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There’s actually a correct way to cook frozen peas, and it isn’t boiling! You can have sweet, crisp, vibrant green peas in less than ten minutes. Never mushy, never bland. Try them tonight!
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I hate to break it to you, but you have probably been cooking peas wrong your entire life. And I admit I am guilty of ripping open a bag of frozen peas and throwing them into a pot of boiling water 5 minutes before dinner or tossing them in the microwave and serving them as a side dish.
I never hated peas, but never loved them either. Until I went to Epi’s (My favorite restaurant in Meridian, Idaho). On Thursdays, Epi’s offers free peas as an additional side dish to any meal and people specifically go there on Thursdays JUST for the peas. Strange right? But, after trying the tender, perfectly cooked peas, I understood. They were delicious! So I figured out just what makes those peas taste delicious and now I can share it with you!
Ingredients for Perfect Peas
Just a bag of frozen peas isn’t enough, not for show-stopping, succulent peas like these. Here’s what you need:
- Peas – Use frozen green peas for this recipe. They are firm and will soften in minutes.
- Butter – Salted, sweet cream butter is a rich and flavorful butter that gives you just enough deliciousness to the peas that is not overbearing.
- Sugar – I know it sounds weird, but it won’t make the peas too sweet, I promise!
- Garlic – Use fresh, crushed garlic for optimal aroma and flavor.
Step By Step Instructions
- First, empty a bag of frozen peas into a large skillet.
- Add six tablespoons of butter, garlic, and sugar on top.
- Sauté on medium heat until the butter is melted and the peas are cooked through.
- Salt and pepper, then serve!
Basic Tips for Green Peas on the Stovetop
These tips work for any frozen vegetable, not just peas. Try them when cooking green beans, corn, snow peas, snap peas, English peas, etc.
- Don’t boil! Just don’t do it. I know the package tells you to, but don’t. Trust me.
- Add a little sugar to the peas. It’s ok, it won’t taste weird and it will bring out the natural sweetness.
- Don’t add salt until ready to serve. Salting them too early can dehydrate them and they (obviously) won’t be as sweet. Salt them after they have cooked and you can salt to taste.
Additional Ingredients to Try
- If you want to try something different, try coarsely tearing up a few mint leaves and throwing them in the pan with the peas while cooking.
- Leave the garlic and sugar out and just cook them with mint and butter. The mint infuses the peas with a fresh and delicious flavor that you are sure to love! It kicks dinner up a notch with very little effort.
- Add a little bit of minced onion during the cooking process.
- Top with fresh parsley or other fresh herbs.
- Sauté in a little extra virgin olive oil instead of butter.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice to the finished product.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the top
Frequently Asked Questions about Peas
Petite peas are usually smaller, sweeter, and more delicate than regular peas. Regular peas are meatier, but the skin on them is a little tougher.
If you are using our method for cooking frozen peas, just a little sugar, salt, and pepper is all you need. If you want to make the peas a little more fancy, try adding some mint (see notes above).
Believe it or not, frozen peas taste better than fresh ones when cooking. Why? Frozen peas are flash-frozen at the peak of ripeness. You can depend on the sweetness and soft texture. Store-bought fresh peas tend to become more firm and starchy from the time they are picked to the time they are purchased. Unless they are picked fresh from your garden, frozen peas are the way to go!
Cook’s Illustrated has a great explanation of the difference in flavors between the two HERE. It’s worth a quick read.
READ NEXT: The Best Traditional Easter Dinner Ideas
Now that you know all about peas – it’s time to make them! If we’ve convinced you this is the “right way,” you will also want to check out more of our “How To” recipes.
More Pea Recipes to Try
Try some more favorite recipes with peas! They are a great filler and helps give you a delicious and healthy meal combination!
How to Cook Frozen Peas (The RIGHT Way)
How to Cook Frozen Peas (the RIGHT way)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen green peas
- 6 tablespoons butter salted, sweet cream
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 cloves garlic fresh, crushed
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine peas, butter, sugar, and garlic in a medium-sized skillet.
- Cook at medium heat until butter is melted and peas are heated through about 5-7 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Remove from heat and drain off any liquid.
- Add salt and pepper. Serve.
Notes
- Don’t boil! Just don’t do it. I know the package tells you to, but don’t. Trust me.
- Add a little sugar to the peas. It’s okay, it won’t taste weird and it will bring out the natural sweetness.
- Don’t add salt until ready to serve. Salting them too early can dehydrate them and they (obviously) won’t be as sweet. Salt them after they have cooked and you can salt to taste.
