Easy Pea Salad Recipe

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Creamy Pea Salad is truly tasty and soooo easy to make. A no-fuss, low-carb side dish that is perfect for those busy midweek meals.

Suitable for low carb, keto and gluten-free diets. Weight Watchers SmartPoints included.

Creamy Pea Salad ready to serve in a white bowl with a blue patterned handled spoon and cloth napkin

This Creamy Pea Salad is such a lovely summertime side dish that is cool, refreshing yet filling and satisfying. And it comes together so quickly and easily, with absolutely no cooking required.

I loooooove to make this salad for fuss-free midweek meals, to take to potlucks, to serve at backyard barbecues and  picnics. Yeap. This is one versatile side that suits most any occasion.

It is great to make this Southern Pea Salad with peak of the season produce from farmers markets or from your very own veg patch. However use frozen peas for convenience. Especially for those hectic midweek meals that need to come together fast. Grab that bag of green peas, do a quick defrost and use them straight away. 

close up of finished creamy pea dalad served in a white bowl

Why You Will Love This?

  • A super quick to whip up and no cook recipe.
  • It requires just a handful of simple, everyday ingredients. 
  • Prep ahead friendly for the refrigerator. 
  • Versatile and easy to substitute ingredients to your taste.
  • It is super budget friendly .
  • It is gluten free, low carb and keto.

close up view of pea salad in a ceramic bowl

Tools Needed

KITCHEN TOOLS, UTENSILS & APPLIANCES  NEEDED

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my disclosure.

Here are some of the items you will need to make this recipe.

So are you ready to learn just how easy it is to make this Creamy Pea Salad Recipe? Then gather up those ingredients so I can show you….

How To Make Pea Salad

  1. Combine peas, bacon, grated cheese and red onion.
  2. Make the dressing by whisking together sour cream, mayo, cider vinegar, paprika and salt.
  3. Add as much of the dressing as you want to the pea salad and mix until combined.
  4. Serve your creamy pea salad beside any mains.

Recipe Tips

  • You can easily make the dressing using all mayonnaise if you prefer.
  • Adding in a tablespoon of chutney works wonders, too.
  • Prefer your green pea salad to be really creamy? Add in an extra dollop of sour cream and/or mayonnaise.
  • And whilst I prefer the crunch that fresh or frozen peas provide, you can make this recipe using canned peas.

Meal Prep And Prep Ahead

Prep Ahead

  • Feel free to prep the salad a day ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. 
  • If prepped ahead- mix the salad before serving.
  • The salad dressing can last for up to a week in the fridge.
  • For a crunchier salad, add the Asian Salad Dressing just before serving.

Save Time

  • Use store bought cooked bacon.
  • Start with store bought shredded cheese.

Feed A Crowd

  • Easily double or triple to feed a crowd.
  • You can bulk it out with a few more peas and a bit more salad dressing.

Not suitable For Freezing

  • Please do not freeze pea salad.
  • The creamy dressing will separate and the salad will turn to a gloppy, mushy mess.

FAQs

What is the Best Way to Defrost Frozen Peas?

With a little advance planning, you can simply transfer the bag of frozen peas from your freezer to your fridge and allow them to defrost for a few hours. 

If you did not have time to defrost,  do a quick defrost by dumping the peas into a colander and running tap water over them for a couple of minutes. Drain well and they are then ready to use. Easy Peasy.

Customise Your Green Pea Salad

This recipe can easily be customized to suit your taste. Here are just a few suggestions:

  • Swap the bacon for in another type of cold meat. Diced ham (great for using up that leftover Easter ham), smoked turkey, or flaked salmon are all fantastic options.
  • To make this pea salad vegetarian, simply omit the meat.
  • Substitute in other types of cheese, such as Colby Jack or Pimento. And if you’re looking for a different texture, you can cube the cheese instead of grating.
  • Diced hard-boiled egg is a super popular add in.pea salad in two glass meal storage containers

Can you Freeze Pea Salad?

As enticing as it may be to try, do not freeze pea salad. The creamy dressing will separate and the ingredients will turn to a gloppy, mushy mess..

Serving Suggestions

More Easy Salad Recipes

Weight Watchers Points

There are 4 WW Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this salad.

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Creamy Pea Salad ready to serve in a white bowl with a blue patterned handled spoon and cloth napkin
Print Recipe
5 from 6 votes

Creamy Pea Salad

This Creamy Salad is no-fuss, low-carb side dish that is perfect for midweek meals.
Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American, British, Western
Servings: 8
Calories: 163kcal
Author: Bintu Hardy

Ingredients

For the pea salad:

  • 450 g (1 lb) green peas fresh or defrosted from frozen
  • 128 g (1 cup) cooked bacon cubes or pancetta
  • 96 g (3/4 cup) mature sharp cheddar cheese grated
  • 3 tablespoon red onion finely chopped

For the sour cream dressing:

  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1-2 tablespoons half fat mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • Combine peas, bacon, grated cheese and red onion.
  • Mix together salad dressing ingredients.
  • Add as much of the dressing as you want to the salad and mix until combined.
  • Serve your creamy pea salad beside any mains.
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Notes

Recipe Tips 
  • I like to make this sweet pea salad ahead of time and then stick it in the fridge for a bit to allow the flavours to blend. Do a quick mix when you’re ready to serve.
  • You can easily make the dressing using all mayonnaise if you prefer.
  • Adding in a tablespoon of chutney works wonders, too.
  • Prefer your salad to be really creamy? Add in an extra dollop of sour cream and/or mayonnaise.
Serving Suggestions
Instant Pot Pork Chops
Air Fryer Crispy Chicken Breast
Cajun Crispy Air Fried Fish
Weight Watchers Points 
There are 4 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this Salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 573mg | Potassium: 154mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 630IU | Vitamin C: 22.8mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 0.9mg

 

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Recipe Rating




6 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I have to tell you I love peas! Well, as long as they are not canned peas. These look super delish and I think I might make them to take to our potluck! So glad you mentioned you couldn’t freeze them, lord knows I hate wasting food by not properly storing it. Saving recipe to make later.