Snap Pea Salad is so easy to make. Sweet, tender raw peas combined with a few simple ingredients.
Crisp and vibrant. Bursting with fresh flavours. A quick-to-assemble cucumber and cold pea salad tossed with a simple sour cream and dill dressing. My family voted this the best summer salad.
You can never go wrong with cool cucumbers in recipes all summer long. Have you tried my stuffed cucumber boats?
When I was a kid, my mom and baba both had HUGE gardens. My favourite vegetable to pick and eat was fresh, sweet green peas. As I picked them off the stalk I think I ate as many as I put in the basket. No wonder she always found empty pea pods in my tracks.
Still, to this day, fresh peas eaten raw is like eating candy for me. I love adding them to salads and sandwiches or just dipping them in hummus.
Have you ever tried pea shoots? A great burger topping, just like on these Zucchini Burgers.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for this salad with sugar snap peas can be found at the bottom of this post.
Ingredients for Snap Pea Salad
I love when it only takes a few ingredients to make a great dish. This easy salad recipe combines:
- raw, fresh sugar snap peas
- cucumber
- pickled onions
- sour cream
- dried dill
- salt & pepper
Within a few minutes, you have a quick and healthy salad that is the perfect side to sandwiches, burgers or just a great option. Give this a try alongside fish and chips. The perfect alternative to coleslaw.
Just like my cucumber salad recipe, this salad combines sour cream, dill, and pickled onions. Maybe it is the Ukrainian in me, but sour cream and dill is a match made in heaven.
How about pickled onions, are you a fan? In this recipe, I used sour pickled onions, but feel free to use the sweet variety if you prefer.
Preparing This Simple Pea Salad Recipe
- Wash the peas, pat dry, and thinly slice.
- Wash and cut the cucumber.
- Cut the pickled onions (or not).
- Make the dressing.
- Combine everything in a bowl.
- Done!
The crispiness of the snap peas, along with the cool refreshing crunchy cucumbers, tossed in a luscious creamy dill dressing, creates a harmonious blend of goodness.
Suggestions/Recipe Tips
This creamy cucumber pea salad is best eaten on the day it is made. Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container and placed in the fridge for up to 3 days. The leftover salad will not be as crisp.
Fresh dill can be used in place of dried dill. Adjust the amount to your liking.
Greek yogurt is a great substitute for sour cream.
If you don’t like pickled onions, you can leave them out or try green onions instead.
Sugar Snap Peas vs Snow Peas
Who would have known there were so many kinds of peas. When I was a kid the only variety I knew was the garden pea or English pea.
Snap peas are actually a cross between snow peas and garden peas. No wonder I love them so much. You get to eat the whole thing, no shelling necessary.
They are super crisp and super sweet. Most times I eat them raw. Sometimes they have tough strings that need to be removed. Lately, I have found them to be almost stringless.
If you are counting calories, you will be happy to know that snap peas are easy on the calories and are great in the nutrition department too. Zero fat, low carb, high fibre, sounds good to me.
Ways To Eat Sugar Snap Peas
I think you already know my favourite way, but here are some tasty ways to enjoy them:
- raw (perfect for snacking on)
- steamed
- roasted
- sautéed
- stir-fry
Pea Pod Tips
- Look for bright green pea pods that are shiny and look full, almost bursting. Try to avoid dull, yellowing peas.
- Old peas tend to have more fibrous strings.
- Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. I like to keep them in a perforated produce bag (affiliate).
- Always rinse under cold water before eating.
- You can also freeze them. Blanch whole peas for about 2 minutes. Cool, dry and lay on a cookie sheet (be sure they are not touching). Freeze for a couple of hours, then transfer to a freezer bag.
Next time you are looking for a super crisp and refreshing side dish, this green pea salad is an awesome choice.
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You may enjoy this simple pea salad with:
Sugar Snap Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ounces snap peas (thinly sliced)
- 3 ounces seedless cucumber (diced)
- ½ teaspoon dried dill (or to taste)
- 1 ½ ounces sour cream
- 2 ounces pickled onions (sour or sweet)
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Dressing:
- In a small bowl combine the sour cream, dill, salt, and pepper. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
- It is best if you combine this at least 30 minutes (or more) prior to using to enable the flavours to develop.
