Easy Bacon Pea Salad is one of our family’s all-time favourite summer salads. It goes well with anything from the grill but it also makes a great standalone light lunch. Enjoy!
Salad and I are like *THIS*. That probably comes at no surprise at this point. What you may not know, though, is that I have an especially soft spot for marinated salads.
You know which ones I mean… The ones that fill bowl after bowl at late spring and summer parties. The ones in oil and vinegar or mayonnaise based dressings that become even tastier the day after they’re made.
Macaroni salad, potato salad, corn salad, and baby… that pea salad you see in the picture above.
Even when I was a picky kid, peas were always a friendly food at the dinner table. A bowl of peas meant I had something I could dig into with abandon.
I always loved the little POP of biting into peas. I love them so much that I’ve even been known to dig into the bag of frozen peas for a fast, cold snack in the dog days of summer.
When I saw my friend Amy’s Pea Salad pop up in my feed reader a couple of weeks ago, it was a no-brainer that I was going to make it. I did. And it was glorious.
The next day when I made my second batch (I told you I liked peas), I added a bunch of crispy bacon and upped the cheddar and onion a bit and loved it so much that we polished off the whole batch in a matter of hours.
Yes. I’ve done the math. I am completely aware of how many pounds of peas we ate in two days. I self-imposed a two-day moratorium on pea-salad in the house.
But PEOPLE! (Pea-ple?) Easy Bacon Pea salad? Well, it’s like hand and glove, Rocky and Bullwinkle, peas and, er, bacon! It just goes together. I haven’t done anything but eat it directly from the tupperware container with a spoon, yet, but I guarantee you couldn’t find a tastier or easier side dish for just about any grilled, roasted, or broiled meat or fish.
The sweet POP of the pea, creamy mayonnaise dressing, crunchy mild red onion, and crispy bacon taste great right after being stirred together, but they taste even better after having sat in the refrigerator for a day, making this an IDEAL side dish to serve with an Easter Ham, summer picnics, Labor Day festivities and everything else the whole dad-burned year. Easy peasy, my pea-ple!
Cook’s Notes:
- I prefer to use frozen peas that have thawed overnight in the refrigerator. I prefer the texture and flavour of them over canned peas. If you have fresh peas, blanch them as you would to freeze them and use them after they’ve chilled before using them to make your Easy Bacon Pea Salad.
- We served scoops of Easy Bacon Pea Salad on top of tossed salad the other day and loved it. Bonus: No dressing necessary.
- This can be served immediately after stirring it together, but tastes even better if allowed to sit, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for an hour or up to three days. It should be eaten within 3 days of being made, which is NOT a problem. Trust me.
Use this to make Easy Bacon Pea Salad:
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Love Bacon Pea Salad? Try these!
Here’s another great pea recipe: One Skillet Beef Meatballs with Rice and Peas, and here are excellent recipes to serve alongside Bacon Pea Salad: Creamy Buffalo Chicken for Instant Pot or Slow Cooker, Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf, Slow-cooker Apple Cider Pulled Pork, Big Batch Greek Lemon Garlic Chicken, and Oven Baked Crispy Chicken.
It doesn’t get much easier than Bacon Pea Salad! Look how simple it is to make.
Bacon Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound of bacon cooked according to package instructions, drained and crumbled or finely chopped
- 2 pounds frozen peas thawed in the refrigerator overnight
- 3/4 cup coarsely grated sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 small red onion peeled, and finely chopped
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Stir together all of the ingredients and serve immediately, or (preferably) put in a tupperware, Gladware, or other tightly covered container in the refrigerator to give the flavours a chance to meld for an hour but up to three days prior to serving. Give it a gentle stir from top to bottom before serving.
This post was originally published April 7th, 2014 and was updated May 11th, 2017 with a video and improved notes.
Oh, how I love ths salad! Creamy, bacon-y peas! This is a great one for summer parties.
I just got a giant bag of peas and was thinking about making a salad like this. You totally beat me to the punch! 🙂
Bacon and Peas are just perfection!
