Vegetarian Black Eyed Peas Recipe (Hoppin’ John)
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.This vegetarian black eyed peas recipe for Hoppin’ John is a healthy and meatless version of the southern classic. Onions, bell pepper, celery, and kale are sautéed in spices with black eyed peas and a smoky finish served with brown rice. It’s a complete meal in one pan!

This easy vegetarian Hoppin’ John recipe is a delicious and nutritious weeknight meal. It’s made with brown rice, tons of veggies, and black eyed peas. Packed full of flavor this is a great family meal that everyone will love!
This is a great recipe for when you don’t know what to have for dinner. It’s made with pantry basics and comes together so quickly, but tastes like it’s been cooking all day.
We lightened up the traditional ham hock version of Hoppin John with a vegetarian friendly option that is so hearty, even the meat eaters you serve it to will love it!
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👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Packed with fresh veggies
- Perfect dish for new year’s day or anytime of the year
- Made in the southern style, but plant based
- Vegan Friendly
- Gluten Free
- Tastes Great
- Super Filling Dish
- Best vegetarian black eyed peas recipe ever!
🥘 Ingredients
This vegan black eyed peas recipe calls for simple ingredients that can be found at most grocery stores. For step by step instructions and nutrition information, see the recipe card below.

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic and Salt: The base of flavor for this tasty meal! You can also use coconut oil if you don’t have olive oil.
- Veggies: I used onions, red bell pepper, celery, and kale but you can really use any veggies you have on hand. Baby spinach or mustard greens would work great instead of the kale,
- Brown Basmati Rice: I like to cook the rice in vegetable stock for additional flavor, but you can cook it in water as well.
- Spices: You’ll need smoked paprika (or liquid smoke), regular paprika, dried thyme, crushed red pepper flakes (or hot sauce or cayenne pepper), and black pepper for this black eyed pea recipe. If you don’t have this particular mix of spices, cajun seasoning would also work. Feel free to add a bay leaf for more flavor.
- Canned black-eyed peas: Because you can’t make Hoppin Johns without this key ingredient! I like to use canned beans to save on time, but you can use dried beans as well. Just be sure to soak peas if you’re using them dry before cooking them. If you don’t have black eyed peas, black beans or pinto beans would both work in this recipe.
- Toppings: Diced tomato and green onions add brightness and crunch to finish this black eyed pea stew.
🔪 Instructions
StoveTop
Step 1: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery; sauté 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook 2-3 more minutes.

Step 2: Cook brown rice according to package directions. For best results, cook in vegetable broth for more flavor. Add spices (salt through black pepper) and kale to the large skillet, bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat, cook another 5-10 minutes until combined.

Step 3: Add black eyed peas and cook another 5-10 minutes until tender.

Step 4: Add in cooked rice, stir until combined. Add more salt and spices to taste, if needed.

Step 5: Serve this healthy black eyed peas recipe with diced tomato and green onions for topping.

Instant Pot
To cut down on the cooking time, you can also make pressure cooker or instant pot black eyed peas. To make in the instant pot:
- Press the sauté button and saute the onion, olive oil and garlic for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients into the instant pot
- Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, natural release for 10 minutes, then manual release pressure.
❓Recipe FAQs
Typically, Hoppin John isn’t super healthy because it’s high in saturated fat and calories. But this version is much healthier than the classic recipe for a few reasons:
1) Loaded with Vegetables: This vegetarian Hoppin Johns is loaded with nutrient rich veggies. Onions and garlic are naturally anti-fungal and antibacterial, making them a natural antibiotic. Bell peppers are an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium. Kale is a superfood with a variety of nutrients and celery contains vitamins A, K, and C, and potassium and folate.
2) Low in Fat and Calories: The traditional Hoppin’ John recipe calls for bacon. Leaving the bacon out of this vegan version reduces the fat and calories. Each hearty serving is only 383 calories, with 21g of protein and only 1g of saturated fat.
3) High in Fiber: Black eyed peas are high in plant protein and fiber. They help reduce the risk of heart disease, and cholesterol. Additionally, the traditional version uses Carolina yellow rice. Brown rice is used in this to increase the fiber.
Black-eyed peas are part of the family of beans & peas. Although called a pea, it is actually a bean. Black-eyed peas are packed with health benefits: they contain anti-inflammatory compounds, fiber, and protein.
Hoppin’ John has it’s roots in the Southern US and is often known as Carolina peas and rice. Made with black eyed peas, rice, onion and seasoned, it’s a simple dish that’s made in one pot. Traditionally bacon is added, but this is obviously omitted in my vegan version.
According to the website History, in their article Hoppin’ John A New Year’s Tradition, there are several different stories regarding where the name Hoppin’ John originated. Hoppin’ John is a dish that originated in South Carolina during the slave trade.
One story says that it got its name from an old man named Hoppin’ John who sold peas and rice in Charleston. The most plausible story according to historians is that the name derives from the french phrase for dried peas, “pois pigeons.”
This traditional southern dish is eaten on New Year’s Day in many southern homes because it represents luck in the coming year. Hoppin John is often served with cornbread and collard greens, representing gold and paper money, while the black eyed peas represent coins.
🧊 How To Store
This is a great dish to make a large batch of as it keeps really well! Let any leftovers cool completely, then place in the fridge in an airtight container. It will keep for around 5 days in the fridge, and can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. It is great eaten when just cooked, but you can also have this as a cold lunch (like a cold salad!).
👨👩👧 How To Serve
This quick vegetarian black eyed peas recipe is one bowl meal. It’s full of vegetables, protein, and whole grains. But if you’re looking to go the traditional route or want to serve it on New Year’s Day for good luck, serve it with golden cornbread and collard greens. Top with diced onions and fresh tomatoes.
If you’re making this recipe for kids, feel free to reduce the amount of kale (if your kids aren’t a fan), or you can chop up the kale super fine so that when it cooks down it resembles more of an herb than a leafy green! You can also reduce the spices to suit your kids’ palates.
💭 Expert Tips
- You don’t need a lot of oil to sauté the vegetables. Adding too much oil increases the fat and calories. You need just enough to coat the vegetables, 1 tablespoon.
- Add the garlic after the other vegetables have sautéed. This will keep the garlic from burning and enhance the garlic flavor.
- Brown rice can take 45-55 minutes to cook. Start cooking the brown rice before you begin chopping your vegetables for this Vegan Hoppin’ John recipe so that is ready when it’s time to add it to the sauté pan.
- Drain and rinse the black eyed peas before adding them to the pan.
- The smoky paprika is what gives this dish a smoky flavor with using bacon. You can increase this spice if you like a smokier finish. Or if you want that meaty bacon texture, feel free to add in some diced vegan bacon.
- To make this vegetarian black eyed peas and greens for kids: cut back or remove the crushed pepper and smoked paprika, and chop the veggies up super small.

