Do you get enough vegetables in your diet? Even if we have the best intentions, we could all probably use more of them to go with the meat, dairy and carbs that we eat. Typically, we think that the only way to get more veggies is to eat more salads—and let’s face it, that’s nobody’s favorite meal. Although we might usually think of salad as being just a bunch of leaves and other shredded veggies with a little bit of dressing, we have a new version for you today that’s a little more exciting.
Today, we’re going to make a creamy ranch pea salad which packs tons of creamy flavor and texture in every bite. If your standard definition of a salad is something that doesn’t have much taste to it, this recipe is sure to change your mind. Although it’s perfect to go with a hearty dinner at home, this one is sure to be a hit at any party you attend as well. So let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 8 slices of bacon
- 2 cups of fresh green peas
- 2 cups of canned chickpeas
- 1 1/2 cups of chopped cauliflower
- 1/2 cup of diced celery
- 1/3 cup of sour cream
- 1 cup of ranch dressing
- 3 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 cups of chopped cashews
- 1 cup of diced green onion
- salt
- pepper
Here’s what you do:
1. First, get out a mixing bowl and combine your ranch dressing, Dijon, sour cream, salt and pepper until it’s evenly mixed together. Set that aside as you cook your bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Keep cooking the bacon until it turns brown and crispy before draining out the excess fat, chopping up the bacon and setting it aside in a bowl. After that, get out a large pot and fill it with salted water, bringing it to a boil.
3. Once the water is boiling, add your peas and let them cook for one to two minutes. Cook them until they’re tender before running them under cold water to cool off.
4. Next, get out a large bowl and throw your peas, chickpeas, celery, green onions, cashews, cauliflower and bacon bits together and mix them all up. Add your dressing as well and stir everything up well so that it’s evenly combined. Finally, cover the bowl and throw it all in the fridge for an hour before serving!
As you can see, this recipe couldn’t be much easier to make and it results in a tasty salad that’s much better than a plainer version. Although it still has plenty of flavor from the bacon and the sour cream, it also comes packed full of other healthy veggies including peas, celery and green onions. While this is great on its own, you could even add a scoop of this to your sandwich for some extra flavor.
While the version we have listed is delicious as is, there’s also plenty of room to experiment here. If you don’t want to use bacon, you could switch in some small pieces of ham. On the other hand, take the meat out and swap it for some baked tofu for a fully vegetarian version as well. No matter what you do, have fun with this one and let us know what you think!
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