Pea Salad

Ingredient Tips For Pea Salad

This easy pea salad is a great side dish for potlucks or holiday meals since it’s quick to prep and should be made ahead of time. We often serve it alongside our Easter ham or Thanksgiving dinner.

• Peas: You can use either fresh or frozen peas for this recipe. My preference is frozen as they’re sweet, tender, and don’t require cooking. To make pea salad with fresh garden peas, shell them and boil them for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Drain well and cool completely.
• Bacon: Either cook and crumble bacon or use pre-cooked bacon or bacon bits. If using pre-cooked or bacon bits, I microwave them for a minutes or so to crisp them before adding.
• Cheese: I love sharp cheddar in this recipe, but any variety of cheese can be used.
• Onion: Green onion or sweet white onion can be used in place of red onion.

Dressing: Pea salad dressing is a simple mixture of mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, and seasoning.

Holly’s Tips

• No need to cook frozen peas for this pea salad – run them under cold water to thaw.
• Any frozen peas work, but tiny peas, sometimes called baby peas or baby sweet peas, contain more sugar and are preferred.
• The dressing in the recipe is quick and adds the best flavor; you can replace it with Ranch dressing or premade coleslaw dressing in a pinch.
• Chopped boiled eggs are a great addition.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. This pea salad does not freeze well.