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Pea Salad is the creamy, old-school side that disappears first at every cookout, loaded with sweet peas, smoky ham, and sharp cheddar in a ranch-kissed dressing, and my girls fight over the last scoop every time I make it on a sunny Saturday. If your potluck spread needs a partner for it, our classic potato salad is the other bowl everyone hovers around.
Five minutes of whisking, one big bowl, and a quick chill in the fridge are all that stand between you and the creamiest pea salad on the table.
Pea Salad Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 0 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes (includes chilling)
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 281kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Creamy, savory, and fresh (sweet peas, smoky ham, and sharp cheddar in a ranch dressing)
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our 5 bean salad
Quick Answer
Whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, ranch seasoning, fresh dill, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl until smooth. Add thawed sweet peas, diced ham, cubed cheddar cheese, and diced red onion, then stir until everything is coated in the creamy dressing. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, give it a good stir, and serve cold.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Thawed frozen peas, never canned. Frozen peas are picked and flash frozen at peak sweetness, so they stay plump and pop when you bite them. Canned peas turn mushy and gray in a creamy salad.
- Two creamy bases balance each other. Mayonnaise brings richness while sour cream brings tang, so the dressing tastes balanced instead of heavy.
- Ranch seasoning does the heavy lifting. One packet layers in buttermilk, herbs, and savory seasoning all at once, which is why this dressing tastes like it took far more work than it did.
- Cubed cheddar beats shredded. Small cubes hold their shape and give you a satisfying cheesy bite, where shredded cheese would clump and melt into the dressing.
- Sugar rounds out the tang. Just a little granulated sugar balances the sour cream and red onion so every bite lands sweet and savory, not sharp.
- The 2 hour chill is the real secret. Resting in the fridge lets the dressing thicken and the ranch herbs bloom, so the flavor on hour two is twice what it is at minute one.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No stove, no oven. This is a true dump-and-stir side dish, which makes it the easiest thing you will bring to any potluck, shower, or barbecue.
- Make-ahead magic. Pea salad actually gets better as it chills, so you can make it the night before, just like our creamy macaroni salad with peas.
- A bite of everything. Sweet peas, salty ham, sharp cheddar, and zippy red onion mean every forkful has flavor, texture, and color.
Key Ingredients
A handful of fridge and pantry staples turns into the creamiest pea salad. Quantities are in the recipe card below; here is why each one earns its spot.
- Sweet peas. The star. Use frozen peas, thawed, never canned. They stay plump, sweet, and bright green in the creamy dressing.
- Ham. Small-diced cooked ham brings a smoky, salty bite. It is a great way to use leftover holiday ham, or grab a ham steak from the store.
- Cheddar cheese. Cut from a block into little cubes for the best texture. Sharp cheddar stands up to the creamy dressing better than mild.
- Mayonnaise and sour cream. The creamy duo. Mayo brings the richness, sour cream brings the tang, and together they coat every pea perfectly.
- Ranch seasoning. The flavor shortcut. Dried ranch layers buttermilk, herbs, and seasoning into the dressing in one scoop, and a little fresh dill doubles down on it.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This pea salad plays well with swaps, so raid the fridge and make it yours.
- Swap the ham for bacon. Crispy crumbled bacon is the classic Southern move. Stir most of it in and save some for the top so it stays crunchy.
- Change the cheese. Colby jack, pepper jack, or smoked gouda cubes all work. Pepper jack adds a nice little kick against the sweet peas.
- Add crunch. A half cup of roasted sunflower seeds, chopped celery, or candied pecans stirred in right before serving adds great texture.
- Make it lighter. Swap the mayonnaise for plain Greek yogurt. The dressing turns tangier, so taste and add a pinch more sugar to balance.
- Skip the onion. If raw red onion is too sharp for your crowd, soak the diced onion in cold water for 10 minutes first, or use mild green onions instead, the same trick we use in our broccoli pasta salad.
How to Make Pea Salad
- In a large bowl, add the mayonnaise, sour cream, ranch seasoning, fresh dill, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Whisk the dressing together until it is completely smooth and creamy.
- Add the thawed sweet peas, diced ham, cubed cheddar cheese, and diced red onion on top of the dressing.