The only thing I do different is to add tomatoes
I’d be just like you and eat it out of the container, opting to make and finish the bowl before the rest of the family got home so I wouldn’t have to share. I love marinated salads as well so I can already tell that this’ll have to get made.
Oh friend, I am right there with you. Love me a marinated salad. And you already know how much I love sweet little green peas. My life. The bacon? Clutch. Also? Love these pictures!
Perfect for Easter! Looks delish!
THIS is so happening and SOON! I love the whole bacon pea combo!
My boys are forever digging around in the freezer to snack on the peas! I can easily see myself making a batch of this pea salad and eating it all week for lunch. Assuming that it would last all week…
What a perfect salad for the warm weather months! I love the bacon and pea combo!
This looks phenomenal! And something different to bring to a potluck–yay!
Peas are just starting to come in here…but this looks delicious! So nice for the upcoming warm months.
My best friend is from Slovenija and her sister makes a similar salad! I never got her to write it down! This looks very close! Must make!
I want this salad so much right now. I know that frozen peas are on my list for next week!
What a beautiful and refreshing salad. It reminds me of one that my mom use to make. I will absolutely make this. Thanks.
Huh, so yeah I think bacon might be what it takes to get me to eat peas!
What a great way to enjoy your peas more …with BACON! Love this salad idea, Rebecca!
I will be making this for sure. How can anything be bad with a POUND of bacon in it. I’d eat my own elbow if it was wrapped in bacon. YUM!!!!
This sounds perfect for a make-ahead side dish for Easter. I was thinking of lamb this year, so I’ll probably throw some fresh mint in too.
My mom used to make a salad very similar to this, only it had chopped hard boiled eggs and no bacon. I MUST try this; bacon makes everything better!
Just a fantastic, fantastic salad and I love your recommendation for thawed frozen peas. Perfection!
I saw this floating around the internet today, and kept thinking how I LOVE all these flavors. What a great side dish to serve alongside something off of the grill – lamb chops?
This would be a wonderful side for a spring family reunion. I mean, I’d eat this anytime. You kind of had me won over at the word “bacon.” LOL!
All the best,
Laura
I love peas. Sometimes a big bowl, with a little melted butter and salt, means supper for me! Love this salad!
A dash of Sriracha adds a whole new depth to this salad. Love it!
I make a variation of this salad sans the bacon, and add sliced green olives. Think I might try with bacon next time. A good trick if you only have frozen peas, add the frozen peas directly to the hot pasta, will defrost the peas quickly. Than let cool, add other ingredients, and let chill in fridge. Definetely sooo much better the next day:)
What would be the servings for this recipe?
That really depends on how much each person will eat! Since you’re starting with 2 pounds of frozen peas it makes a generous amount.
Just made this and it is fantastic!!!! My hubby thought it was the best pea salad he has ever had. I do agree. Thank you for sharing this.
Can you add boiled chopped eggs, too. I always put them in my regular pea salad, I was just wondering.
I don’t see why not!
I made this salad a few days ago i changed a few things up just a tad not that it needed it however lol i used 3lbs of frozen peas to accommodate a larger crowd for a dinner party. I only used the 1/2 small red onion for the 3 pounds of peas along with that i cooked up 12ozs of fresh bacon and used a 2.8oz package of real bacon bit pieces i put 8ozs of fresh grated sharp cheddar and mixed 1/2 a cup of bacon ranch dressing with the mayo. EVERYONE RAVED OVER THIS DISH ALL NIGHT Thanks so much! Also with the leftovers to add a different dimension to it i sprinkled some crunchy imitation bacon bits on top which was truly superb.
You can also add fresh dill, its fantastic! Ive even made it vegan…used veganaise, chopped carrots and red onions fresh dill and salt and pepper. And a little pinch of smoked paprika! Surprisingly amazing!
