Healthy Snap Pea Recipes

Kids don't think twice about eating their veggies when they're served alongside a delectable dipping sauce!

Pressing tofu before making this tofu stir-fry recipe gives it a chewy, satisfying texture. Three green peas--sugar snaps, snow peas and shelling peas--balance it out with brightly flavored crunch. Hoisin--a dark brown, thick, spicy-sweet sauce made from soybeans and a complex mix of spices--gives the stir-fry rich depth of flavor with just one ingredient. Look for it, as well as chile-garlic sauce, in the Asian section of the market.

Be sure to let these sugar snap peas get some at-the-edge-of-burnt color in the skillet. It's the secret to the knockout flavor of this easy and healthy side dish.

Sweet, crisp and snappy, this healthy pea salad recipe is all about the sugar snaps, plus a little Aleppo pepper for some heat. The creamy sheep- or goat's-milk cheese adds a touch of richness and the edible flowers give it a gorgeous pop of color. Serve this beautiful salad alongside lemon-grilled chicken or fish.

We mashed together peas, fresh mint and lemon zest with breadcrumbs to make small pan-fried cakes perfect for topping a salad.

Chicken thighs are seasoned with Asian-style seasonings, then slow-cooked to tenderness and served with crisp sugar snap peas.

Salmon and eggplant team up in this one-skillet curry flavored with coconut milk, basil and lime. We love the flavor of Thai yellow curry paste in this dish, but any type of curry paste can be used--be sure to taste as you go because curry blends vary in flavor and heat. If you don't have curry paste, curry powder works well here. Serve with fragrant brown rice, such as basmati or jasmine.

Take your veggies and dip to the next level with this colorful crudité wreath. This vegetable appetizer is a stunner with white cauliflower, red tomatoes and green broccoli, green beans, snap peas, kale and Brussels sprouts. It's also a delicious way to start your celebration with veggies (which there are rarely enough of at parties and holidays). The homemade ranch dip, which uses nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, takes just a few minutes to make, or you can use a healthy store-bought dip.

As delicious as it is beautiful, this spring pea salad recipe is a potluck or dinner party stunner. Assemble the salad and dress just before serving--or serve the dressing next to the salad for people to drizzle. The tangy champagne vinaigrette balances the grassy sweetness of the peas and fruity pop of the berries.

This dish is best done at the last minute so the snap peas keep their crisp texture. The pink of the shrimp and the green peas make it as pretty as it is tasty.

Fresh greens, lemony vinaigrette, briny feta, and crisp radishes and pea pods all come together in this side salad that you'll want at every meal. We love Meyer lemons in this salad, but any variety will do.

This Asian-inspired chicken dinner salad recipe has terrific crunch, thanks to sugar snap peas and napa cabbage. The orange dressing gets a kick of heat from sambal oelek, an Indonesian hot sauce. If you can't find it, try sriracha in its place.

Poaching fish with a little flavorful liquid may be the easiest way to cook fish! This quick poached-fish recipe stars salmon, but tuna, mahi-mahi or cod work just as well. Look for pea sprouts, also called “pea shoots,” at farmers' markets and in well-stocked supermarkets. Or use 1 more cup thinly sliced snap peas instead.

Quick-cooking chicken cutlets are paired with an elegant but easy light sauce of sugar snap peas and artichoke hearts. This dish can be made without the sprouted beans, but is especially delicious with them--if you have extras, try them on a salad.

Chinese five-spice powder makes this combo of shrimp, corn, snap peas and bell pepper sublime. Serve with quinoa or brown rice.

A light and summery snap pea-and-fennel slaw makes a crisp bed for the seared salmon in this healthy dinner recipe. The delicate fennel fronds add more mild licorice flavor to the dish.

Turn canned beans into a quick and healthy lunch with this easy gluten-free recipe. Use your favorite salad dressing, such as an Italian or French vinaigrette, as a convenient way to add flavor to the mashed beans. Top the gluten-free crackers and bean spread with any combination of shredded raw vegetables you have on hand.

This chicken stir-fry recipe highlights golden-brown cubes of chicken breast with the sweet flavors of sliced fennel, crispy snap peas and tarragon. Use a cast-iron skillet or carbon-steel wok for stir-frying to guarantee a beautiful sear on the chicken and vegetables. Serve this over whole-grain angel hair pasta for an easy, healthy dinner.

Miso, chile-garlic sauce and vinegar lend serious savory flavor to the compound butter used to coat the charred peas.

Like a bouquet of fresh vegetables, this light but soothing soup is just the thing on a cool spring evening. It is important to cut the green vegetables into small pieces so they cook quickly, while retaining their bright color.

Fresh asparagus and sugar snap peas are quickly stir-fried with Asian-style seasonings for a quick and elegant vegetable side dish.

Try this colorful pasta salad, full of crunchy snap peas and juicy tomatoes, at your next summer potluck.

This pretty slaw recipe is a celebration of spring produce. The celery seed in the recipe is inspired by traditional Texas-style coleslaw, while the snap peas and radishes stand in for cabbage. Serve this healthy side dish with grilled or roasted chicken and new potato salad for a fresh dinner.

Snap peas and mushrooms are combined with the fresh flavor of lemon in this pretty, healthy quinoa salad recipe. If you can make it ahead of time, do--this quinoa salad is even better the next day, after the dressing has soaked into the mushrooms and quinoa. (Adapted from “Quinoa Revolution” by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming; Pintail Books, 2012.)