Foods To Eat On NYE To Bring Good Luck For 2025

Hoping for a lucky 2025? It all begins with your plate on the final night of the year. All around the world, different cultures ring in a new era by eating specific foods believed to bring good fortune. From the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes when the clock strikes midnight to serving a whole fish and smashing pomegranates, set yourself up for a successful year by adding these good luck foods to your New Year’s Eve menu.

6 Good Luck Foods For New Year’s Eve

12 Grapes

One of the world’s most famous New Year’s Eve culinary traditions comes from Spain, where it’s customary to eat 12 grapes to the rhythm of 12 chimes at midnight (one for each month of the year). Known as ‘las doce uvas de la suerte’ or ‘the twelve grapes of luck’, the goal is to finish all your grapes before the chimes finish ringing, and as superstition goes, those who are successful will be rewarded with good luck for the year ahead.

Pork

In many cultures, pork is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day to inspire progress throughout the year to come. The reason for this goes back to the pig itself: unlike chickens and turkeys, who scratch backwards, pigs root forward to find food. Plus, the meat is rich in fat, which is believed to symbolise prosperity. Pork is often paired with sauerkraut, a fermented seasonal food also thought to bring good luck due to its round shape and green colour, which is often associated with financial success.

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Tamales

In Mexico, families often spend New Year’s Eve making tamales together: a traditional dish which sees corn dough stuffed with fillings like meat and cheese. Not only is the experience of creating them with loved ones believed to encourage strong bonds, the golden corn masa represents wealth – better still if they’re filled with pork.

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Pomegranates

In Greek folklore, the pomegranate has long been seen as a symbol of strength, luck and renewal, with its abundant ruby-like seeds. Since ancient times, Greek families have hung pomegranates in their house from Christmas until New Year’s Eve, at which point one person smashes the fruit to bless the home with health and happiness. Some do it when the clock strikes 12, while others leave the tradition until New Year’s Day.

Black-Eyed Peas

There are many different stories as to where the tradition of eating black-eyed peas on NYE came from, but all over the world the legume is viewed as a symbol of good fortune. The dried beans are a cheap ingredient, hence why they’re said to represent humility and lack of vanity, echoed by the expression ‘eat poor on New Year’s, and eat fat the rest of the year’. There’s also the notion that they loosely resemble coins, and when cooked their expansion represents expanding wealth. Use them to jazz up a salad, stir them into a hearty stew or cook them the Southern way: simmered in stock and spices and served with cornbread.

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Noodles

A popular Lunar New Year dish, noodles are thought to bring long life in many Asian countries – especially if you can keep them unbroken. In Japan, it’s common to eat toshikoshi soba on New Year’s Eve, a type of buckwheat noodle cooked in a steaming broth of daishi and soy sauce, while in Chinese culture yi mein noodles are popular, best enjoyed stir fried.