Oh my. Oh my, oh my, oh my! This was SO GOOD! It was like an upscale version of the 7 Layer Salad (which I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I love as much as I do). I did end up using a bit more may than called for to make it all come together, he first time I made it I found out my red onion was, um, bad (to put it mildly) so I used green onions instead. Wonderful – with either kind of onion. And I pretend like it’s health food…what with the peas and onions, you see….
I had a pea salad that was bought at a deli today and decided I wanted to make some myself, this looks yummy, I will also add waterchesnuts, they were in the salad I ate to day and it added a nice different crunch to the lushes’ pea crunch
Made this salad for a Mothers Day get together. My family ate every last bite of it. I used a tad bit more mayo than what recipe called for. Also– ’round here we love Dukes Mayo.
Such a delightful recipe. Thanks for sharing this keeper!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad it went over so well and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know.
Hi, can you please tell me how many servings this makes? I’d like to make it for an upcoming women’s club lunch, and I need to make a salad for eight people. Thanks.
I always hesitate to suggest how many servings you can get out of something, mainly because my family is comprised of ravenous beasts. If you look at the starting point, though, it’s 2 pounds of peas, so divide that by 8 and you have roughly 1/4 pound of peas per person. Since there’s about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of peas in a pound, that means you’re looking at 1/4 to 1/3 cup per person before other ingredients are added. If that seems sufficient, go with it. If not, I’d say increase it! 😀
I substituted store bought Poppy-seed dressing and added sunflower seeds! The crowd I made it for devoured it!
Yum!! I like to add finely chopped celery and hard boiled eggs to mine as well.
I have been making this for 20 years but my partners hates peas. Is there any suggestions to switch out peas for something else and still taste good?
You might use kidney beans in place of peas.nadine smock
How many servings does this make? 4-6?
Thank you!
Hi Grace- Thanks for asking, but I don’t provide serving sizes because the number of servings my family gets from something is generally pretty off from what the government RDA serving sizes are… Instead of trying to parse it, I just don’t do it. I can say that one batch of this was pretty generous and went nicely with a meal of grilled meat with a couple of leftovers.
My grandmother used to make something similar. We grew up on it. Instead of cheese we dice up an apple. The dressing we make is half mayo and half plain yogurt. Can also top with toasted nuts when serving.
That sounds like a delicious spin on pea salad!
Awesome! Can’t stop eating it…. yummy :- )
can you put it up in the freezer?
I love this salad. I also like to add a little nutmeg in the dressing. I’ve also used SPAM (sliced, fried and cut into matchsticks), also ymmy! Thanks for the recipe.
gonna try it..let you know later..Thank you……..
Great recipe, love pea salad. BUT, your music ~~ not so much.
I’m glad you like the recipe. As for the music, I’ve always been a classical music fan and will continue to be… finding a Beethoven piece that was available for use was like hitting the lottery for me. In other words, Ludwig will always have a home in my videos. 😀
Thank you! I love this salad but never found an exact recipe for it. Hometown Buffet used to make it and was my favorite and would fill my plate with it (I only actually wanted to go there for the pea salad) but it didn’t have bacon or onion in it, but had cubed cheddar cheese and red bell pepper with more of a ranch dressing I think – but this sounds so yummy! Can’t wait to try it tomorrow! THANK YOU!
Always up the bacon and cheese << my life's mantra 😉
Amen!
Girl I totally get you! I am a pea fanatic!
If there is no frozen peas in the freezer, even if I don’t need them for dinner, I need them you know?
I am so making this tonight!!!
Yum! I am definitely going to make this pronto!!!! I will sub turkey bacon for the pork and soak the red onion in water for a bit to mellow it out…but other than that, I am there!
Bacon is not something I like to add in my salad, but you convinced me to try this recipe and now I’m all about it! It’s part of my Tuesday night meal almost every week.
That is fantastic, Catherine!
something different to bring to a potluck. i got giant bag and didn’t know what to do with it. Now i know 🙂
what would it like to add hard eggs to it ?
I imagine it would be lovely!
