Our sugar snap pea salad is a green medley of crisp, summertime vegetables tossed in a deliciously creamy buttermilk ranch salad dressing. Sweet sugar snap peas, tender Little Gem lettuce and crushed croutons give this salad an irresistible crunch, while the fresh mint leaves and chives add so much flavor. It’s an easy-PEASY salad recipe you’ll crave all summer long!
Crisp, sweet sugar snap peas are the star of this salad. It’s beautifully fresh, features the greenest of greens, and is a satisfying salad that’s, light, refreshing, and anything but basic. This sugar snap pea salad recipe is a wonderful way to enjoy snap peas at their season’s peak. If you have extra snap peas left, you will enjoy our sesame snap peas for a side dish.
If you’re fortunate enough to have your own garden, you may even have most of the ingredients needed to make this salad right in your own backyard!
Our sugar snap pea salad is:
- Light yet satisfying
- Full of flavor
- Gluten-free and low-carb
- Simple to throw together
Ingredients for This Salad:
To make this sugar snap pea salad, you will need:
- Fresh sugar snap peas, trimmed and strings removed
- Fresh or frozen (and thawed) green peas
- Little Gem lettuce
- Fresh mint leaves
- Chives, snipped
- Salad croutons, crumbled (for extra yum, try our homemade garlic croutons or these sourdough croutons)
- Buttermilk ranch salad dressing
- Salt and fresh ground pepper
Tip: if you can’t find Little Gem lettuce, you can substitute it with Romaine.
How to Make It:
This sugar snap pea salad comes together quickly, especially if the dressing is prepared in advance. (Our creamy buttermilk ranch dressing is so good anyway, you’ll want a batch in the fridge at all times!)
We blanch both the sugar snap peas and the green peas for just a couple of minutes- make sure you have an ice water bath handy since you’ll need to quickly stop the cooking process.
- Blanch the snap peas and green peas: Blanch the prepared sugar snap peas for 2-3 minutes in boiling water, then lift them out of the steamer basket and plunge into the ice water bath. When cool, tip them onto a kitchen towel to drain. Repeat with the thawed frozen peas but only blanch them for 1 minute.
- Toss the veggies: Wash and dry the lettuce leaves, then tear the larger ones into pieces. Add the lettuce to a large salad bowl and toss with the mint leaves. Add the drained, cooled peas and the snipped chives to the salad bowl.
- Serve: Pour a 1/2 cup of the buttermilk ranch salad dressing on top of the salad, then toss to combine. Portion out the salad onto individual chilled salad plates and sprinkle each serving with crumbled croutons. Serve with extra dressing, salt and pepper.
If you’re serving this salad for guests, you can also plate the salads without the dressing and instead serve it the buttermilk ranch in a pitcher on the side.
Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
- We recommend removing as much moisture from the greens as possible since any excess water can dilute the salad dressing.
- This sugar snap pea salad can be prepared in advance, refrigerated without the dressing. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator. If you anticipate having leftover salad, keep in mind that it’ll stay the most crisp/fresh if it’s not tossed in the dressing.
- If possible, purchase “stringless” snap peas to save some time.
- Is it safe to eat sugar snap peas raw? Sugar snap peas are best served raw or lightly cooked and are perfectly safe to eat either way. We blanch them to make them a bit more tender.
- Do you have to cut off ends of sugar snap peas? We recommend trimming the ends off along with the tough string around the pod. So how do you prepare sugar snap peas? Sugar snap peas are more enjoyable to eat if you remove that tough fiber or “seam” and one easy way to do this is to remove the ends and simply pull the attached string.
Crisp yet tender and full of bright, summertime flavor, our sugar snap pea recipe is a summertime treat that makes the most of your beautiful garden bounty (or a fun trip to the farmer’s market)! Enjoy!
Some More Recipes You Will Love:
Butternut Squash Salad with Mixed Greens: This is a great year-round salad as butternut squash is so readily available. Firm, creamy cubes of lightly charred butternut squash complimented with dried cranberries and crunch pecans. Toss the salad with a creamy orange champagne dressing.
Italian Caprese Salad: Always a winner, this is simplicity at its best! Fat, juicy tomatoes, creamy fresh mozzarella, and sweet basil leaves! Refreshing and healthy drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Green Salad with Avocado and Chicken: This salad is perfect for lunch or dinner on a warm summer day as it is a complete meal. Crisp greens, topped with chilled roasted chicken breasts and creamy avocado slices. Use your favorite vinaigrette or our favorite light honey-Dijon dressing.
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Sugar Snap Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh sugar snap peas trimmed and strings removed
- 10 ounces fresh or frozen thawed green peas
- 4 heads of Little Gem lettuce
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves
- ½ cup sniped fresh chives
- 1 cup salad croutons crumbled
- ½ cup Buttermilk Ranch Salad Dressing
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Set a steamer basket into a large saucepan filled with salted water and bring to a boil. Prepare an ice-water bath in a large bowl.
- Add the prepared fresh sugar snap peas to the boiling water and blanch for 2-3 minutes until tender and crisp. Lift the steamer basket and peas from the boiling water and plunge into the ice water. When cool, tip onto a kitchen towel to drain.
- Place the thawed frozen peas into the steamer basket and set the basket back into the saucepan of boiling water. Blanch the peas for 1 minute only.
- Lift the steamer basket from the boiling water and plunge into the ice water. When cool, tip onto a separate towel to drain.
- Slice the cut ends from the lettuce and separate the leaves. Rinse with cold tap water and pat dry with paper towels or use a salad spinner. Tear the larger leaves into pieces, leaving the smaller leaves whole.
- Add the lettuce to a large salad bowl with the mint leaves and toss to combine.
- Add the drained cooled peas and the snipped chives to the salad bowl.
- Pour 1/2 cup of homemade Buttermilk Ranch Salad Dressing over the top of the salad and toss to combine.
- Portion the salad onto individual chilled salad plates, and sprinkle each serving with the crumbled croutons. Serve with additional dressing, salt and pepper.
Notes
- Remove as much moisture from the lettuce as possible. Too much moisture will dilute the creamy salad dressing.
- If possible, purchase ‘stringless’ peas
- A good substitute for Little Gem lettuce is Romain lettuce.
- Be generous with the fresh mint, this savory herb adds a pop of flavor
- As an alternative, plate the salads without the dressing, have the pitcher of salad dressing available for each guest to add their own.
- This salad can be prepared in advance, refrigerated without the dressing until ready to serve.
angiesrecipes
Monday 16th of August 2021
So green, so beautiful and delicious!
Dahn Boquist
Tuesday 17th of August 2021
Thanks Angie