Creamy Sugar Snap Peas Recipe... with Bacon

Bookmark this incredibly easy creamy sugar snap peas recipe.  This is my go to side dish when I don't have a lot of time but I want a healthy side. Its flavor burst comes from a combo of fresh herbs, lemon zest... and bacon!  It comes together in minutes and goes great with so many of your favorite entrees! Fresh herbs give a huge punch of flavor, especially when you add a spritz of lemon and a little lemon zest. In this dish, I like to use a combo of dill, thyme, sage and parsley.  Toss them in right before you bring it to the table for maximum freshness! This recipe for creamy sugar snap peas is... well... a Snap to make (?Couldn't resist!) and comes together in under 25 minutes.

Creamy Sugar Snap Peas Recipe

1. Get out all your ingredients for easy and fast preparation (This is what chefs call mise en place. A French culinary term meaning: everything in place).

   

   Heat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium high heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add 8 oz. sugar snap peas, salt, and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sugar snaps are bright green and crisp-tender.

   

   

2. Stir in 13 ounces of the thawed green peas and cook while stirring for 3 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. Add bacon to skillet and cook over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Once bacon has cooled, chop into small bits.
4. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease (and if there's not enough bacon grease in the skillet, add enough butter so that the total drippings in the pan equal 2 tablespoons).
5. Add 2 tablespoons flour to the butter/drippings and whisk continuously for 2 minutes until flour is bubbling. You've just made a roux!

   

   

6. Mash ½ cup of sweet garden peas and add them to the roux.

   

7. Slowly and gradually stir in 1 ½ cup chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Add ¼ cup heavy cream and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg. Whisk continuously until the sauce is reduced by ⅓, about 5 to 8 minutes.

   

8. Add sugar snap and sweet peas back to the sauce. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Zest a lemon, add it to the peas and stir in the juice of ½ of the lemon. Season with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
9. Transfer peas in cream sauce to a serving bowl or platter, and top with crumbled bacon and ⅓ cup fresh chopped herbs (dill, parsley & sage). Note: Feel free to use your favorite fresh herbs to finish off your dish.  I highly recommend using dill.  It's fresh & light and will play nicely with peas.  Thyme would also be an excellent choice. The only herb I would suggest NOT using is rosemary. It's too powerful and will take over this playground. Et Voila!  Your creamy sugar snap peas recipe is done!

Sweet Peas vs Snow Peas vs Snap Peas

What's the difference between all these peas?  Even though they are all legumes and fairly similar, they're not the same.

Sweet Peas

Sweet garden peas really need to be shelled and cooked before eating.  Fresh out of the shell, they're edible but a bit too starchy to be thoroughly enjoyable.  However, most of us grow our garden peas in the frozen food section at our local grocer. These tasty little orbs have already been blanched prior to freezing and are therefore perfect simply thawed and thrown into salads or snacked on.  Blanching (a quick dip in boiling water) then freezing keeps vegetables at their peak freshness and nutritional value.

Snow Peas

Also known as Chinese pea pods, these are flat legumes with tiny little peas inside the pods.  They have a mild taste with a terrific crunch and are great eaten raw as well as in stir fry.

Sugar Snap Peas

These are a bit of a cross between snow peas and sweet peas.  Their tubular pod contains larger peas than what you'll find in snow peas, but smaller than sweet peas. They're a bit sweeter than snow peas, super crunchy and highly nutritious too.  You can also snack on them pod and all, raw or cooked!

How to Cook Sugar Snap Peas

Me and Jenny goes together like peas and carrots. ~ Forrest Gump

If you're a fan of peas and carrots, try out this little addition to the above recipe.

• Take 2 medium carrots (rainbow colors if you can find them) and peal them.  Cut them into ¼ inch wheels and sauté them lightly ½ way through cooking the bacon.  Take them out with the bacon and mix them into the peas.  Process with the rest of the recipe.
• If you're not going to eat them raw, Snap peas are best when cooked over high heat for a short period of time with just a little oil or butter then tossed with a little salt and pepper.  Which, by the way, is the classic definition of how to Sauté.   

Sauté = high heat + little fat

• If you've got the grill out, skewer them on kabob sticks or put them in a grill basket.  Keep them on the grill for 5 minutes, drizzle with olive oil, lemon and salt and pepper.
• Lastly, try roasting them in the oven at 350F after a quick drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, a sprinkle of feta cheese and sliced cherry tomatoes.  After they come out of the oven, zest a little lemon on them and take them to the table.  YUM!

What to Serve with Your Creamy Snap Peas

Now that you've created this beautiful side dish, what are you going to serve with it? If you're short on time and looking for a 1 dish meal, think about gently folding in one of these protein items before you serve it:

• Chopped Roasted Chicken, or sliced Sous Vide Chicken Breast
• Cooked Salmon
• Chopped Ham
• Diced Boiled Eggs

Speaking of boiled eggs, I used to absolutely destroy my boiled eggs until I learned these simple tricks below.  Check it out!

Here are some entrees that are excellent with this creamy sugar snap peas recipe:

• Pecan Crusted Salmon
• Golden Crab Cakes
• Turkey (or Chicken) Piccata
• Restaurant Style Steaks