This easy pea salad recipe only requires 5 ingredients and is ready in about 15 minutes! Made with frozen peas, mayonnaise, ranch dressing, red onions, and diced ham, it’s the perfect side dish for almost any occasion.
As a kid, I wasn’t a big fan of green peas. Actually, I pretty much hated her. I had a great aunt who sometimes kept me and I remember she tried to force feed me peas. And it seems like every time I’ve been there we’ve eaten peas.
Luckily, as I’ve gotten older, my disdain for the vegetable has turned from hatred to quite a fondness. Apparently the 10,000 taste buds we have are replaced every few weeks and as we age the number of taste buds on our tongue decreases. Things we didn’t like as kids taste different as adults.
Well, I’m still not a big fan of canned peas, but I’ll eat them. The ones I love the most are fresh or frozen peas that are just about cooked or even raw. I think that’s why I love pea salad so much.
Frozen peas are paired with a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing and paired with finely diced smoked ham and red onions in my recipe. This simple combination is my absolute favorite.
To add a little more flavor, I add a packet of ranch mix to my dressing—a trick I learned from a restaurant a few years ago. I love the taste, but you can always use less of the ranch mix if you like.
And while there are only 5 ingredients that you just need to stir together, you can make it even easier on your own by using the finely diced ham that comes in a little packet in the cold cuts section of the grocery store.
And while I love using frozen peas to make this classic side dish super easy (and delicious), you can use fresh peas too. Simply blanch them in some boiling water, rinse in cold water to stop cooking and drain before adding to the salad. You will need about 1 pound of fresh peas, just like the frozen ones.
recipe card
Simple pea salad
Remarks
To use fresh peas, simply blanch the peas, drain, and allow to cool before adding to the salad.