So you’ve read our New Year’s Lucky Foods post, and are ready to plan your menu. Don’t know where to start? We have lots of suggestions on this post of Lucky Foods recipes for New Year’s & plenty of Lucky Food menu ideas. Some you can even eat on New Year’s Eve when the clock strikes midnight.
Lucky Food Menu Ideas – New Year’s Eve Appetizers:
No chicken wings or mini meatballs on this menu! Remember that chickens scratch backwards and cows stay still, so avoid both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Plan appetizers with eggs, veggies, pork, fish, shrimp, or cheese. Figs, grapes, and pomegranates are also good options. Add in some Avocados as they are said to represent prosperity and good fortune.
So just think of your favorite appetizers that include at least one of these lucky foods.
Here are some popular appetizer options that include 1 or more New Years lucky foods:
- Pigs in a blanket
- Hummus
- Deviled eggs
- Sushi
- Onion Soup (recipe from Princess Cruise Line)
- Smoked Fish dip
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Sausage, peppers & onions
- Baked brie / brie cups
- Cheese dip or cheese platter
- Shrimp cocktail
- Spinach and artichoke dip (Olive Garden recipe)
- Bacon wrapped dates
- Roasted asparagus wrapped with proscuitto
- Spanakopita
- Fish tacos (Tyler Florence recipe)
- Texas caviar
- Antipasto platter with prosciutto, capicola, salami, cheeses, roasted peppers and olives (again things that are round are good luck, as well as pork.)
- Shrimp or pork dumplings
- Fish or shrimp quesadilla
- Spicy bean salsa
- Italian Sausage Stuffed Portobello mushrooms
- Jalapeno poppers
- Black-eyed pea nachos | Texas Caviar
- Smoked Salmon Mousse in Cucumber Boats
- Herring in cream sauce
- Smoked Salmon Quesadilla
- Cuban tamales
Lucky Foods Menu Ideas – Vegetarian Appetizer:
- Cheese Balls
- Brie en Croute
- Guacamole
- Stuffed cherry tomatoes
- Kale chips
- Chorizo-Stuffed Dates
- Figs Stuffed with Goat Cheese
- Bruschetta al Pomodoro
- Poblano & cheddar stuffed portobello mushrooms
- Stuffed peppers
- Soba noodles with tofu
- Caramelized Vidalia Onion Dip
- Baked Three Cheese Onion Dip with Chive & Pepperoncini
- Ricotta & roasted grape crostini
- Quinoa spinach artichoke phyllo bites
- Greek Salad (recipe from Azamara Cruise Line)
Lucky Foods Menu – Main Dish Ideas:
In our house, you typically get a bowl of white rice with black eyed peas (made with ham hocks), along with a side of greens and corn bread. Remember, anything made with corn meal is believed to represent good fortune because of its golden color.
Hoppin’ John (black eyed peas) is a popular choice because you can mix in rice, pork, greens, and beans – all on the approved lucky foods list. In a Spanish household, another dish would be Congri, which is white rice, black beans, and pork. If you don’t like black eyed peas, lentils are also popular due to their green color. Any rice, including risotto, is a good option as well, since they swell when you cook them, which represents abundance in the New Year.
Don’t forget about noodles. There are tons of recipes that call for noodles – just don’t cut the noodles – boil and serve them whole, which represents long life.
Fish…all fish are a good main course except for catfish, since they are bottom dwellers. Remember that the fish scales represent silver, and fish swim forward, good symbols for the new year. If you are only cooking for 1 or 2 people, fish tacos are quick and easy. Remember, no turkey, chicken, steak, lamb, lobster, or crab. The Japanese also have fish to bring prosperity and wealth, as well as shrimp for a long life.
So to recap, here are some Traditional New Year’s dinner and side dish ideas:
- Warm kale and lentil salad with sun-dried tomato
- Seafood Paella (recipe from Disney Cruise Line)
- Pork Tenderloin with sauerkraut & potatoes
- Honey baked ham (various recipes from Honey Baked Ham Co)
- Shrimp stir fry (with long noodles such as soba)
- Fish tacos with slaw
- Seafood Risotto (recipe from Disney Cruise Line)
- Enchilado de camarones (shrimp in Cuban tomato sauce)
- Shrimp or pork lettuce wraps
- Soy and ginger glazed salmon
- Italian Tagliare Assorito (a/k/a Chopped Salad – recipe from Celebrity Cruise Line)
- Fettucine alfredo (don’t forget to leave noodles whole for luck)
- Black eyed peas with collard greens
- Cuban style lentils
- Lentil and rice salad
- Hoppin John
- (Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s) Black Cod with Miso
- Kielbasa with sauerkraut
- Cuban style roast suckling pig
- Corn bread
- Collard Greens (11 recipes from Saveur Magazine)
- Shrimp and grits
- Smothered Pork Chops with Apples, Onions & Cabbage
- Oven roasted whole red snapper
- Mushroom risotto
- Pork stuffed cabbage rolls
- Tuna stuffed chilis
- Lentil Chili
- Sauerkraut
- Shrimp noodle bowl with kale
- Sole with Sundried Tomato Risotto
Soups: In the mood for soup? Make a fish stew, seafood boullabaisse, or minestrone soup with lots of beans and veggies in it. You can also include Italian or Andouille sausage. Ribollita is a popular bean and veggie stew in Tuscany, or try an Italian Fish soup. Another excellent soup to try is a Caribbean Pepper Pot Soup. Try a tomato bisque or a pumpkin soup. Perhaps a meatless chili with several types of beans or a hearty mushroom soup. In Romania, they make a cabbage soup called Ciroba de Varza.
Want to order out? For Chinese, order a pork fried rice or pork lo mein. BBQ – have ribs or pulled pork. Italian – have pasta with sausage, cheese lasagna, or a pepperoni and sausage pizza. Of course, the cheese pizza works too, I just try to keep sneaking that pig in there, since so many cultures believe it brings good luck both because it roots forward, which we all want to progress in the New Year, and also because its fatty meat is said to be symbolic of a fat wallet.
Lucky Foods – Desserts:
Round cakes, cookies, donuts, and pies all work. If you want to impress, make some chocolate truffles. Try Grand Marnier Chocolate Volcano cake, Raspberry creme brulee, Looking for more healthy, try Almond Butter Balls.
Lucky Foods – Breakfast:
If you didn’t eat enough at the stroke of midnight and are in the mood for breakfast, stay away from omelets and go for round-shaped items like quiche lorraine, donuts, crepes, pancakes, or bagels. (round representing coins again.) Of course, smoked salmon or white fish on your bagels combines the good luck from fish along with your round bagel.
We hope you enjoy these fun ideas, and wish you good fortune in the new year!
Other New Year’s posts that may interest you:
New Years Traditions and Superstitions
New Years Lucky Food Recipes (on Pinterest)
