Classic Hoppin’ John

A southern staple that’s perfect for New Year’s Day or any cozy winter evening, it’s a wonderful combo of black eye peas, rice, and flavorful seasonings.

Cauliflower Lima Bean Au Gratin

Creamy and indulgent, this side dish combines cauliflower, lima beans, and cheesy goodness to add a touch of comfort to any holiday spread.

Cozy Minestrone

A hearty soup filled with seasonal vegetables, pasta, and beans, it’s perfect for warming up any chilly winter night.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Black Bean Aquafaba

A decadent dessert option that’s surprisingly healthy and chocolatey.

Warm Wild Green Salad with Pecan Dressing

This crunchy salad featuring seasonal greens and crispy pecans is drizzled with a flavorful dressing and ideal for winter gatherings.

Camellia’s Shrimp, Andouille and White Bean Cassoulet

A festive New Orleans dish, this cassoulet is a wonderful Réveillon main, combining shrimp, spicy andouille sausage, and creamy white beans.

Pantry Red Beans & Rice

When you need a break from holiday season party food, turn to this simple yet satisfying dish made with pantry staples.

Buttermilk Cornbread in Cast Iron Skillet

Bake some cornbread with a twist! This Buttermilk Cornbread is beyond good served warm from a cast iron skillet. Brown the butter first for a fantastic flavor.

Potato Salad with Chickpea Aquafaba Mayo

A lighter potato salad with chickpea aquafaba mayo, mustard, herbs, and veggies for a flavorful plant-based side.

Cauliflower Lima Bean Au Gratin

Or, for a lighter option, whip up a cheesy Cauliflower Lima Bean Au Gratin with fresh cauliflower, lima beans, creamy cheese sauce, and crispy breadcrumbs on top.

Southern Summer Succotash

No southern meal is complete without succotash. This Southern Summer Succotash features fresh veggies like corn, okra, peppers, onion sautéed in bacon drippings, and lima beans.

Lady Pea Salad

Salads are always a hit at potlucks. Lady Pea Salad combines lady cream peas, fresh herbs, lettuce, and a bright vinaigrette for a simple yet satisfying salad.

Zippy Lentil Salad

For heartier flavor, try Zippy Lentil Salad with collard greens, chopped veggies, olives, and a lemon-herb dressing over lentils.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Black Bean Aquafaba

A perfectly moist chocolate zucchini bread made with whipped black bean aquafaba for a fluffy texture and fudgy crumb.

Photo by Chris Granger.

If your holiday feast includes a turkey, you’re in for a treat on the day of your big celebration. And if you’re resourceful and appreciate eating “nose-to-tail” eating, you’ll also benefit in the days following — because you’ve got the makings for many delicious dishes to come.

Every part of the turkey (whether it’s roasted, smoked, or fried), from the carcass, giblets, and necks, to legs and leftover meat, offers the opportunity to add richness, flavor, and extra protein to dishes like gumbo, beans, chili, and more. Of course, the same philosophy applies to a holiday ham! From ham bones and ham hocks to shanks and meat, there are so many tasty ways to use the leftovers.

Check out some favorite recipes that use leftover holiday turkey and ham.

Pableaux’s Turkey Bone Gumbo

Pableaux Johnson of The Red Bean Road Show shares his personal turkey gumbo recipe. Delicious! Photo by Chris Granger.

Red Beans with Smoked Turkey Legs

Chef Isaac Woo of Catahoula Catering in Denver, Colorado is a Louisiana native who loves to make his red beans with smoked turkey legs.

Turkey Black Bean Pumpkin Chili

Hearty and comforting, this recipe makes good use of leftover holiday favorites like cooked, cubed turkey and solid-pack pumpkin.

Great Northern Beans & Ham

This tasty recipe comes courtesy of Chef Jennifer Hill Booker. Featuring diced ham and a large ham bone, it brings amazing flavor to white beans.

Simple Slow Cooker Blackeye Peas

This is a simple but delicious blackeye pea recipe made in the slow cooker, with a ham hock or diced ham. With no hands-on attention required, it’s a perfect post-holiday dish.

Simple Southern Lima Beans

A great recipe for deliciously creamy butter beans that’s sure to satisfy. Serve over hot cooked rice and alongside your favorite cornbread or biscuits.

Every holiday gathering is a chance to celebrate family, traditions, and the love that brings us together. This collection of flavorful, homemade sides is sure to bring back memories, offer up something new, and please all who are seated ’round the table. Whether you’re serving up requested favorites, or preparing classic recipes with a modern twist, planning and cooking for the holidays is a gift to treasure.

Bourbon-Bacon Field Peas with Collards

Featuring the combo of a favorite spirit and a beloved salt-cured meat, this decadent, downhome side will complement any main dish — from turkey to roast to ham.

Simple Southern Lima Beans

Buttery goodness at its best, Simple Southern Lima Beans bring comfort food to the holidays.

