Pea Salad with Bacon
This creamy pea salad with bacon is a classic side dish and a great way to use a bag of frozen peas. The peas are mixed with some cheddar cheese cubes, crunchy celery, red onion, and a yogurt-based creamy dressing. A little bacon at the end makes this taste like a real treat.
Serve this pea salad with baked BBQ chicken or juicy baked pork chops. And if you love creamy salads, make sure to check out our creamy cucumber salad.
Pea Salad with Bacon
If you're a fan of peas (like we are!), then this recipe is for you. It's easy to make, packs well so you can take it to a picnic or BBQ, uses ingredients that you likely have in your kitchen, and goes well with nearly every main dish.
And the combination of peas with the crunchy celery, salty bacon, sharp cheddar, and onions all wrapped in a creamy dressing is irresistible.
How to make pea salad
Making pea salad is very easy. We make ours with frozen peas as we always have them on hand. If you're lucky enough to have some fresh peas, you'll want to boil them for a couple of minutes first.
- Thaw the peas under warm running water then drain them well.
- Mix the salad ingredients together with some yogurt, a little mayo, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- Cook the bacon until nice and crispy then chop it into pieces. Right before you serve the salad, add the bacon. You can also try cooking the bacon in the oven!
Full instructions in the recipe card below.
Tips for making the best pea salad
- Add celery. It's not an ingredient usually found in pea salad, but it gives it the best little crunch.
- Chop the celery, cheese, and red onion so that they are all roughly the same size.
- Let the salad rest while cooking the bacon; it will help the flavors blend together.
- Add the bacon last. Crispy bacon is best in this salad. Add it right before serving so that it doesn't turn soft and chewy.
- To bring this to a picnic, make the salad up to a day ahead and bring the bacon to mix in before you serve it.
What goes well with pea salad
This is a great recipe as it goes well with so many main dishes. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Juiciest Baked Pork Tenderloin
- Baked BBQ Chicken
- Soy Sauce Chicken
- 8 Minute Baked Salmon
- Juicy Baked Chicken Thighs
More frozen peas recipes
- One-Pot Pasta with Peas and Bacon
- Easy Mattar Paneer (peas and cheese curry)
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Turkey Shepherdās Pie
Popular side dish recipes
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Quick Garlic Roasted Carrots
- Greek Lemon Potatoes
- Green Beans Sauteed with Garlic
- Sesame Garlic Miso Butter Mushrooms
Creamy Pea Salad with Bacon
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen peas
- Ā½ cup diced cheddar cheese
- Ā½ cup minced celery
- ā cup minced red onion
- Ā½ cup yogurt
- Ā¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Ā½ teaspoon EACH: sea salt and pepper
- 4 slices bacon
Instructions
- Place the peas in a colander and run them under water to remove any ice. It's ok if they're not completely thawed. Drain them well and place them in a large bowl with the cheddar cheese, celery, and red onion.4 cups frozen peas, Ā½ cup diced cheddar cheese, Ā½ cup minced celery, ā cup minced red onion
- In a small bowl, mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour this creamy sauce over the peas and mix well. Set the peas aside on your counter while you cook the bacon – or up to 3 days in your fridge.Ā½ cup yogurt, Ā¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, Ā½ teaspoon EACH: sea salt and pepper
- In a medium-sized pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 8 minutes. Cool then chop.4 slices bacon
- Just before serving, mix the bacon into the peas.
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I made this twice and loved it both times. The second time, I didn’t have red onion so I semi-carmelized sweet onion then added a spoonful of pesto. That was an even better version.Ā
Hi Kristen, the creamy pea salad with bacon looks and sounds amazing!! I have one question, it calls for 1/2 cup yogurt, what kind of yogurt do you use?
Thank-you!!
Hi! I like to use thick, plain yogurt.
Do you bake the pork with a lid on or off?
I believe you’re referring to this recipe: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/baked-pork-tenderloin/. If you are, it’s baked covered. š
If I donāt have any plain yogurt, could I use something else as an alternative?Ā
You could use extra mayo instead. š
Oh my goodness, I would give this 10 stars if I could. Such a refreshing side salad. I served it to my dinner guest the other night and it was the hit of meal. Ā I made it exactly like you wrote. The little that was left over still tasted delicious the next day. Thank you so much.
You’re so welcome!!
OMG! This recipe is delicious and couldn’t be any easier to put together. Any Endless Meal recipe I have made has always been delicious and loved by all. This one as well! Thank you!
That’s so wonderful to hear, Erika! Thank you for letting us know!!