Vegan Hoppin' John

A bowl of Hoppin' John with collard greens and cornbread on the side.

5 from 5 votes

A classic Southern but vegan Hoppin' John--a savory, sumptuous preparation of black-eyed peas and rice with thyme and smoky sage that's typically eaten for good luck. Gluten-free and nut-free.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Southern American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 318kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Ingredients

3 cups cooked black-eyed peas (begin with 1 cup dried black-eyed peas. Or use two 15 oz cans or a 16-oz bag of frozen black eyed peas)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion (finely diced)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
6 oz mushrooms (a mix or one kind is fine--I used shiitake and crimin mushrooms, finely chopped)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sage
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (use more if you want this spicy)
2 bay leaves
12 oz vegan burger (optional. I used Impossible burger, but Beyond or meaty vegan crumbles from any brand are fine)
3 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari if gluten-free. Leave it out if soy-free)
1½ cups long grain white rice (you can use brown rice, and factor in a longer cooking time. See notes. I used white rice)
4-5 cups vegetable stock
¼ cup parsley (finely chopped)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil and add the onions with some salt and ground black pepper. Saute over medium-high until the onions start to become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the garlic, stir fry for a few seconds, then add in the mushrooms, vinegar, thyme, sage, red pepper flakes and bay leaves. Stir and cook until the liquid from the mushrooms has mostly evaporated.
Add the vegan burger to the pot and cook it until it browns. Make sure you break it up with the ladle into little bits.
Add the black-eyed peas to the pot and mix well. If using cooked or canned dry peas, you can just skip over the next step.
If you use frozen black eyed peas, as I did, they will need to cook a little longer in the pot. In that case add ½ a cup of vegetable stock to the pot, bring it to a boil, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until the peas are almost tender.
Add the soy sauce or tamari to the pot, stir it in, then add the rice to the pot. Stir it in.
Add 3 cups of vegetable stock to the pot and season with salt to taste. When cooking rice, always make sure the water is a little saltier than the amount of saltiness you'd like in your finished dish.
Bring the stock to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer (I put it at the lowest point on my large burner) and cover the pot. Let the rice cook 25 minutes. Stir gently once halfway through cooking to make sure all the rice grains cook evenly.
After the rice has cooked, let it stand, undisturbed and still covered, for 10 more minutes before you serve.
Garnish with parsley before you eat.

Notes

Nutrition info includes vegan burger.
If using brown rice, add 4.5 cups vegetable stock and cook the rice for 45 minutes to an hour until tender.

Nutrition