Love love love this super simple recipe! They are perfect every time! Thank you 😊
I have never liked little green peas until I made this recipe for my family who does like them. They were delicious and we are having them again today. I followed the recipe exactly and I did not let them boil!
I followed the directions and they were not good! They were hard; felt and tasted like they were made from dried peas that hadn’t cooked long enough. Terrible waste of my organic peas.
I am so sorry this didn’t work out for you. Were they frozen organic peas?
Delicious! Peas were super flavorful, without getting mushy! Easy recipe, with excellent results!
Who knew! I will never boil or microwave my peas again. I cut back on the butter some, but I loved them. Thank you!
Adding sugar to peas tastes very weird, I couldn’t eat them. Just salted is best.
Wow!
Who knew at 68 I’d made peas wrong all my cooking life, lol.
From a frozen bag there was about a 1/4 cup left from our dinner, 3 adults & 1 toddler.
My GRAND daughter loved the pic so I copied that, she ate 4; better than none.
We never salted but used salted butter.
Looking forward to trying some more of your recipes.
Thanks kindly & be well,
DarH
SO SO SO delicious and flavorful! My pea disliking husband even liked it! Thank you for the recipe!
The recipe is inspired by a specific cuisine or culinary tradition, allowing you to explore new flavors and cultural experiences from the comfort of your own kitchen.
I have hated peas my entire life. I have always avoided them, and pick them out of dishes like fried rice, casseroles, etc. There’s even a “famous” story known within my family and circle of friends when – in a hormonal tail spin caused by fertility medications – I broke down into tears and told my husband that he didn’t love me because I won’t cook peas. Suffice it so say, peas and I have never been on speaking terms.
After 20 years of never serving peas, I decided to prepare some for my husband (who loves them), but I was determined to find a recipe that was at least tolerable for me. So I tried this recipe.
I now love peas. I don’t think I’ll ever want to eat them any other way, but these peas were so darned good that I ate about 1/3 of them before they ever made it onto our plates. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I ate more peas before we even started dinner than I have eaten cumulatively in the prior 55 years of my life.
One of the major things that makes these peas so good is the texture; I loved that they still had a bit of snap without that “pea mealiness” that they usually have. And the seasoning is spot on. My husband declared them to be perfectly cooked.
We’ll be having peas regularly now. And my husband will continue to love me.
Thank you for this glowing review! We are so glad we could help you love peas!
Amazingly good. I added the peas to some leftover diced ham and added some elbow macaroni.
Delicious. I’ve eaten canned peas all my life but now switching to frozen. Thanks!
This is a good heuristic for veg sides in general. If you put that much buttery, sugary, garlic deliciousness on a squirrel from your yard it would taste good. Five stars.
I have always enjoyed frozen peas, but had pretty much always just rinsed them under some lukewarm tap water before popping them into fried rice, curries, etc. I probably may have gone the rest of my life enjoying peas that way… but this recipe is an ABSOLUTE GAME-CHANGER!
Ever so fuss-free, can be easily and quickly put together with all the pantry staples, and above all, FABULOUS FLAVOUR! My partner could not stop raving about how incredible this recipe was (he had thought for the longest time that frozen peas were only good for parboiling, and that “fanciest thing” one could do was simply season it with salt and paper.
Suffice it to say, my partner and I have both had a solid re-education about peas. What a delicious journey!
This is basically the same way I cook peas. However, rather than using garlic, which can overpower the sweetness of the pea, I use shallots. I use 2 tablespoons of butter on low heat to get the shallots slightly tender, then add the remaining 4 tablespoons with all the other ingredients on med heat. I keep the sugar separate and added last, as to caramelize with the butter. The flavors of the shallots and peas blend perfectly, with a hint of caramel.
I only ever liked LeSueur canned sweet peas and never liked frozen peas until now. These are the best peas I have ever tried. I don’t think I will want them prepared any other way after this. The garlic had a sweet flavor too. I added a sprinkle of lemon pepper at the very end. I had no idea peas could be so delicous! I wanted seconds. On peas! Thanks for sharing. This is a fabulous very simple and fast to prepare sidedish and peas are the star.
Wow ! My 2yo scrapped all the peas from the bowl and said no when I asked her to leave me one! I’ve never been big on peas on their own. This was perfect ! I forgot to add salt and pepper and it was still great.
Wow! A win with a 2-year old is a win in our book! Thanks for sharing!
I loved the idea. As a Brazilian I always start everything with fried garlic. Good to know the time to cook but I will skip the sugar. I always avoid sugar even in small quantities since it gives you inflammation. Thank you for the recipe!
