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Home » Recipes » Side Dish Recipes

Classic Pea Salad Recipe (with Bacon and Cheese)

Published: May 18, 2021 Last Updated: Jun 24, 2020 by Marye 1258 words. | About 7 minutes to read this article.

This creamy bacon pea salad recipe is as at home snuggled next to your perfectly grilled steak as it is lounging on the table at the church picnic or potluck. Either way, it will disappear fast - it's the perfect side dish all summer long.
Total time 1 hour 10 minutes
Jump to Recipe
Pea salad with text overlay for pinterest

This is a classic southern recipe that you'll find at family reunions and all kinds of summer gatherings. My mom's cucumber salad and creamy potato salad are both summer favorites, too!

An antique yellowware bowl filled with green peas and diced cheddar cheese. Title image
This delicious summer side dish is made with simple ingredients.
Jump to:
  • ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
  • 🧾 Ingredients
  • 🔪 Instructions
  • 🥄 Equipment
  • 🥫 Storage
  • 💭 Things to know
  • 👩🏻‍🍳 Frequently asked questions
  • 📚 Related recipes
  • 📞 The last word
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

  • So creamy!
  • Super easy!
  • Make ahead!
  • Perfect for summer potlucks and picnics!

Sweet petite peas, salty cheddar, crisp salty bacon, and mild red onions are blanketed with a simple mayonnaise dressing in this easy recipe. Add a little smoked paprika and you're ready to go!

🧾 Ingredients

You'll need the following for this delicious pea salad.

  • Frozen green peas (the baby peas are best)
  • Red onion
  • Bacon
  • Sharp Cheddar cheese
  • Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
  • Sugar
  • Salt & pepper
  • Smoked paprika

🔪 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.

  1. Mix the mayonnaise, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl - set aside.
  2. Add the frozen peas, diced onion, and diced cheese to a large serving bowl.
  3. Spoon the mayonnaise mixture over the top and stir gently to coat the ingredients with the dressing.
  4. Cover the pea salad tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour or up to 2 days.
  5. Just before serving stir in the crispy bacon pieces and dust the top with smoked paprika.
  6. Promptly store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

🥄 Equipment

You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.

Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Large bowl for serving
  • Small mixing bowl
  • Large spoon
  • Whisk
  • Measuring cups and measuring spoons
  • Sharp knife

🥫 Storage

Store leftover pea and cheese salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.

This recipe does not freeze well.

💭 Things to know

Expert tip: Don't leave this delicious side dish at room temperature more than an hour or two. Mayonnaise is notorious for going bad in the heat.

  • Summer is hot! Recipes like this classic pea salad were developed because they are quick, easy, and aren't going to heat up the kitchen. If you know you're going to make it in the afternoon you'd cook extra bacon in the morning while it was still cool - problem solved.
  • This is delicious with smoked Cheddar instead of sharp.
  • Some people like boiled eggs chopped up in theirs. I do not but if you do - go for it!
  • Using small Cheddar cheese cubes already cut will save time.
  • This easy salad has the best flavor after it's been chilled a couple of hours.
  • There's no need to use thawed peas. I just add them frozen.
  • Creamy pea salad works as a main dish because the peas and cheddar provide plenty of protein.
Close up image of green peas, bacon, and diced cheddar in this pea salad recipe.
This easy pea salad is a classic side dish.

👩🏻‍🍳 Frequently asked questions

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

Do you have to cook the peas?

No. I use frozen peas and just dump them in with the rest of the ingredients while they are still frozen. They stay a gorgeous green color and retain some of their texture. Now, if you were to use fresh peas right from your garden you'd want to steam those until they were crisp-tender. Otherwise no worries.

Can I use canned peas?

Please no. You "could" but you would have a bland, starchy, mushy, faded dish that resembles a good southern pea salad about as much as Target resembles Neiman Marcus. Go with the frozen - I promise you'll be glad you did.

Can I use grated cheese?

Again, you "can" but the results aren't nearly as magnificent as they are when you use tiny cubes of Cheddar. I think cubed cheese looks better and it doesn't get lost in the peas.

Can I make this pea salad recipe ahead of time?

You can make it up to 2 days ahead of time but don't put the bacon in until right before serving. Also, I like to keep extra frozen peas on hand so that if it gets a little watery I can add more peas to it on the day of the picnic.

Does this side dish have to be refrigerated?

Yes it does. Because it contains mayonnaise you'll want to keep it cold. If you're doing a potluck outside then keep the bowl in a ice chest until you're ready to serve it.

📚 Related recipes

  • Brazilian Grilled Pineapple
  • Southern Cornbread Salad Recipe
  • Patriotic Fruit Salad
  • Dr Pepper Baked Beans
  • BBQ Macaroni Salad Texas Style
  • Crockpot Green Beans and Ham
  • Mom's Noodles Romanoff
  • Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

📞 The last word

I think it's because of the heat that life just tends to move at a slower pace here in Texas in the summertime. If you want to weed the garden or mow the lawn, doing so when it's 115F is a health hazard.

