Get your new year off to the best start possible with this collection of 12 recipes. Each promises to add a bit of luck to your life, but even if they don’t, trust that it won’t be in vain. Featuring an assortment of sweet cakes, savory snacks and warming soups, your taste buds alone will definitely have a bright beginning.

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1. Almond Grape Tea Cake: Eating 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight is rumored to bring luck to each month of the coming year. This cake is an extra sweet way to enjoy a few of your allotment. (via Martha Stewart)

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2. French Market Vegetable and Lentil Stew (Vegan): Healthy, quick and budget friendly, this lentil stew is an auspicious way to kick off the new year. (via Vegan Miam)

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3. Orange Brandy Cake (Vasilopita): This moist, sweet cake is especially lucky for whomever finds the hidden coin in their slice. Regardless of the token, everybody wins. (via Afrodite’s Kitchen)

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4. Soba and Maitake Mushrooms in Soy Broth: For an extra dash of good fortune, try not to bite or otherwise cut the noodles as you slurp up this terrific soup. (via Bon Appétit)

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5. Spaghetti Carbonara With Black Kale: Greens plus pork is a recipe for two times the luck. With all the tasty elements going on — pancetta, pasta, cheese — kale has (almost) never looked so good. (via Williams Sonoma)

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6. White Pepper Parmesan Coins: Food resembling money is said to be especially lucrative, so it might be tempting to hoard all of these cheesy crackers for your own enjoyment. We suspect doing so might bring some bad karma — please proceed with caution. (via Simple Bites)

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7. Hearty Bean, Green and Grain Soup: Loaded with beans, lentils, greens AND whole grains, a bowlful of this hearty soup covers nearly all of the nutritional bases. (via Julie’s Jazz)

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8. Red Pepper and Collard Green Potstickers: A little saute and spice is the trick to transforming collard greens into a tasty dumpling filling while respecting their Southern roots at the same time. (via Southern Soufflé)

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9. Rosemary and Olive Oil Cornbread: Between the olive oil and cornmeal, there is a ton of (lucky) gold happening in this savory cornbread. (via A Clean Bake)

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10. Slow Cooked Black Eyed Peas: A spoonful of liquid smoke amplifies the bacon flavor in this traditional New Year’s Day side dish. Major bonus: The slow cooker makes these black eyed peas a cinch to whip up. (via The Wanderlust Kitchen)

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11. Jamaican Saltfish fritters: You’ll hit the trifecta of good fortune with these fritters: gold-colored, round and made with fish. Dip these crispy-yet-fluffy-centered orbs into pepper sauce for an experience straight from the Caribbean. (via Immaculate Bites)

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12. Chocolate Cake Donuts: Ring-shaped foods like donuts and bagels resemble a year coming full circle. And that is the perfect excuse to indulge in a few of these bad boys. (via The Stiers Aesthetic)

Share your New Year’s Day food traditions — lucky or not — with us below.

Heather Sage
Heather Sage is a gluten-free recipe developer and freelance writer living in Orlando by way of the Silicon Valley. When she isn’t playing around with alternative flours in the kitchen, she can be found tackling DIY projects around the house or exploring her neighborhood. Check out her gluten-free recipe blog, A Sage Amalgam.