What Makes This Recipe So Good
It’s so, so easy to make, and if you use bacon bits instead of fresh bacon then there is absolutely NO cooking involved! Just stir everything together, chill, and serve!Our pea salad is low carb, grain free, and gluten free, and it’s easy to make vegetarian or vegan, too. Perfect for a variety of dietary needs!It’s a little salty, a little sweet, and a little tangy. The flavors are amazing complements to summer staples like steak, ribs, and BBQ chicken.Get a head start on your cookout or potluck prep! The pea salad will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days, so you can absolutely make this a day or two ahead of time. Store it in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve!
Key Ingredients
Peas – We use frozen peas here for ease, but you can use fresh peas if you prefer. I wouldn’t recommend canned peas, because their texture isn’t quite right for this – they’re usually a little too soft. There’s no need to cook the peas since they’re blanched before they’re frozen, so all you need to do is let them thaw! For a slightly sweeter salad, use frozen sweet peas instead of frozen green peas.Cheddar Cheese – Sharp cheddar cheese will add a lot of flavor to your pea salad, but you can use mild or medium if you prefer! I like to buy a block of cheese then chop it into very small, pea-sized cubes. If you’d rather use shredded, you can! I recommend still buying the block and shredding your own, since prepackaged shredded cheese contains fillers to keep it from clumping.Sugar – There’s a tiny amount of white sugar in the dressing which offsets the tang of the sour cream and the saltiness of the bacon beautifully. It’s not overwhelmingly sweet at all. If you’d rather not use white sugar, you can absolutely substitute honey or Swerve sweetener instead!
Chef’s Tips
No need to cook the frozen peas, but you do want to thaw them before you assemble your pea salad! If you mix everything together while the peas are still frozen, then as they thaw, the water they release will change the consistency of the dressing. To thaw the peas, let them sit out at room temperature or run them under cold water. I dump them into a colander first for either method so the water can drain.If you’re a fan of ranch, substitute ranch for the mayo or sour cream in your dressing. The zesty ranch flavor is so good with the other ingredients in the salad!The pea salad can be eaten right away, but I really recommend refrigerating it for at least 2 hours after assembling. That’ll give the vegetables time to soak up that tangy dressing, which really enhances the flavors!For extra protein, add in a few chopped hard boiled eggs! Voila – now you have a super easy, super delicious English pea salad!
More Easy Potluck Salad Recipes
Heirloom Tomato Salad7 Layer SaladAvocado SaladWatermelon Feta Salad with MintAmish Broccoli Salad
