Creamy Pea Salad with Bacon & Cheddar: Your Ultimate Easy & Refreshing Side Dish
Discover the delightful simplicity of this irresistibly cool and creamy pea salad, a truly effortless side dish bursting with flavor and texture. This classic recipe combines sweet, tender green peas with savory, crispy bacon bits, sharp cheddar cheese cubes, and thinly sliced red onions, all beautifully coated in a fresh, tangy, and silky sour cream dressing. It’s a harmonious blend that creates a refreshing counterpoint to almost any meal, perfect for any season or occasion.
When searching for a versatile, easy-to-prepare side dish that’s both affordable and incredibly delicious, a creamy pea salad like this one truly hits the jackpot! This particular pea salad recipe, featuring the irresistible combination of crispy bacon and sharp cheddar, is carefully crafted to offer a blend of sweet, tangy, and salty notes, alongside satisfyingly crisp textures. Everything comes together in the silkiest, most flavorful sour cream-based dressing. The preparation takes mere minutes before it’s ready to chill, making it an ideal make-ahead option for upcoming cookouts, potlucks, holiday feasts, or casual family gatherings. Its refreshing nature and widespread appeal ensure it will be a crowd-pleaser every time.
Why You’ll Adore This Creamy Pea Salad Recipe
This isn’t just any pea salad; it’s a culinary gem that brings joy to every plate. Here’s why this creamy pea salad is bound to become a staple in your recipe repertoire:
- Unforgettably Refreshing: Experience a delightful symphony of contrasts with the natural sweetness of green peas, the salty crunch of bacon, the mild bite of crisp red onions, and the invigorating tang of the creamy dressing. The overall mild and creamy flavors make it a superb complement to a vast array of main courses, preventing your palate from being overwhelmed.
- Effortlessly Easy to Make: Forget complicated recipes! Both the salad components and the rich, velvety dressing are whipped up in a matter of minutes. Once combined, simply allow the finished pea salad to chill in the refrigerator, allowing the flavors to meld beautifully, until you’re ready to serve. It’s truly a beginner-friendly dish that delivers impressive results.
- Incredibly Versatile: This creamy pea salad is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, adapting perfectly to any dining scenario. Its robust yet refreshing profile makes it an excellent choice for making ahead and transporting to summer barbecues, community potlucks, celebratory family get-togethers, or even as a unique and delicious holiday side dish during Thanksgiving or Christmas.
- Budget-Friendly & Wholesome: Made with readily available and economical ingredients, this pea salad is kind to your wallet. Plus, peas are packed with vitamins and fiber, making this a side dish you can feel good about serving. It offers a fresh, vibrant alternative to heavier sides.
Essential Pea Salad Ingredients
Crafting this easy pea salad requires just a handful of fresh and flavorful ingredients. Here are some quick notes and tips on what you’ll need to gather. For the precise measurements and step-by-step instructions, please refer to the detailed recipe card below.
- Bacon: You’ll need about 4 strips of your favorite bacon, or adjust to your personal taste. For optimal flavor and texture, choose a good quality smoked bacon. Cook it until perfectly crisp, then crumble or dice it. As a fantastic alternative, diced smoked ham can provide a similar savory depth, or even turkey bacon for a lighter option.
- Peas: Frozen peas are my go-to for convenience, offering consistent sweetness and vibrancy without extra prep. However, if you’re lucky enough to find fresh peas, they will elevate this salad even further. The key is to use them properly – see our tips below for avoiding mushy peas!
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar cheese, cut into small, bite-sized cubes, is a quintessential component, providing a tangy counterpoint to the sweet peas. Aim for pieces roughly the same size as your peas for an even distribution of flavor in every bite. If you prefer a milder profile, provolone or mozzarella can also be excellent choices.
- Onion: Red onion is highly recommended for its naturally sweeter and milder flavor compared to other varieties, which prevents it from overpowering the delicate peas. If red onion isn’t available, a yellow onion can be used, but you might consider soaking it in ice water for 10-15 minutes to reduce its pungency.
For the Creamy Dressing
The dressing is the heart of this pea salad, bringing all the delicious elements together with its rich, tangy, and slightly sweet character:
- Sour Cream: This forms the creamy base of our dressing, offering a delightful tanginess and smooth texture. For a lighter option or a slightly different flavor profile, plain Greek yogurt can be substituted, providing a similar creaminess with added probiotics.
- Mayonnaise: A small amount of mayonnaise is included to enrich the dressing, adding depth and a classic creamy salad flavor. If you’re not a fan of mayo, feel free to replace it with an equal amount of additional sour cream to maintain the desired consistency.
- Sugar: Just a touch of granulated sugar is essential to balance the tang of the sour cream and vinegar, enhancing the natural sweetness of the peas and creating a well-rounded flavor profile.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: This provides a crucial tangy acidity, brightening the entire salad and cutting through the richness of the dairy and bacon. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or even white vinegar can be used as effective substitutes.
