Creamy Bacon Pea Salad with mayonnaise, bacon, cheddar cheese and crunchy sweet peas. The perfect southern summer side dish!
Some friends and family members I’ve made this Creamy Bacon Pea Salad for have been put off at the idea of “pea salad” or a salad with a mayonnaise base, but as soon as they try the salad? They are eating it by the spoonfuls! Then they come up to you at the end of your event and ask “hey so can I get that pea salad recipe?” It happens ALL the time.
Looking for more summer salads to serve with your favorite grilled foods?
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
- Italian Antipasto Pasta Salad
- Broccoli Raisin Salad
- Easy Greek Pasta Salad
- Mexican Avocado BLT Pasta Salad
This Creamy Bacon Pea Salad recipe is such an easy side dish to make because it really is just a mix of a handful of ingredients. I like to use thick cut bacon for the salad but I have friends who use the premade bacon bits (made of actual bacon) and swear by the flavor. You can’t argue with that, with pre-made bacon bits you can have this salad chilling in the fridge in less than 10 minutes.
Some questions I get asked a lot about this pea salad recipe:
- Do you serve this as a cold green pea salad? Yes, you serve this pea salad recipe cold.
- Do you make this pea salad with canned peas? No, I like the crunch of using frozen, thawed peas, but if you prefer the texture of the canned peas by all means go ahead. I would rinse the peas before using them in the salad.
- Can you add egg? Yes, I’ve made this pea salad with egg before. I hard boil 4 eggs and chop them into small 1/2″ dice and combine gently with the rest of the ingredients.
- Layered Pea Salad can also be made with this recipe. First toss the peas and cheese with the mayonnaise, salt and pepper then add half the peas, half the onions, half the bacon then repeat. Top with a bit more cheese.
Tools Used in the making of this Creamy Bacon Pea Salad:
Bacon Bits: If you want to skip browning and chopping your own bacon, these bacon bits are a quick and easy swap.
My favorite Kitchen Knife: You may not even have a lot to chop but this knife is so inexpensive and I love it so much I want to share it any time chopped items are involved (second from the top on the left. It is an AMAZING knife).
Cheese Grater: Your knuckles will thank you.
Creamy Bacon Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds frozen peas
- 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup red onion chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound bacon cooked crisp and chopped
Instructions
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Rinse the frozen peas in a colander and let drain for a few seconds while you make the rest of the salad.
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Into a large bowl add the cheese, red onion, mayonnaise, Kosher salt, black pepper and bacon.
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Top with the peas and stir together until fully combined.
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Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.
Do you thaw the peas before making the salad?
Yes 🙂
Hi Sabrina,
I love your recipes, they all look so yummy. I make a salad similar to this pea salad but mine has peanuts in it, it’s really good too. Would you like me to send you the recipe? Have a great day, Ann
Sure 🙂
My family loves this salad.
Excellent Pea Salad
I made it for a BBQ and everyone loved it and asked me for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it, Linda. Thanks for the 5 stars.
My family and I love this recipe just as it is written!
Thanks, Sandy!
Hey Sabrina, what kind of main dishes do you recommend serving this with? 🙂
I love this for a potluck side dish because you can really pair it with just about anything. If I was adding it to a dinner, I would serve it alongside chicken or pork. I hope you enjoy it!
How far in advance could you make this? If I’m serving it for Thanksgiving, could I put it together Tuesday night?
It will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, so yes you can make on Tuesday. Hope this helps!
I usually make this using either home made or bottled ranch salad dressing. It was one of the favorites at my old church senior’s group. Adding boiled eggs sounds good too.
I hope you enjoy it Karen
How much bacon bits should I use for this salad? One pound, or less?
Thank you.
I used one pound of cooked bacon to make my bacon bits for this salad. You can adjust to whatever amount you prefer. Enjoy!
Pea salad recipe
haven’t tried this Pea salad yet …made it with lettuce can you add lettuce to the creamy pea salad Ranch mix with sour cream do you have that recipe can’t wait to try to pea salad
Have you ever added chopped boiled eggs? I do that about half the time I make this, and ot’s so delicious both ways.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for the suggestion!
We always add 1 or 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs to our pea salad (depending on how much we’re making)….SO yummy! Also, my mom sometimes adds 1 rib of celery (finely diced) for a bit of crunch. This is always a huge hit at every event!
Sounds amazing!
Do I need to use red onion or can I use sweet white onion as that is all I have currently? Will the taste be the same do you think?
Thank you!
That would work as a substitution. 🙂
Omg. Yum!!!! This is a keeper. Thank you for sharing.
You cheese grater link goes to wrong thing
Thank you for pointing that out. It’s been fixed. 🙂
If i make this today for a potluck tomorrow, will the bacon be soggy?
I didn’t notice a difference but you could always prep it all except for the bacon and then add that in the day of.
This salad is SOOOO good! Do you happen to have the nutrition/calorie information for it?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Sorry I don’t have the nutritional facts for recipes on the site but I know there are a lot of free resources on the internet from when I’ve cooked for clients with low calorie diets.
So Awesome, to find someone brave enough to not cook the peas first. This looks to be a delicious recipe HOWEVER I want to create the mason jar salad with frozen thawed peas and frozen thawed green beans and you gave me the confidence to do it so thanks.
Can you make this the night before?
Yes, just make sure that it stays refrigerated.
Do you boil the frozen peas? Or just use them thawed out
No need to boil them, you’ll want to use them thawed out. It’ll give you a bit of a crunch to the salad. Plus the salad is served cold, so easy peasy! Enjoy!
Was introduced to pea salad years ago. Didn’t like peas to much then . But love this salad so I eat peas all summer long!
Isn’t it funny how sometimes a specific dish can do that to do?! Enjoy!!
I have been looking for this recipe!! My grandma made a version of this! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Terra! I hope it lives up to your expectation of your Grandma’s version.
I think this would be a perfect side dish for the holidays.
Definitely!
Made this dish for church dinner. Was delicious!
Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know how much you enjoyed it!
Made this for my quilt guild’s potluck and it disappeared in a flash. Very good!!
Sounds like it was a winner then!! Thanks for coming back to let me know Sue!!
Now this is a must take to every BBQ this Summer!
I love peas and anything creamy so this is the perfect combo. The salad looks great!
Thank you!
Peas are probably one of my favorite vegetables. This salad looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it, and with the bacon maybe my husband will finally learn to love peas too 🙂
Bacon is always an amazing way to encourage someone to try a dish, haha!
An absolute staple for summer potlucks!
Pea salad is one of my all-time summer faves. I cannot wait to try your rendition with bacon.
Such a stunning salad! I love peas, so will definitely bring this to some cookouts this year 🙂
Thanks Amanda!
This is such a perfect salad for summer. Love that it has bacon!
When in doubt, add bacon 🙂
How would this recipe change with fresh peas, now that they are coming in season?
I like the texture and flavor from frozen peas but if you want to use fresh peas, blanch them as you would to freeze them and use them after they’ve chilled. Enjoy!