Bacon and Pea Salad

Bacon and Pea Salad is a popular party salad that’s perfect to make for a special occasion any time of year. My version of this salad uses frozen peas, bacon, cheddar cheese, green onion, slivered almonds, and a mayo-sour cream dressing, and has only 9 net carbs per serving and 14 grams protein!

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Today I’m excited to share this new recipe for Bacon and Pea Salad, and if you’re celebrating the Fourth of July this week, this is a perfect salad for a holiday party. My cooking assistant (and niece) Kara and I absolutely loved this salad with peas, bacon, cheese, green onion, and slivered almonds when we tested the recipe, and I was pleasantly surprised that the salad stayed good in the fridge for a few days, and I had Bacon and Pea Salad for breakfast several days in a row!

This recipe makes a large salad that’s about 10 servings, so it’s perfect for a party or a pot-luck. But if some people don’t want to make that much salad, if you look at the NOTES section of the recipe I’ll give you the amounts to make a half size of the Bacon and Pea Salad. And if you’re a fan of peas, I bet you’re going to swoon over this salad!

What Ingredients do you Need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• frozen peas
• thick-sliced bacon
• sharp cheddar cheese
• green onion
• Slivered Almonds (affiliate link), probably optional but good
• sour cream
• mayo
• white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link)
• Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link)
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), probably optional but good
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

How did I make this version of Pea Salad lower in carbs?

This is a classic party salad, and if you’re watching your carbs you probably realize that peas have some carbs. But to make the total carbs for the salad lower I used a generous amount of bacon and cheese, added slivered almonds, and used sliced green onion instead of red onion. Those choices made the salad about 9 carbs for 3/4 cup serving, assuming it was served as part of a holiday or buffet meal. And it has 14 grams of protein, for people who are interested in that!

Can you use pre-cooked bacon for the Bacon and Pea Salad?

I used thick-sliced bacon that I cut apart into strips and cooked in a frying pan on the stove, for lots of bacon flavor in the salad. But if you’re pressed for time or want an easier option, you can make this with pre-cooked bacon that’s crisped in the microwave and then crumbled or cut apart. The thick-sliced bacon has move volume so if you’re thinking about carbs I would add a few more slices of bacon if you use pre-cooked bacon.

Can you use other types of cheese for this Bacon and Pea Salad?

I used an 8 ounce block of sharp cheddar cheese and cut it up into cubes about the size of a pea. But you can definitely another cheese if you’d prefer a milder flavor.

What if you don’t have white balsamic vinegar?

I’m a fan of white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link) which adds a slightly sweet flavor without adding many carbs to the Pea Salad. But if you don’t want to buy that you can use white wine vinegar and just add a bit more sweetener to the dressing.

Does the Bacon and Pea Salad stay good in the fridge?

I think this salad is definitely best when it’s freshly made (and maybe chilled for an hour or so before serving.) But I did eat the leftovers for days and was surprised how good the salad was after it had been in the fridge for three nights. I don’t think it will last much longer than that.

How to make Bacon and Pea Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Thaw frozen peas overnight in the fridge.
2. Mix together ingredients to make the dressing. Taste to see if you want more vinegar or sweetener. 
3. Two 12 oz. packages of thawed peas were perfect for this recipe. 
4. Drain peas well while you prep other salad ingredients. 
5. Cut bacon into strips and cook in a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, turning often. 
6. When bacon is browned, drain on paper towels. 
7. I used an 8 oz. block of sharp cheddar. (You can see I shop at Kroger, but they aren’t paying me to show their products!)
8. Cut cheese into cubes about the size of a pea.
9. Trim ends of green onions and wash in salad spinner (affiliate link) if needed, then slice.
10. Measure the slivered almonds.
11. If peas still seem wet, spread out on paper towels and blot dry. Put peas into a large salad bowl and mix in dressing.
12. Gently stir in cooked bacon, cheese, green onions, and slivered almonds and combine with the peas until all ingredients are coated with dressing.
13. Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper. (I used pepper but not much salt.)
14. Chill for at least an hour if you can, then serve.
15. This salad is best freshly made but it was still surprisingly good when it had been in the fridge for a few days.

More ideas for Frozen Peas:

This is only the third recipe using frozen peas to appear on Kalyn’s Kitchen, but if you’re a fan of peas you might enjoy Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie Soup or Tarragon Chicken Salad.

More Salads with Bacon:

• Wild Rice Salad with Bacon and Arugula
• Red Cabbage Salad with Bacon and Goat Cheese
• Spinach Salad with Bacon and Feta

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 10 servings

Bacon and Pea Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

This delicious Bacon and Pea Salad is perfect to make for a party or to take to a pot-luck any time of year.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 2 T white balsamic vinegar (see notes)
• 1 T granulated Monkfruit Sweetener
• 1/2 tsp. Spike Seasoning (see notes)
• 24 oz. frozen peas, thawed
• 8 slices thick-cut bacon
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Thaw frozen peas overnight in the fridge.
2. Mix together sour cream, mayo, white balsamic vinegar, granulated Monkfruit Sweetener, and Spike Seasoning to make the dressing. Taste to see if you want a little more vinegar or sweetener. 
3. Dump thawed peas into a colander placed in the sink and drain well while you prep other salad ingredients. 
4. Cut bacon into crosswise strips, pull pieces apart, and cook in a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, turning often. This will take 8-10 minutes to get the bacon nicely browned and crisp.
5. When bacon is browned, drain on a plate covered with a double layer of paper towels. (If you opt to use pre-cooked bacon, crisp it in the microwave, and I would use a few extra pieces of bacon.)
6. I used an 8 oz. block of sharp cheddar. Cut cheese into cubes about the size of a pea. (I cut the cheese in half lengthwise into two flat pieces. Then I cut each of those into thin strips and sliced them into cubes.)
7. Trim green onions and wash in salad spinner if needed. Then slice enough green onions to make 1/2 cup.
8. Measure out 1/2 cup slivered almonds.
9. If peas still seem wet, I would spread them out on paper towels and blot dry. Then put peas into a large salad bowl and mix in the dressing.
10. Gently stir in the cooked bacon, cubes of peas, sliced green onions, and slivered almonds, and combine with the peas until all ingredients are coated with dressing.
11. Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper. (I used pepper but not much salt since the bacon is salty.)
12. Chill for an hour or so if you have time, and then serve.
13. This salad is best freshly made but it was still surprisingly good when it had been in the fridge for a few days.
14. Look in the NOTES below if you prefer to make half as much salad.

Notes

If you don't have white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link) I would use white wine vinegar and add a bit more sweetener.

Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) is probably optional, or use another all-purpose seasoning blend if you don't have Spike.

Ingredients to make half the amount of salad:

• 5 T sour cream
• 5 T mayo
• 1 T white balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. granulated Monkfruit Sweetener
• 1/4 tsp. Spike Seasoning
• 14 oz. frozen peas
• 4 slices thick cut bacon
• 4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

This recipe developed and tested by Kalyn and Kara; it was adapted from many variations of Pea Salad we found online.

Nutrition Information

Yield

10

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 290Total Fat 21gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 39mgSodium 541mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 4gSugar 4gProtein 14g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Bacon and Pea Salad has 9 carbs per serving, so I’m not tagging it Keto, but it’s a great special occasion salad that feels like a treat for low-carb diets, and it’s also gluten-free. If you want to make this salad for the original South Beach Diet, they would recommend light sour cream, light mayo, turkey bacon, and reduced fat cheese. Low-carb diets would prefer full-fat ingredients.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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