Classic Pea Salad With Bacon And Cheese

Irresistible classic pea salad is packed with flavors, loaded with bacon and cheese, dressed in creamy flavorful mayonnaise dressing. Enjoy this salad all year long using fresh or frozen peas.

You may be interested in creamed corn, creamed spinach, creamed peas recipe.

It’s The Best Ever Green Pea Salad Recipe –

1. It’s packed with flavors.
2. It has creamy dressing, salty bacon, crunchy onion and CHEESE! Definitely hard to resist.
3. It’s super easy to make and comes together in 5 minutes or less.
4. You can use fresh peas or frozen peas. Enjoy this salad throughout the year.
5. This pea salad with bacon is most popularly made during summer using fresh green peas, but a salad so easy to make and so delicious needs love all year round.
6. The salad pairs well with any meal. BBQ chicken, grilled meat even with pasta.
7. This salad is great for make ahead. In face it’s one of those salads that days better the next day. Make and chill it in fridge to enjoy next day.
8. A salad to be carried for every potluck or picnic or gatherings!
9. There’s something about the sweet and savory combination of this salad that makes it irresistible!
10. Are a peas hater?! Try this salad, most probably it will convert you!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need-

• 16oz frozen peas
• 8 strips bacon
• ½ cup cheddar cheese
• ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup diced red onion
• 2 tablespoon radish (optional)
• 1 ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Pea – frozen or fresh peas can be used.

Bacon – cook bacon in oven or stove top until it begins to crisp. Crumble into smaller bites and use in the salad. The sweetness from green peas and salty bacon together will be a wonderful combination.

Cheese – you can use Cheddar cheese alone or use a mix of cheese. I like sharp cheddar and mozzarella cheese in the salad.

Onion – you need a crunch element in this creamy salad. Red onion is wonderful addition to salad.

Radish – if you like radish definitely add it. It also adds crunch texture to salad. Feel free to skip radish if you aren’t a fan or don’t have radish.

Mayonnaise – use best quality mayonnaise for the salad. Your salad tastes as good as the ingredients.

Salt & Pepper – use according to taste.

Additions & Substitutions

Substitutions-

You can use canned peas too to make this salad. Drain it completely and then use.

Feel free to use cheddar and Parmesan mix too.

To change things up, consider using cheddar cheese cubes instead of grated cheese. Buy a block of sharp cheddar cheese and cut into small cubes to the size of peas. Makes it look and taste great with a bite of cheddar.

Replace mayonnaise with sour cream or Greek yogurt.

You can even add ranch dressing in place of mayonnaise.

Radish is optional. I love it in my salad. If you are not a radish fan use minimal or skip it entirely.

Additions-

Feel free to add diced hard boiled eggs to the salad to make it more nutritious and tasty.

You can also add boiled baby potatoes (cut into halves) for the salad.

You can add 1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar to mayonnaise for the dressing. Sour cream can be added too.

How To Make Pea Salad?

Pea salad is by far one of the easiest salads to make. This classic salad recipe uses simple ingredients and very easy to customize it according to YOUR taste and preference!

• 1:  Thaw frozen green peas and drain well. If not drained well, the dressing may thin down making salad liquid-y.
• 2: Add well drained green peas into a salad mixing bowl. Add the ingredients – bacon, red onion, radish, mayonnaise to the bowl. Toss salad gently.
• 3: Add both cheddar and Mozzarella cheese to the salad.
• 4: Toss everything until it comes together.
• 5: Chill salad cover in a bowl for at least 4 hours.
• 6: This pea salad is best served chilled.

Best Peas For Making Pea Salad?

You can use fresh peas or frozen peas. Fresh green peas when in season are best tasting and when in season you must blindly use fresh peas to make the salad. The crisp fresh peas are wonderful in taste.

Having said that you can also use canned peas during the rest of the year. Though I prefer frozen peas over canned peas when pea is not in season.

If using canned peas or frozen peas, make sure you drain it well before use. Any liquids in the peas will make turn dressing watery and thin diluting the taste of the salad.

Is This Salad Best Served Cold?

Yes, pea salad recipe is one of those dishes which is tasting BEST when chilled. Like most summer salad this pea salad too tastes best the next day as the flavors have time to come out and mingle while resting in the fridge.

How To Store The Salad?

This is one of those salads that tastes even better when made a day ahead. Resting it for a day in refrigerator gives it time for the flavors to come out and mingle together making it taste the BEST next day, especially chilled.

This pea salad can be made 2 days ahead before serving and stored refrigerated.

It can keep good for upto 3 days refrigerated.

Can I Freeze Pea Salad?

NO. I do not recommend you to freeze the salad.

The dressing will not hold up if frozen. Salad may get to mushy when you try to reheat frozen salad.

BE SURE TO TRY OUR OTHER SUMMER FAVORITE RECIPES TOO!

Classic Egg Salad

Watermelon FETA Salad

Easy Potato Salad (Vegan)

Deviled Eggs With Bacon

Greek Pasta Salad

3 Bean Salad

Israeli Couscous Salad

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