Classic Pea Salad Recipe
Pea Salad is such a classic spring salad. The best part is that it only takes a few minutes to put it all together. It’s so much easier than potato salad.
This salad is perfect for picnics, reunions or potlucks. If the weather is particularly hot, refrigerate it until it’s time to serve.
Why Make This Salad?
- It’s incredibly easy to make.
- It only takes 15 minutes in total.
- It tastes delicious. Adults and kids both enjoy this salad.
- It is naturally gluten and dairy-free.
What you Need
- Green Peas: Fresh peas, frozen peas and canned peas will all work. We don’t recommend canned peas because the canning process overcooks them, so they lose their beautiful color and texture. If fresh peas are used, they need to be blanched first. More on how to blanch is below.
- Bacon: Optional. Crispy bacon adds a great saltiness and crunch to the salad.
- Onion: You can use red, white or yellow onion. We prefer red onions because they are sweeter and complement the sweetness of the peas without overwhelming them. Chives are a good substitution for the onion.
- Celery: Chopped celery adds a great crispiness to the salad.
- Eggs: Optional. Hard-boiled eggs add a creaminess to the salad.
- Dried fruit: Dried cranberries or cherries are a nice addition to this salad.
For the Dressing
- Mayonnaise: The creamy mayo brings this salad together. Use a good quality mayonnaise, not salad dressing.
- Lime Juice: Lime juice adds a bright, citrus note to the dressing instead of using vinegar or lemon juice. You could use a bit of apple cider vinegar if you have no limes on hand.
- Seasoning: Just kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper is all that is required. Additional spices can be added like, fresh or dried parsley, celery seed, dill weed or mint.
Variations
- Cheese: Cheddar cheese or feta can be added but then the recipe isn’t dairy-free.
- Ham: Leftover ham can be substituted for the bacon.
- Potatoes: Cooked, diced potatoes will make a heartier salad.
- Radishes: Chopped radishes add a nice, peppery bite to the salad.
How to Make it
Hard-boil eggs, cool, and peel them. Set aside. Chop slices of bacon into pieces. Crisp bacon pieces in a small skillet or whole slices of bacon in the air fryer.
Dice the red onion.
Dice celery.
Either shuck fresh peas or partially thaw frozen peas. When I use frozen peas, I usually buy the baby petit.
Add lime juice, mayo, oil and pepper to a small bowl.
Mix well.
Add the bacon, onion, celery, dried cranberries, or dried cherries, and the dressing to the bowl with peas. Mix well.
Add chopped eggs last so that they don’t get overmixed in the salad and lost.
Chill the salad for at least thirty minutes and enjoy.
How to Store Leftovers
Because of the mayonnaise, leftovers should be packed into airtight containers within two hours and stored in the refrigerator. Leftovers last 3-4 days in the fridge. Don’t freeze this salad. Make only enough so it can be used within four days.
More Side Salads
- Bacon and Egg Potato Salad
- Macaroni Salad with Tuna
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Broccoli Salad
- Southwestern Salad
- Fruit Salad
I hope you enjoyed this recipe today for this Green Pea Salad.
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Pea Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh, shucked or frozen peas
- 2 eggs, hard boiled
- 6 slices bacon, crisped
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- ½ cup celery, diced
- ½ cup salted cashews
- ½ cup dried cherries, or cranberries
For Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
Instructions
- Prepare or thaw peas. Hard boil the eggs and saute the bacon until crisp.
- Chop eggs and bacon into bite sized pieces.
- Mix all ingredients for dressing in small bowl.
- Add all of the prepared ingredients to large bowl, except eggs. Mix with dressing. Add a little dressing at a time so that you don’t you don’t overdress the salad for your taste. My husband likes his salads drowning in mayonnaise, I don’t. So I always add more dressing to his.
- Add eggs and then just lightly toss so that the eggs don’t get crushed. Refrigerate or serve immediately.
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Nutrition
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Originally published May 31, 2018. Updated February 4, 2025.
I love fresh peas, but would never have thought to combine them with egg and dried fruit like this. Sounds like something I should give a try, though!
It really is very good! Thanks Caroline!
I love how easy, colorful and delicious this salad looks. I love fresh peas in salads. My newest phase has been snap peas!! Congrats on the new lens! Awesome photos of the birds!.
Thanks so much Elaine! I really appreciate that!
This Pea Salad recipe looks lovely. The textures and flavor combinations look perfect. I will have to make this for my upcoming cookout. It will be a perfect side dish.
It’s so easy too! I hope your guests like it! Thanks Katie!
This quickly became my father and sister-in-law’s favorite salad. I made it once and, months later, they still haven’t stopped talking about it and requesting it. I’m making it again today and realized I have a question… does the recipe call for juice from 1/4 of a lime or 1/2? I don’t understand the half juice from a half of a lime instruction. Thanks for a great recipe and any clarification you have on that. Thanks!!
Oh. I see what you mean. The juice of 1/2 lime was meant. It is corrected now.
Oh, I see what you mean. The recipe is corrected but it the juice of ½ of a lime.
Oh man, I love peas, we grow loads of them and my favourite part is always the podding… I guess only 75% end up in the freezer 😉
This recipe sounds delicious, I can’t wait to give it a try, the addition of nuts is genius, they will add a great texture!
Yes, I really like the cashews in this! The crunch is great and I used salted cashews so the contrast of the salty nuts and sweet peas was great!
You always have so many great classic recipes that I’ve forgotten I love. Pea salad is always so wonderful, I’m definitely going to have to test your version out!
I’m glad I get to jog your memory, Hayley! Thanks so much!
Peas are my one of my daughters favourite vegetable, and I am always looking for new ways to serve them to here – she is going to love this recipe!
Thanks Courtney! Let me know how she likes it!!
This pea salad is such a perfect summer salad recipe. I can’t wait to make this for our next cookout!
Thanks Liz! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
I love the ingredients in this salad, peas, bacon and dried cherries? That is awesome!
Thanks Edyta! I appreciate your comment!
I love a pea salad in the summer. It’s such a good way to add colour to salads.
Thank you Danielle! It is a nice, colorful salad!