18 Fresh Pea Recipes for Springtime and Beyond

Sure, you can grab a bag from the freezer section of the grocery store year-round—there are plenty of great recipes that call for frozen peas. But now is the time to snap up fresh peas, when they’re at their plumpest and sweetest. Eat fresh peas as soon as you can after harvesting; the longer they sit in the fridge, the more their sugars convert to starches. They’re still good this way, but they will taste less like, well, like sweet, fresh peas! In addition, pea shoots and tendrils can be treated like peas and tossed in along with whatever you’re making, and sugar snaps and snow peas make excellent partners, too. Looking for a few easy-peasy recipes to keep in your back pocket? You're in the right place. We've rounded up our best, starting with this soup that is pure, green freshness boosted with mint and chives. Best of all, the whole thing comes together in under 15 minutes, and is as elegant as it is simple.

We won’t claim—outright, at least—to have improved upon that classic Italian dish, risi e bisi, or rice and peas. But threads of crispy enoki mushrooms here and there take the umami combination to a new and very irresistible place.

Creamy, herb-packed pesto is blended with spinach, lemon, and Parmesan, then tossed with tender pasta and sweet peas for a dish that’s as vibrant as it is indulgent. Served at room temperature, it’s a fresh, crowd-pleasing take on pasta salad that feels equal parts comforting and elevated.

Anne Burrell assembles wonderful, simple things that add up to a delightful summer appetizer that will make you feel like you’re dining on a hilltop in Piedmont.

Making fresh pasta definitely brings a little intimidation factor to the picture, and for some, even more so if it’s a pasta you might not be familiar with. But gnudi are so user-friendly, you should truly feel the opposite way. Like gnocchi that get their body from ricotta rather than potato (and a corresponding lightness and creaminess to boot), this mixture is stirred together and then formed into balls ahead of time, so that on game-day, you just have to make the sauce. The result is so special, and so worth it.

Peas and pancetta are a classic pairing—something about that salty alongside sweet, and chewy/meaty alongside fresh and green. Here, the dish tastes of warmth and sunshine with fresh lemon juice, and would be optimal alongside a springtime pasta or grilled chicken.

Michael Symon shows his Greek roots, incorporating dill—the embodiment of freshness—into this fricasee of peas and pancetta that really complements the richness of pan-seared salmon.

Geoffrey Zakarian’s spring pasta is an ode to mushrooms, with meaty oyster mushrooms and earthy maitakes, but studding it with sweet peas, lots of fresh basil and salty Pecorino-Romano lends it many more dimensions. We love it on a hot night, eaten outdoors with a cold glass of white wine.

Sometimes, you want to serve a dish that will be quietly surprising in its perfect calibration. Bobby Flay’s scallops with pea vinaigrette is one that you will be thinking about it the next day. The natural sweetness of the scallops is enhanced by a caramelization around their edges, and the sweet and acidic vinaigrette, truly a sort of marinated pea dish, bright with mint and parsley, adds such interest without overpowering the seafood.

It’s light and interesting enough to count as a salad, but substantial enough to count as a vegetable side. All we know is that it is the hit at any potluck, and makes for great leftovers, too.

You had us at orecchiette and peas, due to the catcher’s mitt effect, of course—it is just too delightful every time you discover a piece of pasta cradling a pea. Asparagus, too, punctuates the springiness of this dish and makes it a heartier bowlful.

Peas in your cocktail? File this one under, “wow, but it works!” A pea simple syrup gives a light green flavor to bubbly—and we promise, the fresh mint and elderberry liqueur bring it all together.

Here, peas get their passports stamped in Spain, with the inclusion of crispy jamon Serrano, Manchego, and crushed toasted hazelnuts, for a salad that will be forked up with lots of enthusiasm.

Fresh pasta is always a treat, and deserves a sauce as special as this one. “Primavera” means springtime, although “pasta primavera” has become synonymous with any pasta dish that includes vegetables, regardless of what season they grow in. That’s not this one. Garlic scapes, asparagus, peas and fresh basil mean that this dish tastes truly of spring.

Super-thin sliced fennel lends a licorice crunch to warm potato salad, seasoned with a sweet-and-acidic boiled dressing, and lots of sweet peas. This salad can be dressed up or down, as comfortable at the picnic spread as it is alongside a roasted tenderloin at a dinner party.

Typically, we bid addio to carbonara once the warm weather hits, as pasta with bacon and eggs can be a tad heavy. But it sure doesn’t stop being delicious. Here, it’s pumped up, and simultaneously lightened up, with plenty of freshness with peas and asparagus, which makes it feel just right for right now.

We can’t help but go bonkers for those brief few minutes that it’s morels season, but we cannot exist on morels alone, so here, they team up with other springtime stars, peas and salmon. The dish is light and wonderful, each ingredient taking a turn shining.