I have hated peas all of my 58 years and then today I tried your recipe! OMG!!! I love them! So much so that I will now buy peas often! They are delicious! Lol They taste nothing like peas! And I used monkfruit sweetener instead of sugar! I’m even thinking about adding the ingredients to green beans!!!
Thanks so much for sharing your delicious recipe! May God bless you!
Amazing! The pea recipe my toddler will eat willingly. I used unsalted butter, so added 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp salt. Perfectly seasoned. Thank you for the amazing recipe.
So glad that you loved it!
What is butter salted, sweet cream? Is this just 6 tbsp Salted butter? Or is it 6 tbsp Salted butter and 6 tbsp sweet cream? Or is it 6 tbsp Salted butter OR 6 tbsp sweet cream? What is sweet cream? Thanks in advance!
Salted Sweet Cream Butter is a type of butter!
It is Salted Sweet Cream Butter. It’s one thing.
Hi. So if I was wanting to “dress this up” for Easter- you’d suggest the mint. But skip garlic/ and sugar, then- just do butter and mint? Thanks!
You would keep everything but add the mint as well! Hope you had a wonderful Easter!
This is by far my favorite way to serve peas! Made them for a New Years dinner party and my a couple of my guests asked how I made them because they like them so much! I also made this recipe for Christmas with my family. I made a separate bowl of green beans along with this pea recipe. Surprisingly, the peas were gone but the green beans had a few leftovers! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
This recipe takes peas over the top! My PICKY other half gobbled them up so I knew they were a winner!! Thank you for the delicious recipe.
This recipe puts the peas over the top! My VERY picky other half gobbled them up and said how much he loved them!! Thank you so much for your wonderful recipe
Can you use Becel margarine for this recipe instead of butter, I would like to try making it
I’m not sure what Becel margarine is, so I can’t say one way or another, but let us know how it goes if you try it!
I’m from Canada so it’s just a brand of margarine
Perfection
I tried this recipe for a 2nd time, and it came out wonderfully! (The 1st time, the peas never got tender. They must’ve been freezer burned.)
This time I followed the recipe but used 1/2 the butter. I also sautéed 1/4 C onion and the garlic in the butter before adding the peas. I added 1/2 t
sea salt and 1/4 t pepper after the peas were done. #DELICIOUS
We loved how these tasted, however, my peas were shrunken! Did I cook them too long?
You may have cooked them at too high of a heat. When peas reach a boiling point the middle expands and then when you take them out they shrink again. Try cooking them just under a boil next time! Hope this helps!
Thank you. Will keep a better eye out the next time I make them!
This is such good info!! I’ve definitely been making frozen peas wrong this whole time, haha. Thanks for the tips!
I’ve never heard of boiling frozen/cooked peas? I’ve always heated them in a saucepan, or added them as a quick filler for any other dish. I must try boiling them to see what I’ve been missing!
It does not say to boil them.
This is seriously cracking me up. If it’s an intentional joke thank you, it landed.
The directions were so easy to follow. Thank you.
We love frozen peas, I do mine in a similar way only add a little dill and some pearl onions, cook the onions first for a few minutes then add the peas and other ingredients…
My Wife and I had this for dinner last night as a side along with our garlic butter chicken and loved it. Thanks so much for making boring peas something to look forward too!
Fabulous recipe! We discovered multiple bags of frozen peas in our freezer today and wanted to use one (aka make more room) and wanted something more flavorful than just boiling them. My husband thought sugar and garlic sounded a little nuts but he was game. We loved them! We keep jarred minced garlic in the fridge and used that since we didn’t have any fresh. Definitely a repeat recipe. Thank you!
Is this a good method for peas other than green peas (English peas)? Specifically, purple hull peas, pink lady peas, black-eyed peas, etc.
I haven’t tried it with other types of peas! Let me know how it goes if you do try it.
Thanks for teaching me how to cook peas–the right way
hi. what about in an instant pot (electric pressure cooker)? thank you.
I haven’t tried cooking peas in an instant pot, so I’m not sure!
What if you don’t care for garlic? I like garlic only when it is a hint rather than a direct statement (exception: garlic bread with tomato-sauced pasta).
Should I omit the garlic? Use less (what if my preferred amount is less than one clove)? Use a whole unbroken clove? Substitute? (I like other alliums, and if the garlic were minced I’d use shallots.)
Also, doesn’t salted butter defeat the purpose of leaving out the salt until the dish is finished?
If you don’t like the garlic, you can just omit it! It should still taste good. Hope this helps!
Great solution to blah frozen peas
good peas
I’ve been doing it wrong the whole time! Thanks for the tips!
My favorite way to eat frozen peas! This is fantastic!
This is so helpful! I always have a bag of peas in the freezer. Thank you for the recipe!
