This simple Pea Salad with Bacon is a classic potluck side dish that never goes out of style. It’s a cold creamy salad full of sweet green peas, big chunks of cheddar cheese, crispy bacon bits, diced onion, and ranch dressing.
Frozen peas hold up really well in this salad, but if fresh peas are in season, nothing will beat the flavor. If you like creamy salads, you can also try this Easy Frog Eye Salad, Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad, or this Sweet Snickers Apple Salad.
Cold Pea Salad with Bacon
Don’t knock it until you try it. Even if you aren’t the biggest peas fan, you just may find yourself falling in love with this old fashioned Pea Salad recipe with bacon, onions, and cheddar cheese chunks. The sweetness of the peas combined with the creamy dressing, salty bacon, and big pieces of cheese are what makes this salad so great.
Besides being delicious, this is probably such a classic barbecue recipe because it is so dang easy. You can make the entire salad from start to finish in less than 15 minutes. Ranch dressing is my go-to, but for a little extra kick try our Southwest Ranch Dressing.
Key Ingredients
- Peas – Frozen peas hold up so much better than canned peas. If you make this recipe in the summer and have access to fresh green peas, by all means use those!
- Bacon – you can purchase prepared bacon bits or make your own homemade bacon bits. Any kind of bacon will work well.
- Onion – Red onion has a nice sweet onion flavor and adds a little extra color to the salad.
- Cheddar Cheese – this should be cut into small bite sized cubes. I like the contrasting flavor of sharp cheddar cheese, but good substitutes would be another type of cheddar, mozzarella, or Monterey Jack.
- Ranch Dressing – you will need between ½ to 1 cup of ranch dressing, depending on how much you like. For a slightly different flavor profile, try our Southwest Ranch Dressing. If you want to keep things a little more healthy, substitute Greek yogurt or sour cream and mix in ranch seasoning mix.
How to Make Pea Salad
- Cook the bacon bits. Heat a saute pan over medium high heat and add the bacon slices. Saute until crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel until cooled.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add the frozen peas, bacon bits (reserve some for the top of the salad), diced red onion, 3/4 cup of the cubed cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup ranch dressing. Stir until combined. Add more ranch dressing according to your creaminess preference.
- Serve. Transfer the pea salad to a serving bowl and top with the reserved bacon bits and 1/4 cup of cubed cheese. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! You can add the peas in frozen. It doesn’t take long for them to thaw and this way they won’t get too soft before you need to mix with the rest of the ingredients.
Absolutely! If green peas are in season, you can use those instead. They make this salad even more delicious, flavorful, and fresh.
In order to serve this salad at its very best, you can store it in the fridge up to a few hours ahead of time. Leftovers will still taste great even three days after you have made it, but I recommend first serving it soon after you have made it because the peas will still taste super fresh.
Storing Pea Salad
Refrigerator: store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Pea Bacon Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 24 ounces frozen peas
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, cubed (reserve a little for garnish on top)
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing
Instructions
- Heat a saute pan over medium high heat and add the bacon slices. Saute until crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel until cooled. Once cool, chop into bacon bits.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the frozen peas, about 1¼ cups of bacon bits, diced red onion, 3/4 cup of the cubed cheddar cheese, and the ranch dressing. Stir until combined, adding more ranch dressing according to your creaminess preference.
- Transfer the pea salad to a serving bowl and top with the reserved bacon bits and cubed cheese.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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More Classic Salad Recipes
- Broccoli Salad with Bacon
- Coleslaw
- Caesar Salad
- Caesar Salad Dressing
- Easy Frog Eye Salad
- German Potato Salad
- Fruit Salad
- More Side Dishes
- More Easy Salad Recipes
This creamy Bacon and Pea Salad recipe is a quick and easy side dish to bring to potlucks and BBQs. It’s full of frozen peas, bacon, red onion, and cheddar cheese all mixed with ranch dressing.
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