Pea and Bacon Salad
Ahhhh Pea and Bacon Salad may just be the perfect summer salad. Cool, creamy, and filled with bacon, this salad has it all going on. Make it ahead of time, and it’s ready to hit the table whenever you are!
Pea Salad
Pea Salad is one of those iconic summer salads that’s always on the table at summer barbecues. Or should be anyway. Much like this Cucumber and Onion Salad or this recipe for Grape Salad!! These salads seem to appear at almost every summer gathering, lucky us!
Chill your Salad
If you’re taking pea salad to a cookout you should definitely put any mayonnaise dressed salad in a bowl that will keep it chilled. You can set double bowl system with ice in a bigger bowl and the salad bowl nestled inside of it. Keep that salad chilled!
And talk about quick to make! This thing comes together in just a few minutes as long as you thaw the peas beforehand. If it’s going to be blazing hot just be sire to cook that bacon early in the day. Or better yet use real bacon bits and skip cooking bacon.
I like to cook my bacon on my grill, on a griddle pan when it’s too hot to cook in the house. It’s so easy and mess-free that I never mind making it out there. One tip, though: do not walk away from it. It only takes a moment for grease to catch on fire. So keep the heat low enough to avoid the problem and stay with it.
OR I use real bacon bits like the ones you can find at Costco!
About Those Peas
While this is one of our favorite salad recipes I also this these macho peas sound next level!
- use frozen peas and let them thaw for several hours before making the salad
- if you have access to petite peas they work well too!
- keep it chilled if you’re putting it on the table outside in the heat
- fresh shelled peas can replace frozen peas, just blanch them for 2-4 minutes, cool in ice water, and drain before adding to the salad
How To Thaw Frozen Peas Quickly
Forget to take the peas out ahead of time? It happens all the time. The fastest way to thaw frozen peas is to put them in a colander and run cool water over them for a minute or two while tossing them around a little with your hands or a spoon. They thaw fast because they’re so small. Repeat several times as needed to get them thawed quickly. Then let them drain as long as possible to make sure your salad isn’t watery.
Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds frozen green peas thawed
- 1/2 pound bacon cooked and cooled
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise you could sub in 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt for some of the mayonnaise, it will taste different but it will still be good
- 1 tsp minced garlic fresh or pre-minced
- 1 tsp dried dill weed sub in fresh if you have it
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt you may like more, after it rests taste for salt, add more as needed
Instructions
- toss together the thawed green peas, the bacon, the shredded cheddar and the chopped onion
- in a separate bowl mix the mayonnaise, garlic, dill, salt, and pepper together
- pour the mayonnaise mix over the peas, stir gently to combine
- refrigerate at least 4 hours to achieve maximum flavor, you can eat it right away
Oh this is perfect timing! I needed something for a get-together this weekend and wanted something outside of my usual!
Just like the one I have and it is great!