For the Salad:
- Wash snap peas and pat dry.
- Cut into thin slices and place in a bowl.
- Wash and cut the cucumber and add to the bowl with the peas.
- Slice the pickled onions and add to the bowl. I used small onions and cut them in ½.
- Add the prepared sour cream dressing to the peas, cucumbers and pickled onions.
- Combine and ENJOY!
Deseree
This salad sounds like a delicious dish to take along to summer picnics. I will be saving this!
Homemade & Yummy
Enjoy, perfect for picnics and bbqs.
Jacque
I remember my mom making this classic potluck dish. I am going to have to give your version a try!
Homemade & Yummy
Hope you do. This is great to take along for sure.
Julie
I grew up with a small, city-sized garden in my backyard, but we always had room for several sugar snap pea plants. I don’t think we ever got around to cooking with them, though — I always just ate them straight off the vine!
Homemade & Yummy
Yes I know…eating fresh peas out of the garden it THE BEST.
Loreto Nardelli
You have taking me back a few years when I was little and raiding gardens eating carrots and fresh peas. I too like snap peas and hummus a great combination and so healthy and naturally tasty. This salad is just what we need to get spring in the air!
Thank you for sharing!
Ciao!
Homemade & Yummy
OMG Spring will not come soon enough. ENJOY!
Jo
I would definitely like to try this recipe. Looks absolutely delicious! So refreshing and perfect for BBQ party. For someone who loves snap peas this is a real treat! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe
Homemade & Yummy
This sure is…and I hope you can make the salad before you eat all the fresh peas.
JENNIFER
BEST PEA SALAD EVER!!!! MY GO-TO RECIPE!!! EVERYONE ALWAYS LOVES IT!
Homemade & Yummy
We love this one. Super easy and super delicious.
Heather Perine
Oh my gosh this recipe brings me back! I could always be found in the garden munching on the fresh peas. But I hate when they are cooked, so this is great that its a salad! Love the addition of dill too. Can’t wait to try!
Homemade & Yummy
I only eat cooked peas is stew. Raw is the way to go.
Toni
I would love to give it a try! Sounds really good!
Homemade & Yummy
We really do enjoy this one very much.
Denise
This looks and sounds amazing! Fresh snap peas are good with everything, even plain and raw! Thank you for sharing.
Homemade & Yummy
Yes I always munch on raw snap peas…and they are perfect in this salad.
Lindsay Cotter
Looks so fresh and delicious! A great side dish that screams spring in such a wonderful way!
Homemade & Yummy
HAHAH….wish it would scream a little harder….I WANT SPRING!!
Lathiya
The salad came in perfect timing as I started to add more salad in my diet. The sour cream dressing sounds interesting and am sure it gives the salad fabulous taste.
Homemade & Yummy
Sour cream and dill are amazing on this salad. ENJOY!
Trish Bozeman
I totally would have eaten all the snap peas off the vine too. Something about peeling them open and eating the little peas is just so satisfying. But this salad sounds amazing with the pickled onion! A must try!
Homemade & Yummy
OMG those garden peas were so good. I would always look for the “big fat ones” and pop them open.
Maman de sara
This is a very easy great salad, I like it especially in summer!
Homemade & Yummy
We eat it all year long….if I can get the peas, I make this salad.
Marisa F. Stewart
I’m writing this review for my daughter. She needed some kind of salad recipe to take to a pitch in at work and I immediately thought of your snap pea salad. Well, she took it there and everyone went nuts over it!! She didn’t have anything left. The bowl was clean as a whistle. This is definitely a salad I’m anxious to make.
Homemade & Yummy
Thanks so much for letting me know. This is such an easy salad to make, and we clean the bowl too!!
Annissa
Your write-up took me back to the days of my childhood. We also had a large garden and my mother would preserve everything for the winter. Raw peas were one of my favorite things to snack on. Today, I no longer have a garden, although my husband and I were just discussing putting in a raised bed or two.
The combination of flavors in this salad has me drooling! I love the addition of pickled onions to add just a bit of zip!
Homemade & Yummy
I do not have a garden either. I hope to have a bit of a herb garden this summer. Sounds like your mom and my mom had things in common. Hope you give this recipe a try.