Ok, so it took me 3 years to get around to making this recipe, but it won’t be another 3 years until I make it again. HOLY SMOKES. Just finished putting it together and had to taste. You know, quality control…ahem… My stars!!! was is great. You say it only gets better with time??? Can’t wait until later today or tomorrow. MAKE IT PEOPLE!!!!!
This is a fantastic review, Rie! Thanks so much!
Serve this on a bed of lettuce, as well.
Could I use ranch dressing in place of the mayonnaise??
I think that sounds delicious!
OMG!!!!! Love this salad. I have brought it to 5 potlucks and it is always a hit. The only thing I changed was I use Mexican blend shredded cheese instead of the plain cheddar. Thank you for such an awesome salad.
I’m so glad, Paula! We love it here, too!
Great
I first had this salad in 1970 when I lived in Texas. Only it was made with sour cream instead of mayonnaise. I was so impressed that I have often made it over the years. Delicious.
I make this but use blue cheese dressing and crumble blue cheese bits instead of the mayo and cheddar. Also sautéed pine nuts and a little thin sliced celery for crunch It’s marvelous
We put this with a head of cauliflower as well. Equally wonderful!
Can’t wait to try this looks and sounds so yummy!!👍😀
Would love to make this for my garden club. How many servings? Love peas!
Hi Kimberly-
I generally do not list servings on my recipe for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that I actively avoid calorie counting. Generally speaking, a 1/2 cup of peas is considered a serving, and there are usually about 3 1/2 cups in a pound of peas. I hope that helps!
I have been trying to save this recipe, either by email to myself, or to Pinterest. This has been frustrating…please help.
Hi Chris- Click on the “print recipe” option and either print on paper or to pdf!
This is a very good recipe. I have made this several times. I also make a cauliflower salad (using raw cauliflower) that is very similar so the last time we mixed them together and it was sooo good.
What a perfect salad for the warm weather months! I love this salad but never found an exact recipe for it. Can’t wait to try it tomorrow! THANK YOU!
Wonderful recipe!!!! I added 1/2 teaspoon dill because I am addicted to dill. I also cubed my cheese because my grandma did and I need the nostalgia today. It was a hit at the get together. Everyone loved it !
This is a family favorite as well at my home, I add different types of cheese in mine with a little sugar to sweeten but not much. about a 1/3 cup I find Sharp cheddar and Swiss cheese to be the all time favorite.
I LOVE this!! I have always loved peas anyway. My grandson and I eat frozen peas that have been rinsed with luke warm water and drained. I do not bother to cook them. Lol. And I love them in my salad too. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I do, too! Love frozen peas!
I made this but instead of mayo I used miracle whip for the sweetness omitted the paprika (beings that it’s already in the miracle whip) added boiled chopped eggs and used cubed cheese instead of grated. My husband and his family((all 15 of them ) loved it!!!!
I’m so glad you like it!
How many people will this serve??
I used this method to make a salad…
it’s really tasty
me and my mom like it most
This is the best pea salad I have ever had!!!
I was never a fan of my mom’s pea salad (canned peas/velveeta cubes, etc) So when my girlfriend said she was bringing pea salad to my home as a side dish, i thought ok, i will take a spoonful and that’s it. She brought your recipe and it was love at first bite! I said to her, omg it is 7 layer salad in a bowl minus the lettuce! I am making it right now for Easter tomorrow. Thanks So Much, love it!
HAHA! That is the best, Wendy! Thanks for the great review and for sharing that your friend serving my salad converted you!
Awesome salad….will become a new favorite to make over and over again
Thanks for the great review, Melody! I’m so glad you liked it!
This pea, bacon and cheddar salad looks so yummy! I’ll be making it soon.
LOVE this recipe! I was gardening today and when I planted the peas, I realized I HAD to have some pea salad ASAP! I couldn’t wait for the peas so I microwaved them in a glass bowl, 30 seconds at a time, 3 time. It thawed them perfectly. Thanks for sharing this gem!
Brilliant, Meg! I’m so glad you loved it!