Cold Pea Salad

This chilled pea salad is made with frozen peas, smoked almonds, water chestnuts, and a hint of curry. It's a great addition to your summer salad recipe collection.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated December 06, 2021
Elise Bauer
Cold Pea Salad
Sally Vargas

Pea Salad - Perfect for Summer

Long warm summer days are perfect for cold pea salad!

I first encountered this delightful pea salad at a friend's potluck. It was one of the dishes that everyone went back to for seconds.

How to Make Pea Salad

This recipe uses frozen peas, which you don't even have to defrost, green onions, water chestnuts, and smoked almonds. The peas do thaw a bit, but they're wonderful cold and crunchy too.

I'm not sure of the original source of this pea salad recipe, but since the recipe calls for Smokehouse Almonds, perhaps the almond company? It could easily be made with tamari almonds as well. You just want salty, crunchy, roasted almonds for this cold pea salad.

A Make-Ahead Salad

You can make this salad ahead of time on the day you want to serve it, just hold off adding the nuts so they retain their crispness. The cold peas and the crunchy almonds pair beautifully together.

Do you have a favorite pea salad? Please let us know about it in the comments.

Looking for More Great Summer Picnic Salads?

Cold Pea Salad

Prep Time 10 mins
Total Time 10 mins
Servings 6 servings

You can make this salad ahead of time on the day you want to serve it, but add the almonds at the last minute. The salad is still good the next day but it's best served on the day you make it.

You can substitute tamari almonds for the smokehouse almonds, in which case, you do not need to rinse them.

Wonderful served with sliced tomato and avocado and chicken for lunch.

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces frozen petite peas

  • 6 ounces smokehouse almonds

  • 1/2 cup chopped green onions

  • 8 ounces chopped water chestnuts

  • 2/3 cup mayonnaise

  • 2 teaspoons yellow curry powder

  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Remove the excess salt and chop the almonds:

    In a fine-mesh strainer under cold running water, rinse the almonds to remove the excess salt. Spread between 2 paper towel layers and pat dry. Spread on a cutting board, and coarsely chop with a large knife.

  2. Combine the salad ingredients:

    In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, curry powder, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add the peas, scallions, and water chestnuts to the bowl.

    Gently fold the salad into the mayonnaise dressing. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

  3. Add the almonds:

    Just before serving, stir in the chopped almonds.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
272 Calories
19g Fat
22g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 272
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 24%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 10mg 3%
Sodium 214mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 22g 8%
Dietary Fiber 6g 21%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 14mg 69%
Calcium 36mg 3%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 462mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.