Easy Pea Salad with Bacon

My incredibly easy Pea Salad with Bacon has the perfect balance of crunchy, soft, and creamy textures. Featuring cubes of cheddar cheese and a deliciously tangy dressing, you’ll want to serve this cold pea salad at every barbecue and potluck!

Pea Salad With Bacon

Everyone knows about this creamy pea salad with bacon recipe.

I’ve made it for summer picnics, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. It’s also my go-to when I make a dish for family gatherings! 

It’s just about as famous as potato salad at BBQs and family reunions during the summer months, and it’s the perfect side dish for fun flavors. 

It’s a simple summer salad that is truly made with simple ingredients.

Plus, the cheddar cheese cubes paired with the fresh peas and salty bacon create quite the flavor combination!

Peas are one of our favorite veggies, and this creamy pasta salad with peas and bacon is just as amazing as this classic version.

Not a fan of peas? Try a similar dish made with broccoli instead. It has a lot of similar ingredients, plus raisins for extra sweetness. 

And for more dishes just like grandma used to make, check out my recipes for southern potato and macaroni salad!

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Frozen Peas – Boast a natural sweetness that offers a great contrast to the savory bacon!
  
  Their crisp yet tender texture and pop of color also work great with the creamy dressing.
  
  Fresh peas can also be used, but you’ll have to blanche and cool them first.
  
• Cooked Bacon – Applewood smoked bacon is my go-to for this old fashioned pea salad recipe!
  
  I personally love to cook bacon in the oven. It’s less messy and frees up my focus to work on other things, like prepping the other ingredients.
  
  Using an air fryer is another quick cooking method, or you can simply use your stovetop.
  
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese – For an added rich and tangy bite. Cheddar is my fave, but Colby Jack or Gouda are good alternatives.
  
• Red Onion – Another sharp-tasting addition to cut through all of the creamy richness! Shallots are milder, and scallions are less pungent if you don’t like onions.
  
• Homemade Dressing – The creamy component needed to pull your cold pea salad together!
  
  Make it with sour cream, mayonnaise, granulated sugar, white wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, and dried dill.

Tips and Tricks to Make Perfect Pea and Bacon Salad

• Thaw the peas first.

If you toss them in frozen, you’ll end up with lots of liquid in the bottom of your bowl. 

Thaw them completely, drain, and pat dry with a paper towel before adding them to your mixing bowl with the other ingredients.

• Boost the flavor.

The homemade dressing will really shine the longer it has to sit and develop — especially the dried dill!

Mix them together the day before and store in a large glass mason jar with a lid in the refrigerator if you can.

• Keep it chilled!

As you may have guessed, because the dressing contains both sour cream and mayo, pea salad with bacon must be refrigerated after you assemble it.

For parties, I usually place the bowl inside a larger bowl filled with ice so it stays cool. Remember not to leave it out for more than an hour or two!

• Add a colorful garnish to pull everything together.

Before adding the dressing, I love to save a little bit of the peas, bacon, onion, and cheese to sprinkle over the top of the finished dish. 

Or, mix it all together and add some fresh dill as a finishing touch.

• Need a smaller amount? No problem!

You can easily halve my old fashioned pea salad recipe, or simply save the rest for later. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

Prep Ahead

• Make the dressing and refrigerate
• Cook, cool, and chop the bacon
• Thaw and dry the frozen peas

Kitchen Tools You Will Need

• Quality Knives and a big solid Cutting Board make prepping a breeze and are well worth the investment.
• Mason Jar – I absolutely love these and use them for storing, prepping, drinking glasses, and especially canning.
• Mixing Bowls – I like to have a variety of sizes on hand, and this set has them all.
• Silicone Spatula – A sturdy silicone spatula makes mixing this salad thoroughly and gently a breeze.

Serving Suggestions

Deliciously fresh, pair your pea and bacon salad with grilled chicken, juicy lemon garlic shrimp, or any of your favorite cookout foods!

BBQ ribs and burgers are some other tasty options… basically, if it’s smoky and charred, it’ll work super well with the rich dressing, cheese, and bacon.

I’ve also served creamy pea salad as a side dish for the holidays! It’s especially tasty with roasted ham at Easter.

Storing Leftover Cold Pea Salad

As mentioned you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. In fact, I think it tastes even better after some extra chilling time!

Please note that this salad does not freeze well. The dressing will separate and become watery when thawed, so it’s best made fresh.

Pea Salad with Bacon FAQ

Enjoy!

With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.

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Other Simple Summer Salads

Originally published February 2022, updated and republished March 2025

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