Peas with Lemon (5 Minute Side Dish!)

This pea recipe only takes 5 minutes! Cooking Frozen Peas with Garlic and Lemon is an easy side dish that everyone will love.

Hush, we have a secret. Frozen peas can taste amazing in 5 minutes. Yes, you can turn a bag of these frozen green balls into an easy side dish that everyone at the table will love. (The promise!) The secret? Some olive oil, butter, garlic and lemon. That’s it! Alex and I made this recipe out of a challenge: can we take a bag of frozen peas and make a delicious side dish? It turns out it’s not as hard as you might think.

The Secrets of This Pea Recipe (How To Cook Frozen Peas)

Alex and I don’t often cook with frozen vegetables. But we’ve been making a lot of side dish recipes lately, and peas were one vegetable we wanted to master. Fresh green peas are hard to find, but frozen peas are available year-round. Peas used to be considered one of those creepy vegetables. “Eat your peas!” was a common phrase yelled by parents growing up. But here’s what we did to turn a bag of frozen peas into a delicious and delicious side dish (or go straight to the recipe)

Italian flavors transform a boring bag of peas into something delightfully delicious and fresh! Not scary at all. In fact: they have a hard time stopping eating!

Are the frozen peas cooked yet?

Yes! Frozen vegetables that you find in grocery stores that are boiled or steamed in water before being frozen and packaged. This means that many frozen vegetables can simply be thawed before consumption. Such is the case with frozen peas, which can be easily thawed and used in salads. You can also quickly sear them before serving, like in this pea recipe.

The mistake most cooks make: overcooking the peas.

The cook time for this pea recipe is only 2 minutes! Since frozen peas are already cooked, be careful not to overcook them. Many home cooks make the mistake of overcooking peas so they turn soft and greenish brown. (Hence the term green peas!) To keep them bright green, sauté them until hot, just 2 minutes.

A recipe for peas with whole cloves of garlic (remove before serving!)

This pea recipe uses whole peeled garlic cloves that you cook in a pan with the peas. Why add whole and uncut cloves? Well, cooking vegetables with whole cloves adds a subtle garlic flavor. Adding minced garlic brings great garlic flavor, but whole cloves bring the essence of garlic like a hint of flavor. Be sure to remove the garlic cloves when you’re done, and throw them away! Because they are not sautéed, they are not good to eat.

Fun facts about peas

Why are you eating your peas? Well, many reasons! Here is some more information on these healthy greens:

• They belong to the legume family, like chickpeas and lentils. But they are more commonly eaten as starchy vegetables (like corn or potatoes).
• They are rich in vegetable proteins. ½ cup of peas contains 4 grams of plant-based protein. The calorie count is also quite low: 62 calories for the same amount. (Source)
• Are Fresh Peas Better Than Frozen in Recipes? According to Epicurious, fresh peas aren’t that tasty cooked! Frozen foods hold up better in recipes and all have the same nutrients.

More amazing vegetable side dishes

This pea recipe is a plant-based (WFPB) side dish that goes with almost any meal. It’s also a list of ways to turn veggies into 5-star side dishes! Here are some of our other favorite vegetable side dishes:

Want more with lemon? Try these 15 zesty lemon recipes.

This pea recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free. For vegans and dairy-free, substitute vegan butter, refined coconut oil, or more olive oil.