Vibrant peas shine in this sweet pea salad recipe. It’s a delicious side dish that’s prepared in about 25 minutes featuring plump sweet peas (frozen or fresh), crisp radishes, hard cooked eggs, and a tangy dijon vinaigrette. This green pea salad is easily portable and make ahead ready!
So Fresh and Just Look at That Color!
Sweet pea salads have been on my agenda for as long as I can remember. Those plump-juicy, sweet green pops of bliss are even more satisfying during the hottest of days. This cold sweet pea salad is refreshing and a beautiful side dish with all things summer.
My idea of pea salad shifted when I saw the inspiration for this sweet pea recipe in Greg Atkinson’s In Season cookbook. Growing up, creamy pea salad was never seen without cubed cheddar cheese and loads of mayo. Now, I love that classic green pea salad, but this one offers a subtle, different flavor profile. Perhaps a grown up pea salad.
This Recipe Is
- made with fresh or frozen peas
- mellow yet loaded with flavor
- the dressing is easily adaptable to use what you have in the pantry
If you enjoy making homemade salad recipes, you’ll delight in this light and eye catching salad.
About the Key Ingredients
- Sweet Green Peas – use either fresh or frozen peas. We’re blanching, whether you’re using fresh or frozen. Frozen peas have already been blanched, but I blanch again, to freshen them, and it improves their texture.
- Dijon. Horseradish. or Horseradish Mustard – what’s so punchy and different about this recipe is the light dijon dressing’s call for a bit of horseradish. It offers just a hint of spice, and complements the peppery radishes. But, and here’s the flexibility, I’ve tested this recipe with dijon, horseradish and horseradish mustard and while they add a slightly different flavor profile to the salad, they all work deliciously. I find using ingredients for the dressing I already have on hand makes this salad convenient.
- Add Some Greens – this salad is delicious and beautiful garnished with pea shoots, microgreens or bibb lettuce. Add pea shoots, or microgreens on top of the salad before serving. If enjoying with bibb lettuce, arrange leaves in the bowl, then scoop the salad on top the leaves.
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How to Make Sweet Pea Salad
step by step
This cold green pea salad is best shared the day it’s made for freshest color and texture. But you can enjoy it up to two days out, although the radishes soften and lose a bit of their crunch, the salad is still delicious!
Traci’s Tips
- For the horseradish, use prepared horseradish (watch those ingredients tho) or a prepared horseradish mustard (affiliate link)- I love the short ingredient list. I use this on sandwiches, veggies, mashed potatoes and other salad dressings as well. It’s versatile and delicious! If neither are available, add more dijon!
- Make Ahead: if making ahead and serving the following day, hold out the radishes and add them just before serving. Doing this will help retain their crisp texture.
Sweet Pea and Radish Salad
The freshest sweet, plump peas shine in this sweet pea salad recipe. It's a delicious side dish that's prepared in about 25 minutes. It features plump sweet peas (frozen or fresh), crisp radishes, hard cooked eggs, and a tangy dijon vinaigrette. This green pea salad is easily portable and make ahead ready! Recipe Update: instead of boiling eggs to make hard cooked eggs, we're steaming them for a fuss free egg peel: see full recipe here Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs.
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Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 3 Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs, chopped small
- 4 cups (283 grams) Sweet Green Peas, fresh or frozen – if frozen, 2 10oz bags will do – if fresh you'll need about 1lb per cup of fresh peas.
- 1 cup (160 grams) Radishes, sliced thin, about one bunch
- 1/2 cup (15 grams) Chives, chopped thin or 2-3 scallions, green parts only
- Pea Shoots, Microgreens, or Bibb Lettuce, optional for serving
For the Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Water, plus more to thin as needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard, *see note
- 2 teaspoons Prepared Horseradish , or more dijon mustard or horseradish mustard* see note – add another tsp for more spice
- 1/2 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
Instructions
For the Salad:
- Make an Ice Bath: In a medium bowl large and deep enough to hold a small colander or mesh strainer, add 2 cups of ice and 3-4 cups of water. Set aside.
- Prepare the Peas (fresh or frozen): Bring a small sauce pot of water to a boil. Plunge the peas into the boiling water. Blanch fresh peas for 2 minutes, frozen for 30 seconds (the water does not have to come to a boil again). Drain the peas into a small colander or mesh strainer, then set the colander/strainer into the ice water bath just to halt cooking.
- Drain, then transfer the peas into a medium mixing bowl and set in the refrigerator while preparing the remaining ingredients.
For the Dressing:
- In a lidded jar, add the olive oil, water, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, horseradish (if using), dijon mustard and salt. Shake until the ingredients are emulsified.
To Assemble:
- To the mixing bowl with the peas, add the radish, chopped eggs, scallions or chives and pour the dressing over the salad (to taste). Add a few twists of fresh ground black pepper and toss the salad. Taste for seasoning adjustment. Scatter pea shoots or microgreens if using over the top of the salad. Or plate on a bed of bibb lettuce leaves. Garnish with chive flowers if possible. Refrigerate if time permits for at least an hour prior to serving.
- Store in a lidded container, in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Notes
No horseradish? Leave it out and add more dijon or horseradish mustard instead. If using horseradish look for prepared, (watch those ingredients tho). I use prepared horseradish mustard on sandwiches, veggies, mashed potatoes and other salad dressings as well. It’s delicious!
Recipe adapted from Greg Atkinson’s In Season.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 328mg | Potassium: 277mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 754IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
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Absolutely my new favorite salad. I have been making it weekly and sharing w everyone. I substituted the pease for frozen and still delicious.
Hi Beth! Thank you for your note, sharing your from frozen tip and giving the salad a go! Thrilled everyone is enjoying it!
This pea salad was wonderful! I used frozen tiny peas and blanched them, as recommended. I didn’t have scallions, but had a yellow onion that had sprouted, so chopped up the sprouts. I did not have horseradish, so added a little more Dijon. For extra protein, I added some chunks of swiss cheese and for the greens, I used torn Romaine hearts and mixed it in before serving to maintain the crunch. Leftovers were perfect for two days. My husband is already asking for this again and I will happily comply. It’s that good. Thanks, Traci!
Cannot wait to try I believe I will love this pea and radish salad.