🍲 More Vegan And Vegetarian Recipes!
- Vegan Black Bean Burgers
- Vegan Butternut Squash Chili
- Vegan Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe by Yup It’s Vegan
📋 Recipe Card
Vegetarian Black Eyed Peas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 3 red bell peppers diced
- 4 celery sticks diced
- 5 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp salt more to taste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp regular paprika
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 6 oz box baby kale chopped
- ½ cup uncooked brown basmati rice
- 3 15-ounce cans unsalted black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 3 chopped tomato
- chopped green onions for topping
Instructions
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add oil; swirl to coat.
- Add onion, bell pepper, and celery; sauté 10 minutes.
- Add garlic; cook 2-3 more minutes.
- Cook brown rice according to package directions.
- Add spices (salt through black peppeand kale to skillet, cook another 5-10 minutes until combined.
- Add black eyed peas and cook another 5-10 minutes.
- Add in cooked rice, stir until combined.
- Serve with diced tomato and green onions for topping
Notes
- You don’t need a lot of oil to sauté the vegetables. Adding too much oil increases the fat and calories. You need just enough to coat the vegetables, 1 tablespoon.
- Add the garlic after the other vegetables have sautéed. This will keep the garlic from burning and enhance the garlic flavor.
- Brown rice can take 45-55 minutes to cook. Start cooking the brown rice before you begin chopping your vegetables for the Vegan Hoppin’ Johns so that is ready when it’s time to add it to the sauté pan.
- Drain and rinse the black eyed peas before adding them to the pan.
- The smoky paprika is what gives this dish a smoky flavor with using bacon. You can increase this spice if you like a smokier finish.
- Cut back or remove the crushed pepper and smoked paprika if you want to make it subtler for the kids.
One of the best black-eyed-peas recipes I have ever come across. This veggie-packed meal was easy to make and my whole family enjoyed it!
Aw yay! Thanks Kate – so happy to hear that!
I love black eyes beans and other beans, and this is definitely a feel-good and healthy dish! Sounds so delicious!
Totally!! Enjoy!
What a delicious and protein packed dish. I will definitely be trying this.
Thanks Dannii! You will love it!
This was absolutely delicious when we had friends over. Everyone loved it!
Aw yay, so happy to hear that Amanda!
These were absolutely superb! Can’t wait to make again. Thank you! 🙂
Aw yay! Thanks so much Kristen – so happy to hear that!
Wonderful Hoppin John’s black eyed peas. I didn’t use all the spices and I used a ham hock, therefore it was not vegan. But it was healthy and delicious anyway.
Aw yay! I’m so happy to hear that!
A wonderful dish for luck in the new year! I loved the contrast between the hot main dish and the cool tomatoes and green onion for garnish. I left out the red pepper flakes, as my 9 month old grandson will be eating it. Thank you for a great recipe!
Aw yay!! I’m so glad you loved this recipe Vivian! Thanks for letting me know!
It’s says 383 calories per serving. What amount is considered a serving? A cup? Half a cup? It would be really helpful if you could include that information for those of us keeping track of our calorie intake. I really like your recipes.
Hi Mark! I think one serving is about 1.5 cups of food! Hope that helps – so glad you’re enjoying my recipes! 🙂
My husband and I enjoyed your rice, black-eyed peas and kale recipe even without the smokey paprika. I intend to try your other recipes.
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that Carol! You’ll have to keep me posted on how my other recipes turn out for you! 🙂
Oh, this sounds so flavorful! We usually eat lentil dishes on New Year’s Day to bring us luck but will try your recipe next time!
I love hearing about everyone’s New Years & Holiday traditions! I hope your whole family loves this recipe and that it does bring you luck in the new year! 🙂
This recipe is awesome! As a local Charlestonian, I take making Hoppin’ John seriously, especially on New Years Day. I can’t wait to try this new recipe this year.
Thank you so much Aimee!! I can’t wait to hear how this recipe turns out for you!
This dish looks so colourful and full of flavour, oh and healthy too. Perfect!
Thank you so much Amanda! I’m sure you will love it when you try it!
Oh man these are fantabulous! I have always been a black bean fan and I love this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
Yay!! Thanks so much Megan! I’m a huge black bean and black eyed pea fan too! 🙂