Even the air conditioning system can't keep up with that kind of heat so afternoons might be spent reading a book or catching up with a neighbor - certainly not cooking and heating the house up!

Pea salad in a yellowware bowl on a lace table cloth - feature image.

No matter where you go in the South if there's a potluck there's going to be a sweet pea salad on the table next to the potato salad. There's just something about this summer side dish that people either love or hate - and I haven't met many that hate it.

Maybe it's the way you bite into the tender-crisp pop of the peas, or the way the salty sharpness of the chunks of Cheddar cheese burst through the sweet dressing.

Maybe it's the crunch of the bacon or the sweet-heat of the red onion or, maybe it's just everything all together and the memories that are wrapped up in the bowl right along with the ingredients.

Because if you don't have memories associated with this iconic southern side dish then you soon will.

I hope you'll try this the next time you grill burgers or need something last minute to take to a potluck or picnic. It's just so easy and it's never too early or too late to start making great memories.

📖 Recipe

Peas and squares of cheddar cheese with a light dressing served in a bowl.
4.62 from 13 votes

Southern Pea and Cheese Salad with Bacon

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This creamy bacon pea salad recipe is as at home snuggled next to your perfectly grilled steak as it is lounging on the table at the church picnic or potluck. Either way, it will disappear fast - it's the perfect side dish all summer long.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American - Southern
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Chill: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings:12
Calories:281
Author:Marye Audet-White
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Equipment Needed

  • 4 quart mixing bowl

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces frozen green peas, plus one on hand in case you need it
  • 1 cup mayonnaise, I suggest Hellmann's
  • 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ cup diced red onion
  • 1 ¼ cup Cheddar cheese, diced small - you can use mild, medium, or sharp.
  • 6 bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
  • Smoked paprika, for garnish

Instructions

  • Mix the mayonnaise, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl - set aside.
  • Add the frozen peas, diced onion, and diced cheese to a large serving bowl.
  • Spoon the mayonnaise mixture over the top and stir gently to coat the ingredients with the dressing.
  • Cover tightly and chill for at least one hour or up to 2 days.
  • Just before serving stir in the crispy bacon pieces and dust the top with smoked paprika.
  • Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Notes

Expert tip: Don't leave this delicious side dish at room temperature more than an hour or two. Mayonnaise is notorious for going bad in the heat.
  • Summer is hot! Recipes like this classic pea salad were developed because they are quick, easy, and aren't going to heat up the kitchen. If you know you're going to make it in the afternoon you'd cook extra bacon in the morning while it was still cool - problem solved.
  • This is delicious with smoked Cheddar instead of sharp.
  • Using small Cheddar cheese cubes already cut will save time.
  • This easy salad has the best flavor after it's been chilled a couple of hours.
  • There's no need to use thawed peas. I just add them frozen.
  • Creamy pea salad works as a main dish because the peas and cheddar provide plenty of protein.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 409mg | Potassium: 130mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 11.8mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 0.6mg

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    First published May 14, 2019. Last updated May 18, 2021 for better readability and easier to understand instructions.

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    About Marye

    With a 40 year focus on the importance of family and a passion for southern comfort food, Marye Audet-White is an expert in melding the two together effortlessly. Marye's a NY Times Bestselling author with 10 cookbooks under her belt and her recipes have been featured in Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Today, House Beautiful, Texas Living, Food & Wine, and many more.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. SUSAN J TURCSANY

      May 16, 2022 at 7:48 am

      5 stars
      This was great! I never thought to make a cold salad with peas. I had all the ingredients on hand so decided to give it a try. Was pleasantly surprised, wasn't sure that I would like it. I used Hellman's mayo, can't stand miracle whip. Will definitely make this again.

      Reply
    2. Leslie Stevenson

      October 20, 2021 at 12:30 am

      5 stars
      This is a good one. I made this for supper...and only this. We were very happy. Thank you for sharing it with us.

      Reply
    3. Deborah L Eck

      August 23, 2021 at 2:56 pm

      5 stars
      I love this salad, my husband is getting closer! He loves the little baby peas, but we are having a hard time finding them, where do you get your baby peas? Thanks

      Reply
      • Marye

        August 24, 2021 at 2:05 pm

        I use frozen. 🙂

    4. Tracy Arrington

      July 30, 2020 at 11:08 am

      5 stars
      Oh yeah, 5 stars for sure. Loved this recipe, followed it as written. The crispy bacon element is outstanding. Even better than your macaroni salad with the green olives in it, which is pretty dang good also. Thanks, these recipes are now part of my summer repertoire.

      Reply
      • Marye

        July 30, 2020 at 11:44 am

        I am so glad you like it! I love this stuff!

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    NY Times bestselling author. Written over 10 cookbooks. Mom of 8 kids. Homeschooling mom for 22 years. Army veteran. Nothing fazes me & together we're going to get the kind of meals on your table that you (and your family) have been dreaming of. 

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