Pea Salad with Bacon

Creamy, tangy, and packed with crispy bacon, sharp cheddar, and fresh dill — this Pea Salad is the perfect side dish for summer cookouts and potlucks.

Prep Time25

Cook Time10

Resting Time2

Total Time2 35

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: comfort food, dijon mustard, easy, mayonnaise

Servings: servings (about 1/2 cup)

Author: Amanda Biddle

Ingredients

8 slices bacon (10-11 ounces), chopped into bite-sized pieces (see Note 1)
4 cups frozen peas (see Note 2)
⅓ cup small diced red onion (see Note 3)
6 ounces cheddar cheese , diced into small cubes a little larger than the peas (see Note 4)
6 tablespoons mayonnaise (I use Duke's)
6 tablespoons sour cream (I use Daisy)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill , plus extra for garnish
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I use Maille)
½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt , plus additional to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper , plus additional to taste

Instructions

Cook the chopped bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the fat is rendered and the pieces are crispy, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a boil. Add the frozen peas and cook for 1 to 1½ minutes, just until heated through. Immediately transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Once cooled (about 2 to 3 minutes), drain well in a colander.
Add the drained peas, bacon, red onion, and cheddar to a large bowl. Fold together gently — peas are delicate and will break apart if you're too aggressive with the spoon.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, apple cider vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard, granulated garlic powder, salt, and pepper until smooth.
Fold ⅔ of the dressing into the salad until everything is well coated. Reserve the remaining dressing, covered, in the refrigerator. Cover the salad tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but preferably 2 to 4 hours.
Remove the salad from the fridge and fold in as much of the reserved dressing as you like. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Garnish with extra crumbled bacon, fresh dill fronds, and freshly cracked black pepper.

Notes

1. Bacon: I use thick-cut, hickory-smoked bacon for a meatier bite, but you can also use standard cut.

If you want to add a little crispy bacon over the top of the bowl for garnish, either reserve about a tablespoon on the side when assembling the salad, or add an extra slice when cooking.

If you prefer not to cook the bacon on the stovetop, you can also bake whole slices in the oven using my tutorial, then crumble them after they've cooled.

2. Peas: Two 10-ounce bags of frozen peas yield about 4 cups. For food safety, blanch frozen peas rather than simply thawing them before adding them to the salad.

If using fresh shelled peas instead of frozen, cook them in lightly salted boiling water for 2 to 5 minutes (depending on their size), until they're crisp-tender. Then, shock them in an ice bath and drain well.

3. Red Onion: For a milder bite, soak the diced red onion in ice water for 10 to 15 minutes before adding it to the salad. This mellows its sharpness while keeping it crisp. Drain well before using.

4. Cheddar: Sharp or extra sharp cheddar both work here, depending on how you want the flavor to be in your pea salad. I most often use Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp Yellow.

Nutrition

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