Green Pea Salad is a surprisingly tasty salad that will delight your whole family and give you some old-fashioned vibes.
Green pea salad is a cold side dish recipe made with peas, cheese, bacon and onion.
This cold side dish is perfect for summer barbecues or potlucks.
Green Pea Salad Ingredients
To make this side salad recipe, you will need these ingredients from the grocery store (see the recipe below for exact amounts and instructions):
- Green peas: Frozen peas are preferable because they are greener and therefore look and taste fresher. You can assemble the peas frozen or you can just leave them in the refrigerator for a few hours to thaw or run the bag under water until thawed. You can use canned green peas, but the color isn’t as pretty and they tend to be soggy.
- Cheddar cheese: You can also cube the cheese for more of an intense cheese flavor.
- Bacon: Using fresh bacon is always the best choice, but you can also use purchased bacon bits instead, since cooking the bacon and chopping it adds some extra time.
- Red onion: Make sure it’s red onion. Other onions won’t taste as good since it’s an uncooked salad.
- Plain Greek yogurt: You can substitute sour cream.
- Mayonnaise: Replace this with sour cream or more plain Greek yogurt if you don’t have any. However, I do like the added sweetness of the mayonnaise.
- Lemon juice: Use from a lemon or from concentrate.
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Scallions (optional)
How to Make Green Pea Side Salad
- In a large bowl combine the green peas, cheddar cheese, bacon, and red onion. Set aside.
- In another medium sized bowl, mix the plain Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined.
- Pour the dressing over the green pea mixture. Mix all together.
- Garnish with sliced scallions (optional), then plate and serve your delicious summer salad!
Storage Instructions
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. I don’t recommend freezing your green pea salad.
FAQs
There are many classic ways to cook bacon. However, my personal favorite, especially when preparing other food, is to use the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place as many slices as necessary in a single layer on the pan, then bake at 400 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon. Check on your bacon as some ovens may not cook at the same rate as others.
Variations
Add cubed ham and you have an Amish Pea Salad.
You could also add green bell pepper for a little crunch.
Green Pea Salad
Green Pea Salad is a surprisingly tasty salad that will delight your whole family and give you some old-fashioned vibes.
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen green peas, thawed [See Notes]
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup cooked bacon, chopped (~3-4 slices)
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Scallions, sliced (optional garnish)
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the green peas, cheddar cheese, bacon, and red onion. Set aside.
- In another medium sized bowl, mix the plain Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined.
- Pour the dressing over the green pea mixture. Mix all together.
- Garnish with sliced scallions (optional), then plate and serve.
Notes
You can leave the peas in the refrigerator for a few hours to thaw or run the bag under water until thawed. Alternatively, you can assemble the dish with frozen peas, and refrigerate until thawed and ready to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 204Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 324mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 9g
Mary
Saturday 10th of April 2021
Heavy cream??? No where in the recipe is it called for other than directions.
Emily Enchanted
Monday 12th of April 2021
@Mary, I had it in there originally but didn’t think it was needed after testing it again. Sorry about that! I have updated the instructions.