- Stir until everything is evenly coated, then cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Give it a good stir before serving cold.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Thaw the peas, do not cook them. Let frozen peas thaw in the fridge or under cool water. Cooking them softens that sweet pop you want in every bite.
- Pat the peas dry. A quick blot with paper towels keeps extra water from thinning out the creamy dressing.
- Dice everything small. Keep the ham, cheese, and onion close to pea-sized so every spoonful gets a little of everything.
- Make it the night before. The flavor genuinely improves overnight as the ranch and dill bloom into the dressing.
- Stir before serving. The dressing settles as it chills. One good stir brings it right back to creamy.
- Keep it cold at the cookout. Set the serving bowl over a larger bowl of ice. A mayo-based salad should not sit in the sun for more than an hour.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Pea salad is built for the potluck table. Set it next to a scoop of classic potato salad and a big bowl of creamy macaroni salad and you have the holy trinity of creamy cookout sides covered.
For the main event, this salad loves anything off the grill or out of the smoker. Serve it alongside juicy grilled BBQ chicken legs or a stack of cheeseburger sliders, and watch both bowls empty at the same speed.
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, and honestly taste even better on day two. It also makes a great scoop for lunch next to a cold Italian slider when the cookout is long over.
Pea Salad FAQs
Classic pea salad is sweet peas, diced ham, cubed cheddar cheese, and red onion folded into a creamy dressing of mayonnaise, sour cream, ranch seasoning, fresh dill, a little sugar, and seasonings. Everything gets stirred in one bowl and chilled, no cooking required.
Yes, and you should. Pea salad needs at least 2 hours in the fridge, and it tastes even better made the night before because the ranch and dill have time to flavor the dressing. Give it a good stir before serving to bring the creamy texture right back.
Frozen, every time. Thawed frozen peas stay plump, sweet, and bright green in the salad. Canned peas are softer and tend to turn mushy once they are stirred into the creamy dressing. Just thaw them, pat them dry, and stir them in raw.
Stored in an airtight container, pea salad keeps for about 3 days in the refrigerator. Because the dressing is mayo and sour cream based, do not leave it sitting out at room temperature for more than an hour, and keep the bowl over ice at outdoor parties.
Freezing is not recommended. The mayonnaise and sour cream dressing separates when thawed, and the peas and onion turn watery and soft. Since it comes together in about 15 minutes of hands-on time, it is much better made fresh a day ahead instead.
Small-diced cooked ham works best, whether that is leftover holiday ham, a ham steak, or thick-cut deli ham. You want pieces about the size of the cheese cubes so the salad stays balanced. Crumbled crispy bacon is a delicious swap if you are out of ham.
Rounding out a picnic spread? Our marinated cold green bean salad is the bright, tangy counterpoint to all that creamy goodness.
Keep the creamy salad lineup going with our creamy Greek pasta salad, briny with feta and kalamata olives in every bite.
Keep the ranch theme rolling with our BLT pasta salad, where crispy bacon and lettuce stay crunchy to the last scoop.
Love a creamy side salad? Make our Wedge Salad next.
Crumble crispy air fryer bacon over this creamy salad.
Creamy Pea Salad Recipe (with Ham and Cheddar)
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons dried ranch seasoning
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the salad:
- 3 – 12 ounce packages frozen peas thawed
- 2 cups small-diced cooked ham
- 8 ounces block cheddar cheese small-diced
- 1/4 cup small-diced red onion
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, ranch seasoning, dill, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper until smooth.1 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons sour cream, 2 tablespoons dried ranch seasoning, 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Add the thawed sweet peas, ham, cheese, and red onion, and stir so everything is coated in the creamy dressing.3 – 12 ounce packages frozen peas, 2 cups small-diced cooked ham, 8 ounces block cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup small-diced red onion
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. Give it a good stir before serving, some of the dressing will pool at the bottom of the bowl.
Notes
- This makes a large batch, but you can easily double it to feed more or halve the recipe as needed.
- Tons of custom options, see my tips above on that.
- Great for a make-ahead appetizer or side dish.
- This freezes poorly, see my tips above on how to store.
Nutrition
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