I found this recipe by searching “peas recipe,” and mine came out pretty good even though I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. Still better than boiled. Thanks for sharing.
I was scared of the sugar, so I didn’t add as much, and I used 3T unsalted butter and 3T margarine (because it’s all I had), and it ended up being WAY too much butter, so I’d recommend cutting back on the butter/margarine if you alter the recipe like I did.
Wait, so does Epi’s put mint in their peas or not? (Trying to decide whether it’s worth going on a Thursday to try them . . . I love peas., but despise mint!)
Epi’s does ~not put mint in their peas. It was just a fun addition we mentioned.
I love peas, but my family does not. So I am always looking for other ways to cook them. I tried this recipe yesterday and all my family liked it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
this is a very interesting post!
Thank you for this recipe, what a delicious surprise!
What a fantastic frozen pea tutorial. Following your instructions, my peas turned out beautifully.
Can you cook them in advance and do they stay soft when you reheat them?
We haven’t tried cooking them in advance. I would think they would get too soft and mushy.
I’ve actually never thought of cooking peas on their own. I usually add them to rice, pasta or soup. However, this way especially with the butter flavor would make a delicious side dish to any meal.
This is how I will cook frozen peas from now on! Fantastic!
What a novel approach to making peas!
Yum!!! These sounds perfect for anytime during the year, but especially in the winter months when a fresh veggie is lacking!
Great and simple receipe
I have always steamed my peas and thought they were pretty good, that was until I fixed them like this! They are FABULOUS and I will never make peas any other way !!!! Thanks for sharing.
whoa.. I didn’t think it was possible. I bought some pea pies, they tasted like peas, I didn’t like them. not sure why I bought a bag of frozen peas after that! it’s baby peas, but still tastes like peas. out of curiosity, I Googled how to cook peas. so glad I came here. thank you!
Can you do it with oil instead of butter? I have a dairy free kid bc of allergies.
Sure!
So good. This is a game changer. I have been cooking for 40 years and had no idea! Thanks!
Do you thaw the peas first or use frozen?
You use them straight from the freezer!
Omgosh! Best frozen peas I’ve ever had! Loved it! Ty, ty! Followed exactly!
Check for typos. Kosher _____ salt not sale
Thanks for catching that!
So I had no veggies for dinner and have had these frozen peas in the freezer from making chicken pot pie, I googled best way to cook frozen peas and this was the first recipe, I made it and my boyfriend absolutely loved it! He even asked for them again the next night.
I take out the peas I’m going to use from the freezer just before cooking main meal in pressure cooker. When meal is cooked I add the peas to the other food in the still extremely hot water in the pressure cooker pan for a minute and I find they’re cooked just right.
When I lived in London, the grocery store sold little individual packages of fresh peas to microwave and they cooked perfectly. I miss those in America! Used to eat peas for a quick breakfast all the time. My favorite recipe was peas, butter, salt, pepper, and fresh shaved Parmesan. Try adding a little fresh Parmesan (maybe not with the mint in there), it makes a huge difference!!
5 star needed
Thanks for the 5-stars!
Made these for an early Thanksgiving feast . They were a big hit. Did use less butter and less garlic than called for. Used sucanat (natural dark brown sugar) and YES to the added broken up mint leaves. Super simple, quick and delicious. You’ve truly inspired me with this oh so simply, delicious recipe. I will also experiment with the veggie stock, and alternate oils. These left over would be delicious to top a salad or rice. Thanks for sharing this. 💟
Someone said something about listeria with frozen vegetables not being boiled.. What do you think about this! Is this something to be concerned snout?
I have never heard that before. We rarely boil any frozen vegetables. We get the frozen stir fry veggies all the time and on the packaging they recommend pan cooking them. I don’t think they would recommend it if there were any kind of health risk but ultimately the decision is yours. Hope this helps!
Thank you! This recipe is amazing!
Thank you! So glad you liked it! Thanks for the 5-stars!
I just don’t know why anyone would sugar to these? They’re already sweet enough and sugar is the white devil
You can definitely leave the sugar out if you want to 🙂
Is butter salted, “sweet cream” a type of butter? Or do you also add “sweet cream”? I’m confused by this.
Yes, it is a type of butter. You don’t need to add any extra cream. Hope this helps!
I have never commented on a recipe I’ve tried before but I just had to with this one. BEST PEAS EVER!!! I can’t stop raving about them to my friends and family. Thank you for sharing!!
You are very very welcome! Thanks so much for the nice comment– and the 5-stars!
hi. i would love to try this recipe. Can I keep it vegan by using coconut butter instead?