Cranberry Barbecue Beans

Sweet, savory, and bursting with cranberries, these barbecue beans are begging to be served alongside your holiday ham.

Creamy Green Baby Lima Bean and Shrimp Casserole

Right out of the oven, this browned, bubbly casserole makes a delicious addition to any holiday table.

Warm Wild Green Salad with Pecan Dressing

Made with your choice of turnip greens, mustard greens, collards or kale, this salad features a crunchy, sweet, and tangy dressing.

Southern Blackeye Peas

Add a Southern accent to your holiday menu with these savory blackeye peas.

Red Beans and Rice Boudin Balls with Dipping Sauce

With lots of Cajun and Creole flavor wrapped up in one amazing appetizer, boudin balls are a great starter for any festive holiday meal.

‘Tis the season to celebrate with intention — and hosting a festive dinner party or Reveillon feast for friends, neighbors and family is a great way to pull out all the stops. Invite those whose company you enjoy the most, and plan a menu that includes one or two truly special dishes like the ones featured here — recipes that require a little extra time and effort but are worth all the love you put into them. Set a colorful, glittery table, let the wine and champagne flow freely, and treat yourself and your lucky guests to the kind of delicious mains that are worthy of becoming an annual tradition.

Lamb Shanks with Garlic & Butter Beans

Lamb Shanks with Garlic & Butter Beans is one of those incredibly flavorful entreés that makes a gorgeous presentation and a beautiful meal. A savory recipe from Chef Jennifer Hill Booker’s latest cookbook Dinner Déja Vu, it features slow cooked Camellia Brand Large Lima Beans (also known as butter beans) and fork-tender lamb shanks in a rich, creamy sauce. Made with garlic, shallots, brandy, ripe tomatoes, and copious amounts of white wine, it’s actually an easy-to-follow recipe, and any home cook can tackle it with a little time and patience. You’ll need a large dutch oven (at least an 8-qt.) with a tight-fitting lid because it simmers first on the stovetop, and then gets baked in the oven, and you should plan for about 4 hours of cook time. (Keep in mind that while a dutch oven is doing the work, that’s hands-off cook time that allows you to prep other parts of your menu.) The wonderful smells wafting from your kitchen will be so tempting, everyone will have trouble waiting to sit down at the table before digging in.

And since Lamb Shanks with Garlic & Butter Beans is both a main and side dish all in one pot, you can simply add a green salad, some crusty bread or soft dinner rolls and a few bottles of your favorite red wine. Your guests will be talking about how delicious it was long after the last plate is cleared.

Cassoulet

Another dinner party-worthy recipe for a rich, slow cooked bean casserole is Chef Jennifer Hill Booker’s fabulous Cassoulet, also from her Dinner Déja Vu cookbook. Featuring four different kinds of pork — smoked ham hocks, boneless pork shoulder, salt pork and Andouille sausage — as well as two pounds of Camellia Brand Pinto Beans and fresh herbs and vegetables, this heartiest of dishes will feed a large crowd of party guests.

You’ll need to start prepping the day before you plan to serve it, but the extra time and care involved is worth every bite. Like the Lamb Shanks & Butter Beans recipe, you’ll need a large dutch oven (at least a 6-qt.) with a tight-fitting lid, as well as about 6 hours to cook (plus more for prep time). After simmering the Cassoulet on the stove and then baking it in the oven, a rich brown crust of bread crumbs adds the finishing touch. With unbelievable flavor and the creamiest pintos ever, this dish is a total show-stopper.

Garlicky Shrimp & Blackeye Peas

Our Garlicky Shrimp & Blackeye Peas dish is also perfect for seasonal celebrations and get-togethers — especially New Year’s. Throughout the South, blackeye peas are popular New Year’s fare for the promise of luck and money (and because they taste so good).

In this recipe, we flavored Camellia Brand Blackeye Peas with bacon and Andouille sausage, lots of garlic and chicken stock, and made them extra special by topping with seasoned, sautéed shrimp cooked in butter, more garlic, lemon juice and white wine. Putting these two Southern favorites together in one dish — blackeye peas and Gulf shrimp — makes for a wonderful combination that everyone will love.

Pan-Seared Snapper with Red Bean Sauce

Another elegant choice is Pan-Seared Snapper with Red Bean Sauce. For the sauce, perfectly cooked Creole Red Beans are added to tomatoes, shallots and chicken stock, puréed in a blender, and then simmered on the stove with whipping cream. Seared snapper fillets are drizzled with the sauce and sprinkled with cubed, browned tasso. Talk about decadent! It’s a fabulous new way to enjoy your favorite red beans.

This holiday season, let one or more of these delicious dishes grace your dinner table, and make your festive dinner party a truly memorable occasion. Looking for great appetizers to serve before the special meal? These will create a colorful spread.