In this easy and delicious everyday recipe, sugar snap peas are quickly sauteed in butter and garlic. Sauteing is a lovely variation on eating them raw. This simple side dish is ready in ten minutes!
This snap peas recipe is one of my favorite side dishes to make on a busy weeknight. Cooking vegetables in butter and garlic is delicious (as these sauteed mushrooms demonstrate)! To make this recipe as easy as can be, I usually buy a bag of stringless, ready-to-eat peas. But even if you need to prep them, this is a quick and easy recipe.
Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Butter: It's delicious but has a relatively low smoke point. Lower the heat to medium if it seems to be browning too much.
- Sugar snap peas: I make life easy and get bags of trimmed and stringless peas.
- Seasonings: Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Variations
- You can use fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder.
- Sometimes, I cook the peas in olive oil instead of butter, lowering the heat to medium if it gets too hot.
- Enjoy spicy food? Add a pinch of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes with the other seasonings.
- I sometimes sprinkle the finished dish with bacon bits or grated parmesan.
Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe card below for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making this recipe:
Heat the butter in a large skillet. Add the peas. Cook them, stirring, for a minute or so, then add the seasonings.
Keep cooking until the peas are tender-crisp. They should be bright green and browned in only a few spots. Don't overcook them.
Remove them from the heat as soon as they are done and serve.
Expert Tip
It's important not to overcook these peas. While this is true for many vegetables, it's especially true here. This is the kind of vegetable that tastes best when barely cooked.
The peas need no more than 2-3 minutes of cooking, so remove the pan from the heat as soon as the pods are tender-crisp.
Once off heat, immediately remove the pods from the pan onto a plate so they don't keep cooking in the pan's residual heat.
Recipe FAQs
These peas have a thick, edible pod. They are crunchy and slightly sweet when eaten raw. When cooked, they take on a more savory flavor profile. It's important to cook them just until tender-crisp to preserve their beautiful green color and fresh taste.
No. They are excellent raw. They are crunchy, subtly sweet, and lovely on their own or dipped in ranch dressing, sour cream dip, tahini sauce, or Greek yogurt dip. I also like them as a vehicle for scooping up guacamole or salsa.
Having said that, their texture and flavor change dramatically when they're cooked. So cooking them is a lovely variation on eating them raw.
You don't have to. But you should remove the string that runs down the middle of the pods since it is difficult to chew and digest. You can buy bags of stringless pods, and I often do that.
Serving Suggestions
This side dish is incredibly versatile and can go with almost any main dish. I often pair it with one of the following:
- Blackened chicken
- Keto meatloaf
- Pan-fried salmon
- Baked scallops
- Shrimp in cream sauce
- Keto-fried pork chops
- Pork meatballs, as shown in the photo below. I sprinkled the peas with extra garlic powder and added cherry tomatoes for color.
Storing Leftovers
You can keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently in the microwave at 50% power or snack on the cold like antipasti. You can also freeze the leftovers for up to three months.
More Vegetable Recipes
Eat Well, Live Well Newsletter
Sign up for weekly meal ideas, cooking tips, and real food recipes straight to your inbox! We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.
Recipe Card
Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 8 ounces sugar snap peas - strings removed
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it starts to foam.
- Add the snap peas and stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Keep cooking, stirring constantly, until the pods are tender-crisp, about 2 more minutes.
- Immediately remove from the heat and serve.
Notes
- This is the kind of vegetable that tastes best when very minimally cooked. It truly needs no more than 2-3 minutes of cooking, so make sure to remove the pan from the heat as soon as the pods are tender-crisp and then remove the pods from the pan onto a plate so that they don't keep cooking in the pan's residual heat.
- You don't have to trim the peas' ends before cooking them. But you should remove the string that runs down the middle of the pods since it is difficult to chew and digest. You can buy bags of stringless pods, as I often do.
- You can keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently in the microwave at 50% power, or enjoy them cold like antipasti. You can also freeze the leftovers for up to three months.
Nutrition per Serving
Save this Recipe!
We'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
We will also add you to our weekly newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime. See healthyrecipesblogs.com/privacy/ to learn how we use your email.
Disclaimers
Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
