Bacon Pea Salad Recipe

This bacon pea salad recipe combines sweet peas, cheddar cheese, red onion, and crispy bacon with a creamy rich dressing.

It makes a delicious side salad for barbecues, potlucks, and luncheons.

If you grew up in the South, you have seen this bacon pea salad at the local mom and pop restaurants, church potlucks, and family barbecues.

It is a vintage recipe that has been a favorite for many homes for years.

It is also known as Old Fashioned Pea Salad, Amish Pea Salad, Classic Pea Salad, and Creamy Pea Salad.

Watch how to make pea salad

This salad is actually one of my personal favorites.

The local K&W Cafeteria restaurant often had it with their salad selections and I would pick this pea salad or the seven layer salad.

I love the sweet and salty combination of the peas and bacon. When you add in the cheddar cheese and creamy dressing, the salad becomes INCREDIBLE.

Try it! You will love it too!

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to make bacon pea salad.

• Sweet Green Peas- I recommend using frozen. Thaw out before adding to the salad. Some people use canned peas. Personally, I feel the canned peas become too mushy and are not as sweet as the frozen.
• Bacon- I recommend cooking the bacon and not using bacon bits. Fresh cooked crumbled bacon adds so much more flavor than the bacon bits. You can substitute with turkey bacon.
• Cheddar Cheese- I like sharp or extra sharp cheddar. Mild cheddar is good also. I recommend freshly shredding your cheese. Pre-shredded cheese has a coating and doesn't blend as well as fresh shredded cheese. Some people like to dice the cheese into tiny cubes. I like the the way the shredded cheese blends into the salad. Cubed and shredded cheese are both delicious in the pea salad. It is just a matter of personal preference.
• Red Onion- Can substitute with yellow or white onion.
• Mayonnaise-I recommend real mayonnaise and not Miracle Whip. I do not recommend using a low fat or fat free mayonnaise.
• Sugar
• Apple Cider Vinegar- I like the flavor of the apple cider vinegar in the dressing. However, white vinegar and white wine vinegar are good substitutes.

*See full recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Steps

Follow these simple steps to make creamy pea salad.

1. Cook bacon. Crumble and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, sugar, and apple cider vinegar.
3. In a large bowl, mix peas, bacon, red onion, and cheddar cheese.
4. Mix in the dressing with the pea salad. You can serve immediately, but it is best to chill 2 or more hours before serving.

Note:

Note: Some recipes add boiled eggs, water chestnuts, celery, or diced ham to the salad. This recipe is more common to what you would find here in the South, but all of these additions would be delicious in the salad.

Love this recipe? Try some of these other vintage favorites:

• Ambrosia Fruit Salad
• Seven Layer Salad
• Watergate Salad
• Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
• Broccoli Bacon Salad
• Shrimp Pasta Salad

How did your creamy pea salad turn out? Please leave me a comment below if you make this and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.

Also post a picture of your salad on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!