vinegar (apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar) at the very end. Just a teaspoon or two can brighten all the flavors and add a pleasant tang. Hot sauce, like a Louisiana-style hot sauce, serves a similar purpose while adding heat.
- Fresh Herbs: While dried thyme is used in the recipe, a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley or cilantro as a garnish can add a fresh, vibrant contrast to the rich stew.
What to Serve with Hoppin’ John: Completing the Lucky Meal
Hoppin’ John is a complete and satisfying meal on its own, but traditional accompaniments elevate the dining experience and further enhance its symbolic meaning:
- Cornbread: A quintessential Southern pairing, fluffy, golden cornbread is perfect for soaking up every last drop of the rich Hoppin’ John broth. You can easily make our Instant Pot cornbread recipe to serve alongside it for a truly authentic meal.
- Extra Greens: As leafy greens symbolize money, serving additional sautéed collard greens or mustard greens on the side is a wonderful way to amplify the New Year’s prosperity theme and add more healthy vegetables to your plate.
- Hot Sauce & Pickles: Offer a variety of hot sauces for those who enjoy an extra kick. Pickled jalapeños or other pickled vegetables can also provide a delightful tangy crunch that cuts through the richness of the stew.
- Fresh Onion or Scallions: A sprinkling of finely chopped red onion or green scallions adds a fresh, sharp counterpoint and a pop of color as a garnish.
The “Skippin’ Jenny” Tradition: Prosperity Beyond New Year’s Day
The good fortune doesn’t have to end on New Year’s Day! According to Southern tradition, eating the leftovers of Hoppin’ John on January 2nd transforms it into “Skippin’ Jenny.” This delightful custom brings a hope for an even better chance of prosperity, good luck, and a more frugal and resourceful year ahead. It’s a charming way to extend the holiday spirit and ensure every last bit of this delicious meal is enjoyed.
More Delicious Instant Pot Recipes to Try
If you’ve loved the ease and flavor of this Instant Pot Hoppin’ John recipe, you’re in for a treat! Our blog is packed with simple and satisfying pressure cooker meals that make weeknight dinners a breeze. Don’t miss these other popular Instant Pot dinner recipes:
- Pressure Cooker Chili with Dry Beans: Super easy to throw together from scratch, perfect for a hearty and warm meal.
- Healthy Instant Pot Pinto Bean Soup: A wholesome and flavorful soup that’s incredibly simple to prepare.
- Instant Pot French Onion Soup: Rich, savory, and a fraction of the time of traditional methods.
We hope you enjoy this fantastic Instant Pot Hoppin’ John recipe and that it brings you plenty of luck and deliciousness throughout the year. Happy cooking!