Pea Salad
This Pea Salad recipe is an old fashioned classic side dish perfect for spring or your Easter menu. With just 7 ingredients, it’s quick to whip up and can even be made in advance. Every bite is so creamy and studded with smoky bacon too!
If there’s any recipe that was always on a potluck table come spring, it was the Pea Salad. It’s a Southern classic with a creamy dressing, hard boiled eggs, and smoky bacon. Every bite is bursting with bright flavors, thanks to the peas, and is perfect to pair alongside a holiday ham.
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I love that this pea salad is made in just a single bowl keeping it mess-free and easy to assemble ahead of time. It’s a side dish that anyone can easily make and bring to picnics, potlucks, and holidays to feed a crowd. If you love a make ahead salad, be sure to also try my Corn Chip Salad or Broccoli Cranberry Salad.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- 7 ingredient salad. Yes! It only takes a couple of ingredients to assemble this salad that’s full of flavor in every bite.
- Easy to make in advance. This creamy pea salad needs to chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving, so take some party prep stress off and make it ahead of time.
- Customize it to your liking. Add ham or bacon, omit the eggs, add a different cheese…the options are endless!
Ingredients
Scroll Down to the Bottom of this Post for Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Printable Recipe Card
- Frozen sweet peas: If serving day of, make sure to thaw the peas in advance. If there’s excess moisture, pat dry with a paper towel.
- Salad dressing: Use your favorite creamy salad dressing or mayonnaise here.
- Sour cream: Adds nice creaminess and a hint of tang.
- Hard boiled eggs: Gives richness and a boost of protein.
- Red onion: Adds both color and brightness to each bite.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: Gives nice rich and cheesy flavor.
- Cooked and crumbled bacon or cubed ham: Either work well depending on your preference or if you already have it at home. It’s a great recipe for leftover ham!
Tools You’ll Need
How to Make Pea Salad
- In a large bowl, whisk together salad dressing, sour cream, and seasoning salt or salt and pepper until smooth.
- Add the peas and gently stir to coat.
- Fold in boiled eggs, red onion, cheddar cheese, and bacon. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
Expert Tips
- Salad dressing or mayonnaise, it’s up to you! Folks who prefer mayonnaise sometimes like to add 1-2 tablespoons sugar to the creamy mixture too.
- Be sure to pat extra moisture from peas before mixing. This is key to a good pea salad that is creamy and not watery. Some frozen brands once thawed have more moisture than others.
- Add other mix-ins, spices, and herbs. Feel free to add scallions, chives, parsley, even tarragon, along with Dijon mustard and other fun ingredients for different flavors.
- Use store-bought hard boiled eggs to cut the prep time down to 5 minutes. It’s super easy if you’d rather not spend the time to boil them from scratch.
- Let the salad marinate for at least an hour. This will help the flavors to meld. Just be sure to give it a good stir and sit out at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Give it a good stir and let it sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes prior to serving.
Like we’ve mentioned before, it’s a great side dish to prep in advance. Just mix everything to combine and pop into the fridge to marinate for at least an hour!
Frequently Asked Questions
There is the creamy version with a creamy dressing, sour cream, hard boiled eggs, bacon, and cheddar. Another version adds lots of fresh herbs like mint, parsley, and tarragon with a vinaigrette dressing.
It’s delicious alongside ham, pulled pork, ribs, steak, and grilled chicken.
You definitely can! Be sure to blanch them in boiling water for a couple of minutes to cook the peas, then shock them in ice water, drain and pat very dry.
More Easy Salad Recipes
Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen sweet peas thawed, well drained, patted dry
- 1/3 cup salad dressing
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- seasoning salt or salt and black pepper amount as desired
- 2 chopped hard boiled eggs
- 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
- 1 cup diced sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup cooked and crumbled bacon or cubed ham
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together salad dressing, sour cream, and seasoning salt or salt and pepper until smooth.
- Add the peas and gently stir to coat.
- Fold in boiled eggs, red onion, cheddar cheese, and bacon. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
Video
Notes
- Salad dressing or mayonnaise, it’s up to you! Folks who prefer mayonnaise sometimes like to add 1-2 tablespoons sugar to the creamy mixture too.
- Be sure to pat extra moisture from peas before mixing. This is key to a good pea salad that is creamy and not watery. Some frozen brands once thawed have more moisture than others.
- Add other mix-ins, spices, and herbs. Feel free to add scallions, chives, parsley, even tarragon, along with Dijon mustard and other fun ingredients for different flavors.
- Use store-bought hard boiled eggs to cut the prep time down to 5 minutes. It’s super easy if you’d rather not spend the time to boil them from scratch.
- Let the salad marinate for at least an hour. This will help the flavors to meld. Just be sure to give it a good stir and sit out at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
Nutrition
About Laura
Taught by some of the best, cooking and entertaining has always been my favorite hobby. Food is my love language! The conception of Dinner in 321 came from my family talks that sharing our dinners would help others learn new skills, tasty recipes, and make cooking fun! Read more…