You can but it will definitely give the peas a coconutty taste. You might be better off using avocado oil or any other kind of plant-based oil that doesn’t have a strong taste. Hope this helps!
It would be helpful to know how much fresh mint to put in and if the pan should be uncovered or covered after putting in the butter.
I just use 1-2 leaves of mint or it will be too overpowering. No need to cover the pan. Hope this helps!
Exactly what I was thinking when I saw that much butter for 1 lb peas.
I’d go one better and say never boil ANY vegetable. Boiling veggies just means you’re pouring half the nutrients and half the taste down the drain. Steam, roast, saute, microwave (if you just have to) but please don’t abuse our vegetable friends by boiling. The only time they should come in contact with a hot liquid is in a soup recipe, where nutrition and taste don’t go to waste.
Yes! I agree completely! Boiling vegetables also makes them taste so bland. Thank you for sharing!
This recipe looks good and I plan to make it. But don’t you want to sauté the garlic in the butter first? Otherwise you’re eating raw garlic and that doesn’t be sound appealing.
You can do either way. The garlic doesn’t taste raw in the peas. It still gets some cooking time and is able to infuse the peas with flavor. Hope this helps!
We prefer to bake our potatoes, skin on. Cool and shred! Much more flavorful than boiled potatoes and they make the best hash browns or American fries.
I’m going to try this recipe, but I have to say, add that much butter to anything and it’ll be tasty. No big secret there.
Lol yep.. it’s true! That’s a big part of why these are so tasty!
Best peas ever!
Thanks Susan!
This recipe ROCKS, and all other recipe’s are just average! Simply the best peas EVER!!
Thank you so much for the 5-star rating!! We are so glad you love this recipe!
I followed your recipe to a T. Best peas I ever ate in my life. And I’m in my forties and I love peas!
I am so glad you liked them!! Thanks for the 5-star rating!
I add vegetable or chicken bouillon to my peas and that’s all you need.
I bring water to a boil, add peas when water is boiling…the water will cool somewhat because of the cold pears. wait till the water boils again then shut off stove. Peas float to the top when hot…drain and stir in butter. They taste like they were just picked.
Hi there! Time to comment because I have used your recipe for a year now. My family never ate peas before, but now the veggie is requested weekly! ( “you’re making the good ones, right?”) thank you!
This comment just put a big smile on my face! Thank you so much for coming back to let us know how much your family has enjoyed this recipe!
Ummm. I’m not certain I did this right. I followed your instructions, and even cooked them for a bit longer, but my peas are still pretty hard and fibrous, not soft and supple like my kids and I are used to from boiling them. Is this normal? Was I supposed to defrost the peas first?
Hmm that is really weird! They should soften up just as much as boiling them. No defrosting needed. Did you just use typical frozen peas?
I think your peas are freezer burned. Right now my peas are only halfway cooked and they aren’t hard!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
My PEA LIFE will never be the same…I was not a big fan of peas until I tried cooking them this way. DELICIOUS!!
haha so glad we were able to take your “pea life” to a whole new level! This comment totally made my day. And I am going to start saying “pea life” now lol
The package tells you to boil them for 5-7 minutes to kill bacteria like Listeria, which has become a problem with frozen foods. They need to be fully heated to 165 degrees. Other than that, I’m going to try the mint & butter recipe. It sounds yummy. Thanks!
interesting! thanks.
Thank you! These were amazing!
I tried this and they are amazing, thank you.
So glad you liked them Rhonda! 😀
I am from the Boise area but have never heard of Epi’s. I’ll have to look it up now! Can’t wait to try these tips.
Oh my goodness! You will love Epi’s. I have never had anything there that I haven’t liked. Book in advance because they fill up fast!
Really tasty. I never boiled peas before, but the seasonings were a fresh idea!
So glad you liked them 😀
What about canned peas? Just kidding! Canned peas are super nasty ???? This really is the best way to make peas! Thanks for sharing!
I’m even too lazy to boil them–just stick them in a bowl with a little water and put it in the microwave. (Maybe this is why I don’t love peas!) I’m excited to try this! Have you tried it with other frozen veggies? (like corn or a mix?)
I’ve done the same thing with frozen “peaches and cream” corn. Tastes amazing and I feel like by not boiling it you’re not losing some of the nutrients in the water.
Mom has a similar recipe but adds quinoa and parsley. The buttery peas make the quinoa actually taste much better. We’ll have to try the no boil method. Oh, and don’t let the quinoa over cook. Mind your peas and Q’s.
LOL, love it! I am sure the peas with quinoa is delicious! I am guessing it almost tastes like a risotto (especially if you add a little cream…)? We will have to try that next time! Thanks for the suggestion!