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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!
5-Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Omgosh! Best frozen peas I’ve ever had! Loved it! Ty, ty! Followed exactly! – Pam
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 to! – Matthew
SO SO SO delicious and flavorful! My pea disliking husband even liked it! Thank you for the recipe! – Maria
The Best Way to Cook Frozen Peas
I hate to break it to you, but you have probably been cooking peas wrong your entire life. 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. Sure, it gets a a vegetable on the table fast, but did you know you can have your peas and enjoy them too?
The secret? Don’t boil, sauté! I discovered this surprisingly easy secret by trying Epi’s famous Thursday peas, a dish so popular it draws crowds. I learned how to recreate their tender, flavorful magic at home, transforming my view on frozen peas forever. I know you’ll love them!
🩷 Erica
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- 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 butter, garlic, and sugar.
- Sauté on medium heat until the butter is melted and the peas are cooked through.
- Salt and pepper, then serve!
Flavor Tips and Easy Add-Ins
These simple tips and add-ins will take your frozen peas from good to great. They work with many frozen vegetables, not just peas. Try them when cooking green beans, carrots, corn, snap peas, asparagus, etc.
- Skip the boiling – sauté instead. I know the package tells you to, but don’t. A quick sauté keeps the peas crisp, bright, and flavorful.
- Add a little sugar. Just enough to enhance the natural sweetness of the peas. It’s ok, it won’t taste weird and it will bring out the natural sweetness.
- Wait to salt. Salting too early can dehydrate peas and dull their flavor. Season to taste after cooking.
If you want to add a little something to your frozen peas for extra flavor, try one of these additions:
- Fresh Mint – Coarsely tear up a few mint leaves and toss them in the pan with the peas while cooking.
- Cream– For a creamier texture, add a splash of heavy cream. If you want really creamy peas try our creamed peas recipe.
- Minced Onion – Sauté with the peas for a savory boost.
- Lemon – Add a squeeze of lemon to the finished dish to brighten the flavor.
- Parmesan Cheese / Parmigiano Reggiano – Sprinkle on a little fresh Parmigiano Reggiano over the top.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, the frozen peas don’t need to be thawed. They go straight from the freezer to the skillet.
You can, but they won’t taste as fresh and good. They also want have the same bright color and crisp texture. However, preparing canned peas as outlined in the recipe below will taste much better than simply boiling them in water.
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. Both petite peas and regular peas work great in this recipe.
Absolutely! Frozen carrots or frozen corn would taste great in this recipe. Add them to the skillet when you are adding the frozen peas and cook according to the recipe. They will be delicious!
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!
It’s not a good idea to refreeze cooked peas. They will lose their texture and become mushy. You can keep cooked peas in the refrigerator and reheat them with in a few days for best results. I recommend adding them to our Basil and Sweet Pea Soup in place of canned peas, or our Creamy Pea Salad with Bacon.
More Peas, Please!
Can’t get enough of those sweet little green gems? These pea-packed recipes are full of flavor, fun, and plenty of reasons to say “yes, peas!” to seconds.
Who knew frozen peas could be this tasty? If you give this easy method a try, drop us a comment and tell us how it went! Did you go classic, cheesy, or minty? And don’t forget to leave a star rating – it helps other readers find this recipe!
How to Cook Frozen Peas (the RIGHT way)
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.
- Add salt and pepper. Serve.
Video
Notes
- Wait for it! Be sure to add salt at the end. Adding salt during the cooking process dehydrates the peas.
- Veggie add-ins: Frozen peas combine well with other frozen veggies like diced carrots, corn, and green beans. Try one or them all for a vegetable medley side dish.
- Flavor add-ins: Mix in fresh mint, a splash of cream, lemon juice, minced onion, or Parmesan for extra flavor.
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!