Slow Cooker Hoppin John Recipe

Slow cooker Hoppin John is easy to throw together for the New Year. This black eyed peas dinner is said to bring you luck! If you loved our Instant Pot Hoppin John recipe but want to cook your one pot meal low and slow this is it!

Hoppin’ John Recipe

I heard about this dish about 5 years ago from a friend. Honestly I had never had it until then. It was part of her childhood and I was so curious so I had to make it. Do you love our Crockpot black eyed peas? Maybe you’re not sure because you’ve never tried them. Well, paired with diced tomatoes and ham is a great combo.

This is a fabulous leftover ham recipe you can throw together too. OR pick up a few ham hocks and get ready for some YUM. It is super versatile with rice or that can be left out for less carbs and more of a stew like dish. You’ve gotta’ make it!

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

Crockpot Hoppin John

Let’s talk about what this dish is all about anyway. It is kinda’ a funny name so I do get it. I only heard about it a few years ago myself but anything that is supposed to bring luck reels me right in.

There are many variations to this dish of course. Some add white rice as you see here, and others leave that out. When I made it in my pressure cooker I didn’t use that. I thought having both version would be helpful, and delicious choices.

Vegetarian Hoppin John Recipe

This is what we used for this batch you see here. If you wanted to leave the rice out it would still be quite good. Add more broth and serve it more like a soup than a casserole style dish. Leave out the vegetables you like, or swap out your favorites. Okra would work well, and/or chopped kale works too.

Ingredients

1. Frozen or canned and drained black eye peas
2. Onion and bell pepper
3. Celery is a nice add in there too
4. Chicken stock or vegetable broth
5. Leftover ham works great for this or leave out entirely
6. Diced tomatoes canned, I like petite
7. Uncooked white rice (optional)
8. A variety of seasonings are added

Can you make this with ham hocks?

Absolutely and I actually recommend that you do. This is how to cook ham hocks at the same low and slow so the meat pulls away from the bone and adds a huge amount of flavor to the dish. So much so that you likely won’t need any salt and pepper at all.

Variations

If you want to add a bit of heat you can use hot sauce, chili powder and/or red pepper flakes. Adjust as desired. I think the best way to make it spicy is sriracha. That comes in liquid and dry form, either works.

When using a Crock pot to cook black eyed peas and rice you can really just walk away once you add everything in.

If you do add ham hocks it is best to remove the meat off the bone about halfway thru but if you didn’t it wouldn’t hurt. Slow cooked all day the flavors really meld together well and is the perfect comfort food. Just cover and cook on high for a total of about 5 hours and serve!

Here’s how it is done. There is also a printable version in the recipe card below you can keep handy.

How to Make Hoppin John with Greens

• Put ham hock(s) in the middle of pot with all other ingredients EXCEPT the rice. Add any other seasonings you like at this time including black pepper, garlic powder, and any heat.
• Cover and cook on high 3 hours. Remove ham bones and cut meat off bone, return to the pot and stir contents together.
• If you want to add rice sprinkle it in now. Gently submerge into the liquid below.
• Cover and continue cooking on high for 2 more hours or until rice is tender to your liking.

Here’s what it looks like when it is done and ready to serve. As is you really don’t need a side dish. You could make some air fryer garlic bread or easy dinner rolls though if you wanted.

What do I do with leftover Hoppin John?

Store what is left in airtight containers. The next day it will likely be quite thick. You can thin it out with some broth and reheat in the microwave.

OR you can leave it thick and form it into sort of fried mashed potatoes. Heat a bit of oil in a pan on the stovetop and fry them up! Get them crispy on the outside and serve with a bit of cheese melted on top. YUM.

What else can I make with leftover ham?

Want to make this even quicker? A few years ago I experimented with making black eyed peas and ham from dry. I poured the bag in with some water and pressure cooked them until they were tender.

• Tomorrow night give our Crockpot ham and potato soup a whirl. It is a HUGE hit every time I make this at my house.
• Our loaded baked potato soup is always a winner as well.
• You could even throw some into our slow cooker funeral potatoes to amp them up another level.

That was great, but when I heard of this dish I went a step further! Adding tomatoes and meat at the end I came up with a different version without rice here.

You can follow our pressure cooker Hoppin John recipe (link above) for that variation if you’d like as well. It is fabulous and doesn’t take very long at all even using dry peas to begin with! Try them both and see which you prefer this year or day.

Looking for other Crockpot ham recipes you might like? If you have a bag of leftovers after the holidays you might be tired of sandwiches. We have a lot of goodies to choose from, this is only the beginning.