Creamed Peas are a wonderful side dish for a special dinner. Full of flavor from sautéed onion and bacon and with plenty of creamy Béchamel sauce, this is a vegetable side everybody is going to love!
I have to admit: I do love vegetables in pretty much any shape or form. But pair them with a creamy sauce and bacon? Well, that obviously makes them even better for a holiday ?
This recipe is incredibly easy and comes together quickly, but it tastes like you really put way more effort into it. And that’s the best kind of recipe, if you ask me!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Peas: I prefer using frozen peas in this recipe. If you only have canned peas on hand, drain them well and only cook them for a short amount of time, just until full heated.
- Cream: If you don’t want to use heavy cream, half-and-half, evaporated milk or simply more milk are all great substitutes. Cream obviously yields the richest result, but the alternatives all taste delicious, too.
- Bacon: The bacon is not mandatory in this recipe, but it is definitely a great addition. I used a thick cut, diced bacon.
- Cream cheese: If you’re not a fan or don’t have this on hand, feel free to leave it out. You may need to add an extra splash of milk to make up for the creaminess.
How to make Creamed Peas
1. Start by sautéing the onion, garlic and bacon in butter over medium heat.
2. Once the onion has fully softened, stir in the seasoning and the flour and cook over medium heat until foamy, about 1 minute.
3. Then, gradually add the milk while constantly stirring to avoid lumps. Stir in the cream and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
How to make a Roux/Béchamel sauce for beginners
This technique is called making a roux (cooking flour in butter) to make a Béchamel sauce (adding milk/cream to create a creamy, thickened white sauce). Here are my tips to make a roux without messing it up if you are a beginner:
- You must use medium to medium-low heat to cook the flour/butter mixture and the flour mustn’t brown.
- If you are new to making roux, I highly recommend taking the pot off the heat to stir in the flour. This gives you a little more time to avoid lumps and to keep the flour from getting too hot. Once you have fully stirred the flour into the butter, place the pot back over medium heat again and cook for 30-60 seconds, stirring constantly, until the flour is foamy.
- Now take the pot off the heat again and gradually stir in the milk. This is not how you usually make a béchamel sauce (you’d leave it on the heat), but I have tested this several times and for beginners, it’s an absolutely easy way to make a great roux/béchamel without creating a lumpy or burned sauce.
- Once you have fully combined the milk (plus any other liquid your recipe calls for) with the flour mixture, set the pot back over medium-low heat and simmer until thickened while constantly stirring.
Once the sauce has thickened, add the peas and cream cheese and simmer until the peas are fully cooked through. This will take around 8 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of milk.
If they stand for too long, they will turn grey-ish and the sauce will thicken too much. So make sure to serve the peas immediately.
Recipe tips
- Make sure to fully cook the onion in the first step. Otherwise, the biting raw onion flavor will linger in the dish and make it somewhat unpleasant.
- Follow the tips for making your roux/Béchamel sauce I shared in the steps above if you’re a beginner (in short: take pot off the heat while stirring in the flour and take pot off the heat when stirring in the milk).
- Make sure to fully cook the peas in the sauce, around 8 minutes. If you want to be extra safe, feel free to cook the peas separately before stirring them into the sauce (the sauce doesn’t really need to keep cooking, so it’s fine to stir in fully cooked peas). Frozen peas must be fully cooked as they bear a risk of Listeria contamination.
Serving ideas
Creamed peas are a wonderful side dish for any holiday celebration, but I especially love them for Easter dinner.
They go great with a roasted leg of lamb or with baked chicken thighs and mashed potatoes. For Easter, I love adding a side of crockpot glazed carrots (or lately air fryer carrots!) as well.
They also go well with Air Fryer Steak and roasted fingerling potatoes.
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Creamed Peas
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup diced bacon or more to taste
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley OR dried dill
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup heavy cream or more to taste
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 cups frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese or more to taste
Instructions
- Cook aromatics: Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add bacon, onion and garlic and cook until onion has softened (but not browned), about 5 minutes.
- Make roux: Stir in dried parsley and flour until smooth, then cook for 30-60 seconds until flour looks foamy (do not brown flour, only use medium heat!).
- Make sauce: Gradually stir in milk while continuously stirring to avoid lumps. Stir in cream and simmer until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook peas: Add peas and cream cheese. Stir until cheese has melted, then simmer over medium-low heat until peas are fully cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Peas: I prefer using frozen peas in this recipe. If you only have canned peas on hand, drain them well and only cook them for a short amount of time, just until full heated.
- Cream: If you don’t want to use heavy cream, half-and-half, evaporated milk or simply more milk are all great substitutes. Cream obviously yields the richest result, but the alternatives all taste delicious, too.
- Bacon: The bacon is not mandatory in this recipe, but it is definitely a great addition. I used a thick cut, diced bacon.
- Cream cheese: If you’re not a fan or don’t have this on hand, feel free to leave it out. You may need to add an extra splash of milk to make up for the creaminess.
Recipe tips
- Make sure to fully cook the onion in the first step. Otherwise, the biting raw onion flavor will linger in the dish and make it somewhat unpleasant.
- Make sure to fully cook the peas in the sauce, around 8 minutes. If you want to be extra safe, feel free to cook the peas separately before stirring them into the sauce (the sauce doesn’t really need to keep cooking, so it’s fine to stir in fully cooked peas). Frozen peas must be fully cooked as they bear a risk of Listeria contamination.
How to make a Roux/Béchamel sauce for beginners
Here are my tips to make a roux without messing it up:- You must use medium heat here and the flour mustn’t brown.
- If you are new to making roux, I highly recommend taking the pot off the heat to stir in the flour. This gives you a little more time to avoid lumps and to keep the flour from getting too hot. Once you have fully stirred the flour into the butter, place the pot back over medium heat again and cook for 30-60 seconds, stirring constantly, until the flour is foamy.
- Now take the pot off the heat again and gradually stir in the milk. This is not how you usually make a béchamel sauce (you’d leave it on the heat), but I have tested this several times and for beginners, it’s an absolutely easy way to make a great roux/béchamel without creating a lumpy or burned sauce.
- Once you have fully combined the milk with the flour mixture, set the pot back over medium heat again and simmer while gradually stirring in the cream. Then just simmer over medium heat until slightly thickened.
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