This easy Creamy Pea Salad Recipe is one of our favorite side dishes. It combines sweet peas, crispy bacon, red onion, and cheddar cheese cubes in a creamy dressing. The slight crunch and saltiness from the bacon adds texture and flavor to this salad. This tasty salad comes together in less than ten minutes, and it is a favorite at family reunions, potlucks, barbecues, and picnics.
The Best Ever Pea Salad Recipe
Looking for the perfect dish to bring to a potluck or picnic? This delicious pea salad recipe is sure to impress with its combination of fresh peas, bacon, and creamy dressing. Follow our step-by-step instructions for a crowd-pleasing and easy-to-make dish. This salad is a nice change from potato salad or pasta salad. The only thing you need to do in advance is to defrost the peas. You don’t have to cook them, as frozen peas are already blanched to kill any enzymes.
Pea Salad Ingredients
For the dressing, you need sour cream, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper for the dressing.
For the pea salad, you need frozen baby peas, red onion, cheddar cheese, and cooked bacon.
How to Make Pea Salad
Whisk together the mayo, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Next, add the thawed peas, red onion, cheddar cheese, and crisp bacon. Stir gently to combine. Finally, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Tips
- Mix the dressing up to 3 days in advance and store in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Substitute hard-boiled eggs for the bacon, or better yet, add them. I have found that the best way to hard-boil eggs is to steam them. The water should boil, and the steam should be present before adding the eggs. Steam 15 minutes for large eggs and plunge into ice-cold water.
- Use frozen peas for this recipe. Canned peas do not hold well. Frozen peas have already been blanched. All you need to do is thaw them for a salad. The easiest way to do this is in the fridge for about 24 hours, but if you have forgotten, use the shower option on the kitchen sink and spray the frozen peas with cool water in a colander, letting the excess water drain down the sink.
- Mix this pea salad up to 2 days in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Reserve cooking and add the bacon until ready to serve so it stays crisp.
Recipe variations
- Use shredded cheddar or a shredded cheese blend instead of the cubed cheese.
- Add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- If you’re in a hurry, skip the dressing and add about 1/2 cup of your favorite ranch dressing.
- Add a little finely chopped red bell pepper or pimentos for extra color and flavor.
- Substitute finely chopped ham, turkey bacon, or Canadian bacon instead of the bacon.
- Add slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, or chopped walnuts for more texture and crunch.
- Try chopped fresh herbs like chives, dill, parsley, or mint.
Storage
This salad will stay fresh for up to three days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. If stored properly in the fridge, this dish can be prepared up to two days in advance. Reserve cooking and adding the bacon until right before serving. This will help ensure that the bacon stays crisp and tasty.
More Salad Recipes
Creamy Pea Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Pea Salad Dressing
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Pea Salad
- 16 ounces frozen sweet baby peas thawed
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese cut into very small cubes
- 6 slices bacon cooked crispy finely chopped
Instructions
- Whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Add thawed peas, red onion, cheddar cheese and bacon; stirring gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Use shredded cheddar cheese or a shredded cheese blend in place of the cubed cheese
- Add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Substitute hard-boiled eggs for the bacon or better yet just add them. I have found that the best way to hard-boil eggs is to steam them. The water should be boiling and the steam should be present before adding the eggs. Steam 15 minutes for large eggs and plunge into ice cold water.
- Use frozen peas for this recipe. Canned peas do not hold well. They will become mushy in this salad.
- In a huge hurry? Skip the dressing and add about 1/2 cup of your favorite ranch dressing.
- For extra color and flavor add a little finely chopped red bell pepper or pimentos.
- Substitute finely chopped ham or Canadian bacon in place of the bacon.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
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Samantha
This looks so good! Going to have to try this soon, we love peas!
Lynndee
I’ve never tried that before. Looks good! I love a good salad so I’m going to save your recipe for later.
Richelle Milar
That looks absolutely delicious and tasty I’m sure my kids would love this such a really great recipe that I’m going to try
Rose Ann Sales
Wow that looks like a really amazing recipe I’m surely going to try this out it looks delicious!
Lavanda Michelle
That looks absolutely delicious. I bet it’d be great with some bread on the side also. Thanks for sharing!
Monica Simpson
I’m the only one in my house who loves peas. This salad looks so good!
Eileen M Loya
Looks really delicious and super healthy too. I am going to make this for our post-Christmas dinner. I am going to need a break from all the sweets I’ve had these past few days. A healthy green pea salad is perfect!
MELANIE EDJOURIAN
I haven’t had a pea salad before. I didn’t even think about using them in one. That is different.
Amber Myers
I love peas, so I am sure I would be a fan of this salad. I’ll be trying it out for sure.
louraine wilmot
I love peas, the salad looks soooo good! Your menu is making me very hungry, cant wait to try the salad. Thanks for sharing.
Bauhinia
Wow it looks yummy and delicious! It could be my ChristBaumas dinner menu!
Thena Franssen
This looks like a great salad! My grandma used to make this all the time growing up and I love it.
Neely Moldovan
My daughter would love this! SHe is pea obsessed!
Danni Torr
I don’t eat pork but I’ve made this without the bacon and it still came out delicious. Even my very picky son gobbled it up and he doesn’t even like peas that much. The creamy dressing made all the difference!
Marysa
This looks like a great recipe. I had something similar a couple years ago and meant to try making it, but wasn’t quite sure how to put it together. Your recipe sounds wonderful.
Ntensibe Edgar
Hhhhhmmmm….this must be a truly great salad! And healthy, too. I want to give it a try soon enough.