Pea Salad with Cheese is a great salad to serve at a picnic, barbecue, or cookout. Frozen Sweet Peas are the featured ingredient, accompanied by hard-boiled eggs, cheese cubes, and chopped sweet pickles, celery, onion, and radishes. Wrap this all up with mayo and sour cream for an easy and yummy summer salad.
This Pea Salad is full of petite peas that pop in your mouth when you take a bite.
Every mouthful is loaded with so many textures and flavors, it’s a real joy to eat. Crunchy bits of celery, onion, and radish, along with sweetness from the pickles, and small chunks of tender, flavorful eggs and cheese. So good.
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My grandma gave me this recipe when I was first married. She had a treasure trove of recipes in her kitchen, filed away (and indexed) in cabinets and drawers that she had collected from newspapers, magazines, and cookbooks. Many of these I now have stored in our back bedroom closet to go through when I have time.
I called on Grandma for help with a recipe many times. Sometimes I needed advice on ingredients or instructions, or simply was in search of a specific dish to serve. Grandma always came to the rescue, answering my questions or going through her meticulously indexed files to find the recipe I desired. Her filing system was a true labor of love. This Pea Salad with Cheese is one of the recipes she helped me find. I love her personal note at the bottom.
As often happens, I’ve tweaked this recipe through the years to suit my tastes. If you happen to have hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator, this salad is a great way to use them up. It only takes two.
Instructions For Making This Recipe
Gather the ingredients so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Peas and Eggs
Place opened bag of frozen peas in the microwave and heat according to package directions, approximately 4-5 minutes. It is not necessary to fully cook the peas, as you don’t want them to shrivel.
If you’re unable to find petite peas, go ahead and use frozen sweet peas. Or fresh peas, if you have a garden. You do not want to use canned peas, however, as that will not work well for this fresh salad.
If you don’t already have hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator, go ahead and boil them now. You may follow my instructions for boiling eggs below. Since this recipe only requires 2 eggs, you may opt to boil extra for snacking on or serving for breakfast.
Boil the Eggs
The following method works for both fresh eggs and store bought eggs. Remove large eggs from refrigerator and allow to set out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmering boil. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Using a wire strainer, lower eggs into the simmering water. The water should cover the eggs by at least 1-inch. Return water to a gentle boil, then set timer for 10-12 minutes.
Place ice in a bowl of cold water. Remove eggs with a wire strainer and place in the ice cold water. Allow to cool for 8-10 minutes before peeling. Slice and chop the eggs and place in a prep bowl until ready to assemble.
Chop the Vegetables
While the eggs are boiling, you may work on prepping the vegetables. Using a cutting board and Chef’s knife, slice the Colby Jack cheese into small cubes.
You may substitute cheddar cheese for the Colby Jack cheese. Either cheese works well in this salad.
Next, chop the sweet pickles and red onion. Clean and slice the celery and radishes.
Celery and radishes are optional, but I think they are both a nice addition, adding color and crunch to this salad.
Assemble the Salad
Place the steamed peas in a large bowl. Stir in the mayonnaise and sour cream with a rubber spatula. Add to this the chopped red onion, celery, and radishes.
Next, add the cheese cubes, diced boiled eggs, and sweet pickles. Carefully, stir to combine. Season the salad with kosher salad and freshly ground black pepper.
When I make a salad such as this one, I always taste it at the end to make sure everything is good. If desired, add more salt, pepper, or even more mayonnaise to suite your preference.
Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and garnish with smoked paprika, if you like. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld. This salad will serve 4-6 people.
Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container for 2-3 days. After this, the salad starts to get a bit weepy, so I encourage you to eat it up before then.
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Pea Salad With Cheese
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Ingredients
- 18 oz frozen petite peas
- 2 large hard boiled eggs
- 1/2 cup Colby jack or cheddar cheese
- 4 medium sweet pickles (chopped)
- 1/2 cup celery (sliced, optional)
- 1/3 cup red onion (diced)
- 4 medium radishes (sliced, optional)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika (for garnish)
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Peas and Eggs
- Place opened bag of frozen peas in the microwave and heat according to package directions, approximately 4-5 minutes. It is not necessary to fully cook the peas, as you don’t want them to shrivel.
- If you don't already have boiled eggs, boil the eggs at this time. See boiling instructions in notes below. Slice and chop the eggs. Place in prep bowl until ready to assemble the salad.
Chop the Vegetables
- Using a cutting board and Chef’s knife, slice the Colby Jack cheese into small cubes.
- Next, chop the sweet pickles and red onion. Clean and slice the celery and radishes.
Assemble the Salad
- Place the steamed peas in a large bowl. Stir in the mayonnaise and sour cream with a rubber spatula.
- Add to this the chopped red onion, celery, and radishes. Next, add the cheese cubes, diced boiled eggs, and sweet pickles. Carefully, stir to combine.
- Season the salad with kosher salad and freshly ground black pepper. Taste for more seasoning, according to preference.
- Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and garnish with smoked paprika. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
- Serves 4-6.
