Pea Salad with Bacon

I'll let you in on a little secret, I'm not a big fan of peas - my three girls are, but I do love this salad.  What's made me a convert?  The homemade dressing and the bacon.  Oh, and the cheese!

Ingredients

The real beauty of recipe is the ease in which you can customize it to your personal tastes.

• The basic version has green peas, homemade dressing, onion, and cheese. 
• Some other popular add-ins are bacon, pimentos, hard boiled egg, garlic, and my personal favorite: mild banana peppers.

Questions

Can you make this in advance?

Yes, this recipe is easy to make the night before as it needs some chilling time.

Is this recipe low in carbs?

Yes, it sure is!  I hope that news brought a smile to your face.  For a serving size of ½ cup, it has 10.8g of carbs and 228 calories.  For more nutritional information, scroll past the recipe card.

Can you freeze leftovers?

No, it's not a good idea to freeze this recipe because it has mayo and sour cream in it.  It's best to store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container.

How to Make

First, gather all the ingredients for the dressing: mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, and spices.

Put all the ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Whisk together until well combined, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Next, fry up the bacon, cube the cheese, and mince the onion and banana pepper. 

If your kids aren't crazy about cheese, cut the cubes larger to make them easy to pick out. 

Also, don't forget to take out the frozen peas so they can defrost a little.  Ask me how I know this step is important?

Put the frozen peas in a large mixing bowl and pour the homemade dressing over top.

Thoroughly stir the dressing with a large spoon, so each green pea is well coated.

Add the rest of the prepped ingredients: crumbled bacon, cubed cheese, and the minced red onion and banana pepper.  Be sure to leave a little of the bacon to use as a garnish.

Using a large spoon, mix the ingredients until they are coated in the dressing.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

Now, it's chilling time.  Just cover it and let it sit in the fridge overnight, or an hour if you're in a hurry.

Just before serving, stir and adjust seasonings to taste if necessary, then transfer it to a pretty bowl.  Sprinkle on the reserved bacon and you're all set. 

There you have it!  Super simple.  You'll want to make a big bowl of this to bring to your next covered dish event, or maybe your kids will just devour it all on their own.  Either way, you'll make someone happy.

Pro Tips

• Use slightly frozen peas instead of canned.
• Don't leave out the bacon.
• Have some crunchy ingredients, like banana peppers.
• Use homemade dressing for the best taste.
• Stir, taste, and adjust the seasonings before serving.
• If you're feeling fancy, you can turn this into a layered salad.
• Serve this cold.

Loving this pea salad with bacon?  You'll want to try these other amazing summer salads.

• Overnight Three Bean Salad
• Low Carb Bell Pepper Salad
• Make Ahead Broccoli Salad

The pleasure of a 5 star review would be greatly appreciated.

Recipe

Pea Salad with Bacon

Pea salad with bacon is an easy summer recipe that combines raw ingredients with frozen peas and pickled banana peppers.  This simple low carb salad is served cold and has a creamy dressing.  Serve this to your family tonight and enjoy an old fashioned Southern side dish that will convert non pea lovers.

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Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cold pea salad, pea salad

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 7 cups

Calories: 240kcal

Author: Brooke

Ingredients

 

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For the Salad

• ▢ 1 cup bacon, crumbled (roughly 9 slices)
• ▢ 1 cup marble cheese, Colby-Jack, cut in bite-sized cubes
• ▢ 1 cup red onion, minced
• ▢ ½ cup mild banana peppers, minced
• ▢ 2 pounds frozen peas

For the Dressing

• ▢ ½ cup mayo
• ▢ ½ cup sour cream
• ▢ 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from one lemon
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon black pepper

US Imperial - Metric

Instructions

Making the Dressing

• Whisk together the dressing ingredients until well combined.  Cover and refrigerate.

Making the Salad

• Pour the frozen peas into a large mixing bowl so they can mostly thaw while you make the salad.
• In a large cast iron skillet, cook the 9 slices of bacon in two batches over medium heat.  Flip each piece over with a fork.  When done, drain on paper towel-lined plate.  Cool, then cut into ¼ inch pieces.
• Cut the cheese into cubes by cutting it into ¼ slices with a sharp chef's knife.  Stack three slices, then cut into sticks.  Line up the sticks and cut into cubes.  Place in a small bowl and set aside.
• Cut the red onion in half with a sharp knife, then remove the outer skin.  Thinly slice the onion, then mince it.  Set aside.
• Mince the banana peppers.
• Pour the salad dressing over the slightly thawed peas, and mix until all the peas are coated.
• Add the red onion, banana pepper, cheese, and most of the bacon (reserve some for garnish) to the peas.  Stir until well combined.  Taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary.
• Cover and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
• Stir the pea salad just before serving, so all the peas are coated in the dressing.  Adjust seasonings, if necessary.
• Transfer to a pretty serving bowl and garnish with the reserved bacon.

Notes

• Instead of using canned, use slightly frozen.
• Keep the bacon.  It's flavor is important here.
• Homemade dressing will have the best taste.
• Before serving, stir, taste, and adjust the seasonings.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 240kcal (12%)Carbohydrates: 12g (4%)Protein: 8g (16%)Fat: 18g (28%)Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 28mg (9%)Sodium: 483mg (21%)Potassium: 252mg (7%)Fiber: 4g (17%)Sugar: 5g (6%)Vitamin A: 669IU (13%)Vitamin C: 31mg (38%)Calcium: 96mg (10%)Iron: 1mg (6%)