Sweet Pea and Noodle Salad

Okay, I don't think anyone is seriously going to think you're supposed to put flowers in this pasta salad. The ingredients even call for frozen green peas. Also, there's no problem with rinsing the pasta- it will help cool the noodles down faster so you can eat the salad right away if you want, and I've never had a problem with mayo not sticking to rinsed noodles. That all being said, this pasta salad is very yummy and easy. You can add anything you want to it, like tuna, olives, grapes, chicken, little tomatoes, cucumber... and it always turns out good! Low fat mayo works well also.

This is a good basic recipe but I can't give it more than 4 stars because rinsing the pasta is a NO NO! The starch is needed to help the sauce stick to the pasta. I used whole wheat rotella pasta and I added 1 pound of homemade bacon bits (cut 1 lb of bacon up and fry it into bits), and used a can of drained sweet peas and a few dashes of some vidalia onion vinaigrette. Make sure the onions are chopped very very small. It's great hot or cold and just the ticket when someone asks you to bring a side dish to a party.

I picked this recipe because it incorporated what I had on hand and seemed like it would be pretty quick and easy to make. I added 1/2 a pound of bacon per another user's suggestion, and used a lot less onion as my onion was very strong and I didn't want it to overpower. I also added some red pepper flakes, some cajun spices, and salt and pepper. Turned out great, especially for being a last minute recipe and using what I had on hand. I'll make it again! :)

I make this recipe often and use small shell pasta. Believe it, or not, each shell will pick up a pea. It's my Green Pearl Salad.

I love how easy this was and it actually has good flavor as is. I am going to take others suggestions and use some bacon bits on top before serving. I used bow tie pasta because I think it makes for a better presentation. How cute this would be with some chopped red pepper for a holiday look.

Safety concern: This recipe uses the name Sweet Pea however true sweet peas are very poisonous. The pea used for this recipe should be green (English)peas (the vegetable) Cute name but it may be misunderstood. Otherwise good recipe.

I made this as a side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone loved it. I will certainly make it again.

Quick and easy salad - family loved it and it kept well in the refrigerator for a few days. Thanks Boo for the recipe. It will work well for packed lunches this summer.

This was really enjoyed with dinner and the leftovers were even better the next day. I put some of my seasoned salt in the pasta water and used red onions other than that kept it the same. Very simple and very tasty!

waaaayyy too much onion

Just want to share a great trick I learned from an amazing Spanish cook. Instead of putting chopped onion in cold salads, use the fine side of a cheese grater to grate the onion. Then use the "mush", i.e. the juices from the onion, for the salad. The salad will have the onion flavor it needs, and the folks who don't like to bite into raw pieces don't have to (like our kids).

This was so good that I couldn't put it down to write a review till I finished my whole bowl. I only had spiral noodles on hand, but will make this again with shell pasta & make a "green pearl pasta" sounds so cute! I used chopped red bell pepper cause I love them. Didnt have any onion so I used some dashes of dried onion flakes. Some more dashes of chilli powder, cause I like chilli powder in dishes that use mayo. Omitted the hot pepper sauce. Some salt & pepper. Also only used 8 oz of noodles & a little over 10 oz sweet peas, I liked that ratio, it would have been too much noodles had I used 12 oz. I would love to try this with cooked ham sliced in tiny cubes the size of the peas.

I make a variation of this recipe regularly, I add whatever I have around, tuna, pepperoni, diced zucchini, tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, celery, cubed avocado (if you're going to eat immediately), just about anything.

This was delicious! I've made this before but that version added diced sweet pickles, diced celery, garlic salt, little black or white pepper to taste, a dash of olive oil and little scoop of miracle whip to taste, along with all the other ingredients listed above. I also just rinsed the frozen green peas to keep the crunch.......this recipe reminded me I hadn't made it in awhile...Delish! Boo!!! Thanks for the reminder of a good ole recipe...

Surprisingly good for so few ingredients. Works as is or modify to taste. I added some black pepper and Parmesan cheese.

This wasn't that good. I doubled the recipe and added grated parmesan cheese for my daughters first bday party and not very many people ate it.

I didn't really care for this recipe as it was (though I used shell pasta per one of the comment "green pearl pasta" I believe she called it & I used a quinoa pasta). I went on to add a little mustard powder & celery salt...still didn't work for me. I ended up adding shredded cheddar cheese & shredded carrots that really helped! Thank you for the recipe I enjoyed the spice but felt like it needed a little more...the added cheese really made it for me.

Great base recipe because I always have trouble with knowing how much mayo to add to salads. I don't care for raw yellow onion, so used 1/4 cup green onion (didn't have red on hand) and added 1 chopped up apple so I would still have the crunch. I added 1/2 a can of plain chopped tomatoes (drained), 2 Tbs of honey mustard and a chopped up chicken breast from last night. Also a good amount of salt and pepper. All said and done this is good without additions but since I was making it for lunch I added the extras. Great way to clean out the fridge!

Made this for family poker night, it was a hit! Everyone loved the flavor. I added in diced red pepper and green onion. My 17 mos son also loved it. Served with a build you own sandwich tray, simple but perfect! You can always change up what you put in it, just a great, easy salad.

Nice, simple pasta salad--I had to add 1/2 tsp salt to the mayo though.

Good but lacking in flavor, even though I used red onion. Took way more than 1/2cup mayo. Might add celery to the leftovers.

Great recipe! I have made this several times this summer and it is fabulous. I use a box of the bowtie pasta, don't rinse, place the frozen peas on the bottom of the bowl, add the drained pasta, thinly chopped Vidalia sweet onion, cut up grape tomatoes, chopped cucumber, a can of tuna, about a cup of mayo, red pepper and salt to taste. Really, you can add anything to your liking. We don't have leftovers. Yum!

I really like this recipe for the hotter days. I love that is so simple. I have made it several times as is until today. This time I altered a bit the procedure. I mixed the mayo, onion, and peas together. Then sprinkled it with salt and pepper to taste and added dried parsley. I let it set for a while in the fridge (aprox. 30 mins) while I prepared other items. I recommend it as it allows for a blending of the flavors. I then proceeded to combine in 3 batches. One of pasta one of dressing mixture adjusted salt an pepper with each addition of pasta and that was it! I think you can make a few protein additions such as a shredded hard boiled egg and a bit of chopped celery. This is definitely very good recipe that with small tweaks or as is, comes out excellent!

Excellent as long as it's given added spices, chopped, seeded tomatoes, etc.

Everyone liked it. I used a full box of (16 oz) of shell pasta and the called for amount of peas. I used a about 3/4 C of mayo and about 1TBS of chili garlic hot sauce. It wasn't spicy. Then generously sprinkled season salt. One tip I learned online: when you'd take your mayo pasta salad out of the fridge and it looks dry, add milk about a T at a time and mix. It gets super creamy.

It was a good dish. I had to add a little more flavor. I used garlic salt and onion powder. My family loved this dish.