- Salt and Pepper: These basic seasonings are vital for bringing out all the flavors. Always add them to taste, adjusting as needed after mixing the dressing. Freshly ground black pepper adds a superior aroma.
How to Prepare This Irresistible Pea Salad
One of the many reasons to love classic recipes like this creamy pea salad is their delightful simplicity. Just like other easy favorites such as a BLT pasta salad, the steps to create this side dish are incredibly quick and straightforward, making it ideal for novice cooks and busy weeknights alike.
Follow these simple steps to bring your delicious pea salad to life:
- Crisp the Bacon: Begin by cooking your bacon. Lay the bacon strips in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until they reach your desired level of crispiness. Once cooked, remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess grease. This step is crucial for achieving that irresistible crunch. After it has cooled sufficiently, chop the crispy bacon into small, manageable pieces.
- Prepare the Dressing: While the bacon cools, turn your attention to the dressing. In a separate small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk these ingredients together until the mixture is smooth, well-combined, and free of lumps. Taste the dressing and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your preference, ensuring a balanced sweet and tangy flavor.
- Assemble the Salad: In a large mixing bowl, combine your main salad components: the frozen peas (remember the tip about not fully defrosting!), the small cubes of sharp cheddar cheese, the finely chopped red onion, and your prepared chopped crispy bacon.
- Dress and Toss: Pour the freshly made creamy dressing over the combined salad ingredients. Using a large spoon or spatula, gently toss everything together until all the peas, cheese, bacon, and onion pieces are thoroughly coated in the luscious dressing. Ensure an even distribution of all ingredients.
- Chill and Serve: For the best flavor and texture, transfer your finished pea salad into the refrigerator. Allow it to chill for at least one hour (or longer if making ahead). This chilling period allows the flavors to deepen and meld, and ensures the salad is wonderfully refreshing when served. Then, it’s ready to enjoy!
Expert Tips & Exciting Variations for Your Pea Salad
While this creamy pea salad recipe is perfect as is, a few simple tips can elevate your results, and some creative variations can transform it into something new and exciting. You truly can’t go wrong with a well-made creamy pea salad!
- The Secret to Crisp Peas: Don’t Fully Defrost! My number one tip for the best pea salad is to avoid completely thawing your frozen peas. Leave them mostly frozen when you mix them with the other ingredients. As the salad chills, the peas will slowly defrost, retaining their fresh, crisp texture rather than becoming mushy or watery. This small detail makes a huge difference!
- Uniform Cheese Chunks: For the most balanced flavor and texture in every bite, ensure your cheddar morsels are chopped into small cubes, ideally about the same size as your peas. This prevents large chunks of cheese from dominating and ensures all components are evenly distributed throughout the salad.
- Scaling Up for a Crowd: Planning for a larger gathering? This recipe doubles or even triples beautifully! Simply grab a larger mixing bowl and multiply the ingredient amounts accordingly. It’s a fantastic dish for feeding many.
- Make it Festive for the Holidays: To add a special touch for holiday meals, consider sprinkling in a handful of dried cranberries. Their tart sweetness and vibrant ruby-red color make the salad visually appealing and even more flavorful, perfectly complementing a Thanksgiving or Christmas spread.
- Turn it into a Hearty Pasta Salad: For a more substantial meal, transform this green pea recipe into a delicious pasta salad! Simply stir in your choice of cooked and cooled short-cut pasta, such as elbow macaroni, penne, or rigatoni. Remember that adding pasta will likely require you to increase the amount of dressing to adequately coat all ingredients and maintain that creamy consistency.
- Add a Boost of Crunch: For extra texture, consider folding in a quarter cup of finely chopped celery or water chestnuts. Their crispness will add another layer of satisfaction to the salad.
- Herbal Freshness: A tablespoon or two of fresh dill, parsley, or chives, finely chopped and mixed into the dressing or salad, can add a wonderful herbaceous aroma and flavor.
- Spice it Up (or Down): A tiny pinch of cayenne pepper in the dressing can add a subtle kick, while a teaspoon of Dijon mustard can deepen its savory profile. For those who prefer a less sharp onion flavor, soak the red onion slices in cold water for 15 minutes before draining and adding them to the salad.
What to Serve With This Delightful Pea Salad
The refreshing, balanced flavors of this creamy pea salad make it an incredibly versatile accompaniment that pairs beautifully with almost any meal, truly at any time of the year. Its vibrant taste and texture cut through richer dishes and complement lighter ones, ensuring it always finds a perfect place on your table.
