New Year’s traditional good-luck dishes that are perfect for tailgating

The final days of 2025 are ticking past, and we’re nearly to the New Year. We’re also counting down the days to the bigger bowl and College Football Playoffs matchups and the NFL postseason.

We all want our teams — and ourselves — to have good luck, and the New Year presents an opportunity for a good-luck themed menu featuring classic dishes and ingredients thought to bring good fortune. Here are three options that are tasty, can feed a tailgate crowd, and are allegedly lucky.

Pork is considered good luck because when pigs eat, they root forward, which symbolizes forward progress — and that’s also something we want to see from our teams. Cabbage, a leafy green, is one of many greens that symbolizes financial luck in New Year’s superstitions — and maybe good luck with the salary cap and contracts? You can really lean into the good luck foods and serve these on pretzel buns: A German New Year’s tradition is a soft pretzel representing luck, prosperity, and health in the New Year.

Recipe to try: Bratwurst-style pulled pork sliders

Hoppin’ John is a hearty stew featuring pork, black-eyed peas (considered lucky because they resemble coins), greens, rice, which symbolizes abundance, and it’s great for a tailgate because it can be carried and served in a crock pot. Bring along some cornbread — it’s traditionally served with Hoppin’ John, and the gold color of the cornbread symbolizes … well, you guessed it … gold.

Recipe to try: Slow cooker Hoppin’ John

Round cakes, like donuts and Bundt cakes, represent the year coming full circle and completion, but also represents continuity and endless fortune. Plus, they’re delicious. It’s a win/win. You can also tailor these to your favorite team or their opponent — for instance, maybe Falcons fans would want to serve beignets on Sunday when they face the Saints in the last game of the regular season. You can obviously make donuts yourself, but they’re pretty labor-intensive, so don’t feel bad about store-bought. All donuts are good donuts.

Recipe to try: Lucky chocolate baked donuts

Toast to the New Year and bring a little more luck to your favorite team by putting together a festive pomegranate mimosa with the lucky seeds as a garnish (they symbolize abundance and prosperity in the New Year). Or make it a mocktail with sparkling cider.

Are these dishes guaranteed to bring your team playoff success? No … but it doesn’t hurt to try to send a little extra luck their way and eat some tasty food in the process.