Old-Fashioned Pea Salad

This classic Old-Fashioned Pea Salad is the perfect cold and creamy potluck salad for every occasion! Vegan and gluten-free, this easy English pea salad uses eggless mayo, dairy-free cheddar, and smokey coconut bacon. A simple and quick allergy-friendly version of your grandma's go-to Southern holiday or cookout side dish!

Have you ever had pea salad? No? Well if you like creamy potluck salads, smokey bacon, and cheddar cheese with the perfect amount of green veggies (legumes), then this side dish is for you! Wait, is it vegan? On this blog, of course it is! With a few simple and easy swaps, the classic English pea salad is transformed into a delectable vegan side dish for your next summer BBQ, holiday gathering, or good 'ole church potluck!

What Is Pea Salad?

With every old-fashioned, Southern, or Midwestern potluck-style dish, there's always going to be slight variations of names and ingredients. This English pea salad riffs off the Seven Layer Salad which utilizes iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, sweet peas, hard-boiled eggs, sharp cheddar cheese, and bacon pieces with a mayonnaise-based dressing in distinct layers. However, this vegan pea salad is easier, and has fewer ingredients, with just dumping and mixing required (no layers!). No eggs, lettuce, cucumber, or tomato, but still the perfect make-ahead creamy cold salad for gatherings.

Why You'll Love This Vegan Version

This recipe will take you 10 minutes max from start to finish. You can use all store-bought ingredients or some of my homemade recipes for certain ingredients vegan coconut bacon, dairy-free sour cream, and eggless mayo. You even get to use frozen peas! No microwaving or boiling, just let them thaw in your salad bowl as you gather your other ingredients! Did I mention how easy this was? This pea salad is also:

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan & Vegetarian
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free)
• Grain-Free, Paleo Options
• Kid-Friendly
• Quick, Easy, 7 Simple Ingredients
• Make-Ahead & Meal Prep-Friendly
• Perfect Side Dish for Potlucks, Cookouts, & Holidays

Ingredients For Vegan Pea Salad

• Frozen Peas: Specifically, English peas, which are a variety of sweet garden peas with a tender, round body, and bright green color. This is the typical variety of sweet peas you'll find in your grocer's frozen veggie section. They're the ones that can be eaten straight from the garden, raw, in their pods. By using frozen peas, you don't have to tediously shell your own! Don't use canned peas as these will be too mushy for this creamy salad and they will lack the vibrant green color we're aiming for!
• Red Onion: The perfect onion for salads, with its bright purplish red color, sweet but spicy flavor, and crisp texture.
• Coconut Bacon: I always prefer to make my own coconut bacon, but you can also find great store-bought varieties if you're short on time! Smokey, crunchy, and perfectly meatless!
• Vegan Cheddar Cheese: You'll want a block of vegan cheddar for this recipe, I recommend Daiya. You want to cube the cheese so it is about the same small size as the peas, thus making the salad easier to eat by the forkful, rather than shredded cheddar.
• Eggless Mayo: You can use my homemade vegan mayo or use store-bought like Hellmann's plant-based variety. This is the base for your creamy dressing.
• Vegan Sour Cream: Again, you can use my homemade vegan sour cream which is just plain dairy-free yogurt and vinegar, or buy a store-bought variety. To simplify this, you can buy plain unsweetened vegan yogurt and add extra white vinegar to the recipe.
• White Vinegar: The vinegar helps get the dressing loose enough so the salad isn't too thick and stiff.
• Salt + Pepper + Sweetener: Season your pea salad to taste with salt, black pepper, and a touch of sugar-free sweetener or sugar.

Ingredient Substitutions & Add-Ins

• Add More Veggies: Chopped bell pepper, celery, diced pimentos, diced dill pickles, a scoop of relish, or chopped water chestnuts would all work deliciously in this salad!
• Fresh Herbs: Add some fresh chopped parsley, dill, cilantro, chives, or green onion to your salad for extra fresh herby flavor.
• Spice It Up: Add a dash of your favorite hot sauce, diced jalapenos, chipotle, or chili powder to give the salad an extra kick.
• Swap Out The Mayo: Lighten up your healthy pea salad by using all plain vegan yogurt instead of mayo. If you can find plain dairy-free Greek yogurt, that will be best for extra thickness!
• Black Salt: If you miss that hard-boiled egg taste in your eggless pea salad, add ½ teaspoon of black salt (Kala Namak) for that iconic sulfur-like eggy flavor.

How To Make English Pea Salad

1. Add the eggless mayo, vegan sour cream, vinegar, and seasonings to a small bowl.
2. Mix together the dressing ingredients until fully combined.

3. Add all your chopped ingredients to a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing over top.
4. Toss the salad together until everything is fully coated in the dressing.

5. Taste and adjust any seasonings before chilling the salad in the fridge or serving right away!

Recipe Tips & Tricks

• It's important to use frozen peas because it allows you to skip the chilling time and serve the salad right away! Allow the frozen peas to thaw slightly in your serving bowl while you prep the other ingredients so no time is wasted and all you have to do is mix everything together!
• It's best to mix the mayo dressing in a separate bowl so you can really incorporate the ingredients together so they form a smooth creamy dressing that's easy to pour and mix into the rest of the salad.
• Always toss your pea salad right before serving so you can redistribute any of the dressing that ends up sinking to the bottom of the bowl!

How To Serve Pea Salad

This cold creamy salad can be served chilled, as-is straight from the serving bowl to your plate! You can even serve it on a bed of lettuce or as a chunky salsa-like dip for chips and crackers! Of course, your classic pea salad is the perfect side dish for grilled entrees like chicken, burgers, cabbage steaks, and portobello steaks, and as a retro holiday side dish along with gluten-free stuffing and mashed potatoes!

Can You Make It Ahead Of Time?

If you want to make this creamy pea salad ahead of time, you can prep your ingredients seperately by chopping the onion, cubing the vegan cheese, mixing together the mayo dressing, and toasting the coconut bacon (if using homemade). Then just add everything to a bowl and mix together when ready to serve. If you mix everything together right away, leave the coconut bacon out on the side to prevent it from getting soggy. Ideally no more than 2 days in advance.

How To Store Leftovers

You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just cover your serving bowl with plastic wrap or transfer leftovers to an airtight storage container. I don't recommend freezing this type of salad.

More Delicious Potluck Salads:

• Southern Potato Salad
• Vegan Grape Salad
• Southern Carrot Raisins Salad
• Classic Italian Pasta Salad
• Old-Fashioned Three Bean Salad
• Classic American Macaroni Salad
• Mexican Street Corn Salad
• Classic Broccoli Salad

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I don't know about you, but I love a good old-fashioned Southern side dish! Cool, creamy, perfect for summer cookouts but also hearty enough for the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter holidays as well!

So tell me:

+ What are your favorite add-ins for a pea salad?

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