During the warmer summer months, serve this pea salad as an essential BBQ side dish alongside hearty mains like succulent smoked ribs, juicy grilled chicken, or classic hot dogs and burgers. It’s also fantastic with sweet and savory smoked corn on the cob. The cool, tangy notes of the salad provide a welcome contrast to the smoky flavors of grilled meats.
Come the holidays, this green pea salad transforms into an easy yet elegant Thanksgiving or Christmas side. It offers a fresh, bright element amidst richer traditional dishes. Imagine it served next to homemade cranberry sauce, savory sausage stuffing, roasted turkey, or glazed ham. Its festive colors and comforting flavors make it a natural fit for your holiday spread.
Beyond special occasions, this pea salad is also wonderful for everyday meals. For a quick and light lunch during the week, I love to bulk it up by adding slices of perfectly cooked air fryer chicken breast, tender steak bites, or even some leftover rotisserie chicken. It transforms from a side into a satisfying and refreshing main course salad. It’s also a fantastic addition to picnic baskets or packed lunches, holding up well for transport.
Can I Prepare This Pea Salad in Advance?
Absolutely! This pea salad is an excellent candidate for make-ahead preparation, which makes it perfect for entertaining or meal prepping. You can easily prepare the components up to a day in advance, ensuring maximum freshness and optimal texture.
To make it ahead, simply combine the cooked and chopped bacon, the frozen peas, and the finely diced red onions in an airtight container. Store this mixture in the refrigerator. Additionally, you can prepare the creamy dressing separately and refrigerate it in its own sealed container. When you’re ready to serve, simply combine the salad ingredients with the dressing, give it a good toss to coat everything evenly, and then chill as directed for at least an hour to allow the flavors to fully meld. This method prevents the salad from becoming watery or the ingredients from softening too much, maintaining that desirable crispness until serving time.
Storing Leftover Pea Salad
Proper storage ensures you can enjoy any leftover pea salad while it’s still fresh and delicious:
- Refrigerator: Any leftover pea salad, once dressed, will stay fresh and palatable in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Before serving leftovers, give the salad a good stir to redistribute the dressing and freshen up the ingredients.
- Freezer: Due to the dairy-based sour cream in the dressing, which can separate and change texture upon thawing, I do not recommend freezing pea salad. The good news is that this recipe is incredibly quick and easy to whip up a fresh batch whenever the craving strikes!
More Delightful Creamy Salad Recipes to Explore
If you love the creamy, comforting style of this pea salad, you’ll surely enjoy these other fantastic recipes from my collection:
- Easy Potato Salad
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
- Southwestern Corn Salad
- Snicker Salad
- Turkey Salad
- Classic Egg Salad
Creamy Pea Salad
Erin Sellin
10 minutes
10 minutes
6
servings
Rate Recipe
Print Recipe
Ingredients
-
4
slices
bacon
-
12
oz
frozen peas
-
4
oz
sharp cheddar,
cut into small cubes -
3
Tablespoons
chopped red onion
Dressing
-
¼
cup
sour cream
-
3
Tablespoons
mayo
-
1
teaspoon
sugar
-
1
teaspoon
apple cider vinegar
-
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
-
In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until it becomes wonderfully crisp. Once cooked, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain any excess grease. After it has cooled, chop the crispy bacon into small, bite-sized pieces.4 slices bacon
-
In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing: sour cream, mayonnaise, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Mix until the dressing is smooth and well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adjusting to achieve your desired balance of sweet and tangy flavors.¼ cup sour cream,
3 Tablespoons mayo,
1 teaspoon sugar,
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar,
Salt and pepper to taste -
In a large bowl, combine the frozen peas, cubed sharp cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, and the crispy chopped bacon. Pour the prepared dressing over these ingredients and mix gently until everything is thoroughly coated and evenly distributed.12 oz frozen peas,
4 oz sharp cheddar,
3 Tablespoons chopped red onion -
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the pea salad for at least 1 hour before serving. This chilling time allows the flavors to fully meld and ensures the salad is delightfully cool and refreshing.
Notes
- For the best texture and even flavor distribution, cut the cheese into small pieces, roughly the same size as the peas.
- Store any leftover pea salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Stir before serving.
- If you’re serving a larger group or want extra leftovers, feel free to double or even triple the recipe!
- Do not fully defrost the peas before mixing; they will thaw as the salad chills, maintaining a desirable crispness.
Nutrition
Calories:
230
kcal
|
Carbohydrates:
11
g
|
Protein:
11
g
|
Fat:
16
g
|
Saturated Fat:
6
g
|
Polyunsaturated Fat:
8
g
|
Cholesterol:
35
mg
|
Sodium:
388
mg
|
Fiber:
3
g
|
Sugar:
4
g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
Erin Sellin
10 minutes
10 minutes
Salad Recipes, Side Dish
American
6
servings
230
green pea salad, pea salad, pea salad recipe, creamy pea salad, bacon cheddar pea salad
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