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This yummy Pea Salad, made with bacon and blue cheese, is the perfect Springtime side dish. Serve alongside this Crockpot Ham Recipe for Easter 🙂
Pea Salad | A Twist on a Classic
I made Pea Salad. I’ve never done that before. I thought it would be weird and taste funky. But then I got the brilliant idea to add bacon and blue cheese which made it tastelike bacon and blue cheese and suddenly pea salads were worththinking about wasting calories on.
My son was not a fan of this salad {I think mostly because of the blue cheese} and my daughter ate a few bites and literally yelled “I LOVE PEAS!” So, that’s thenorm at my house.
And, here I sit typing these words with a bowl of this salad right next to me…at midnight. Yes, I’m a fan of the pea salads too.
If you’ve never thought about turning peas into a salad, today would be a great day to give it a whirl. It’s like bacony springtime in a bowl.
Main Ingredients Needed
You only need 5 ingredients (plus some salt + pepper) to make this amazing pea salad!
- English Peas – I used fresh English peas from Trader Joe’s. They were lovely and had a great texture to them. See my notes below about using frozen peas.
- Blue Cheese – I love blue cheese, but I know it’s a controversial ingredient. So feel free to substitute with cheddar or provolone or even feta cheese.
- Bacon Bits – I always keep a bag of bacon bits on hand. It’s such a time saver! But if you want to do this by hand, cook bacon in the oven and then crumble it away!
- Mayonnaise, S&P + Dill – these three make up the dressing. Please use real mayonnaise and not Miracle Whip.
Can I use Frozen Peas instead of Fresh?
If you can’t find the fresh peas, get some frozen ones and defrost them quickly in a colander with warm water. Once they are defrosted, run some cold water over them to chill and then dry on a clean kitchen towel. You can also defrost in the fridge overnight, just be sure to rinse and dry them before using.
The difference between fresh and frozen peas is only slight. The fresh peas definitely are crunchier and sweeter than frozen, but again, the difference is only slight. The peas act more like a vehicle to make eating straight-up bacon and cheese more socially acceptable. So I wouldn’t worry too much about it. A really really delicious (and different!) salad to serve all Spring and Summer long.
How to Make Pea Salad
For full details on how to make this Pea Salad, see the recipe card down below 🙂
Cook Peas
Start by cooking your fresh peas. Bring large pot of water to boil, salt the water and cook peas for 90 seconds or so. Drain and submerge into ice water. Drain again and pour onto clean dish towels to dry. As you dry the peas, go through them to pick out any bad peas.
Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
*If using frozen peas that have already been defrosted, you can skip this step.
Bacon + Blue Cheese
Grab some bacon crumbles {I use the pre-crumbled kind from costco} and add those into the bowl along with some blue cheese.
Dressing + Serve
For the dressing, stir some mayonnaise together with a little salt, pepper and some dill.
Once that’s pulled together, pour it over your ingredients. Give it a good stir and that’s it! Your pea salad is finito.
Leftovers
You can eat it right away, or refrigerate it and enjoy it as you’d like. This Pea Salad will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. Be sure to cover well!
More Salad Recipes to Try!
- Chicken Salad
- Egg Salad
- Cucumber Salad
- Broccoli Salad
A fun and different kind of salad that seems to be super popular these days. If you like bacon….and cheese, this pea salad is especially for you 🙂
The printable recipe card is down below. Have a great day, friends!
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5 from 6 votes
EASIEST Pea Salad
This yummy Pea Salad, made with bacon and blue cheese, is the perfect Springtime side dish. Be sure to try this soon!
servings 6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Ingredients
- 20 oz english peas fresh, shelled
- 2 oz blue cheese crumbled
- 1/2 cup bacon crumbled
- 1/4 cup red onion diced
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- salt & black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp dried dill
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
Bring pot of water to boil. Salt water and add in peas. Cook 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Drain and submerge into ice water. Drain again and pour onto clean dish towels to dry. As you dry peas, sort through them to remove any brown peas or random debris, like stalks and leaves. Pour peas into large bowl. Add in cheese and bacon.
For the dressing, stir mayonnaise, salt, pepper and dill together until smooth. Pour over peas and stir to coat. Either serve immediately or chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
If you can’t find the fresh peas, get some frozen ones and defrost them quickly in a colander with warm water. Once they are defrosted, run some cold water over them to chill and then dry on a clean kitchen towel. You can also defrost in the fridge overnight, just be sure to rinse and dry them before using. No need to blanch them like you would using the fresh peas.
Nutrition
Calories: 282kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 417mg | Potassium: 302mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 817IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pea salad
