JOSEPH DE LEO
Recipes

Our Best Snap Pea Recipes Make the Most of That Sweet Crunch

Put sugar snap peas in salads, stir-fries, or even a cocktail

By SAVEUR Editors


Published on May 23, 2019

While sugar snap peas are available at the farmers' market in the spring and summer, you can also find the stalwart vegetables in grocery stores pretty much year-round. Invented (yes, invented!) by a farmer in 1979, they're a cross between snow peas and English peas. Snap peas have a thicker shell than snow peas, and the curved pods contain small peas inside. Look for plump, bright green pods and use them quickly—refrigerate for two or three days at the most. They're wonderful raw, shell and all, or briefly cooked in stir-fries or quick sautes. Most sugar snap peas have fibrous strings that need to be removed before eating—simply snap off the tough end with your fingers and pull the strings from the seams of the pod. Here, our favorite ways to use the crisp, sweet green vegetables, from salads to stir-fries to cocktails.

Stir-fried peas and pea shoots
Morels with Mint, Peas, and Shallot
Morels with Mint, Peas, and Shallot

Morels with Mint, Peas, and Shallot

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe for old-fashioned chicken pot pie, an adaptation of one in James Beard’s American Cookery (Little, Brown; 1980), originally appeared in the September/October 1995 issue of SAVEUR. It’s still one of our favorites. Get the recipe for Chicken Pot Pie »

Quinoa Salad with Snap Peas, Scallions, and Mint
Watermelon Radish, Ahi Tuna, and Snap Pea Salad
Watermelon Radish, Ahi Tuna, and Snap Pea Salad

At Los Angeles’ Lemonade restaurant, crunchy radishes, snap peas, and medium-rare seared tuna are tossed in a ginger-soy dressing for a crisp and colorful entrée salad.

Two Snaps

Ideal for sipping on a hot afternoon, the base of this delicate, crisp, slightly vegetal drink can be bottled and taken along on picnics or beach excursions

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