Sugar Snap Pea Salad

In this recipe

The sesame soy dressing
What are sugar snap peas?
Sweet pea salad: substitutions
Ways to serve sugar snap pea salad
Advance planning and storage

Sugar snap pea salad is an explosion of colour, flavor and texture: sweet and crunchy sugar snap peas, cool and refreshing cucumbers, earthy red peppers, spicy red onions and citrusy tangerines. Toss it in homemade sesame soy dressing for a simple yet bold flavor.

The savory ingredients make it perfect to take with you to BBQs, picnics, or as a quick side dish for lunch or dinner.

I wanted the dressing to contrast starkly with the light colored veggies. Equal parts soy sauce, rice vinegar, and vegetable oil result in a lightly emulsified dressing that’s not too heavy or overwhelming. Some honey helps balance the savory and spicy notes. Freshly grated ginger and chopped garlic add spice.

What are sugar snap peas?

Expand your typical salad repertoire with snow peas. Sugar snap peas are a type of legume also known as sugar snap peas due to their undeniable lingering sweetness and super crunchy bite. The rounded, thick outer sleeve is smooth and light green in color.

Peel them back to reveal small spherical peas inside. The great thing about this vegetable is that you can enjoy it raw or blanch it quickly. Plus, you can eat them whole—no peeling required. For a pretty presentation, I like to cut a few in half to place on top of the salad, revealing the peas in the pod.

Sweet pea salad: substitutions

Sugar snap peas can usually be found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. There are many vegetable and other ingredient options that will be just as tasty.

Ways to serve sugar snap pea salad

Serve mangetout salad as a side dish with baked salmon, grilled chicken, shrimp, beef or tofu for a vegetarian alternative. Cut or chop chicken or steak into bite-sized pieces to toss with salad for a more filling standalone dish.

This would also be a nice low-carb addition to side dishes like a rustic potato salad, steamed rice, or cauliflower rice.

Advance planning and storage

The salad can be prepared up to three days in advance. Leftovers can also be stored in the fridge for up to three days. This gives the veggies time to marinate in the dressing, adding more flavor to each veggie cut. Tastes even better over time! Just make sure you throw everything back together before serving.

The dressing can be kept separately two days in advance and then whisked again just before tossing into the salad to ensure the dressing emulsifies.

More quick and easy salads

Cold Pea Salad
Sliced Vegetable Salad
Three Bean Salad
Simple cucumber salad
Panzanella bread salad

Sugar Pea Salad

preparation time
20 minutes

total time
20 minutes

portions
4
up to 6 servings

For the salad

14 ounces (4 Cups) sugar snap
1/2 big English cucumbercut into 1/8 inch rounds
1 small Red pepperdestemmed and cut into 1/8-inch slices
3/4 cups Canned tangerines segments, drained
1 small Red onioncut into 1/8 inch slices
1/2 teaspoon Sesame seedsfor garnish

For the dressing

3 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon garlicchopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh gingergrated
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon vegetable oilpeanut oil or avocado oil

Combine vegetables and fruit:

In a large bowl, add the snow peas, cucumber, peppers, tangerines, and red onion. Set aside or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate if not serving immediately.
Make the dressing:

In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. Slowly drizzle in the sesame oil and peanut oil, beating constantly until fully combined.
Arrange and serve:

Drizzle about three quarters of the dressing over the salad and mix together with a large spoon. Garnish with the sesame seeds. Serve with the rest of the dressing. This salad tastes even better after the veggies have had a chance to soak up the dressing a bit, about 30 minutes to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.

nutritional information (per serving)
149	calories
7g	Fat
17g	carbohydrates
5g	protein