Home › Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes › Vegetarian Side Dish Recipes

How to Cook Frozen Peas

By Katie Workman

5 from 2 votes

on Mar 31, 2023, Updated Jun 19, 2025

Frozen peas are absolutely a great staple to have on hand. They are so much better than canned peas in terms of taste and texture. This is the best way to cook frozen peas; within minutes, you can have a fast, easy side dish that will add color to a plate. Aren’t we always looking for a simple green vegetable to round out a meal?

Here, the peas are added to some quickly sautéed scallions in a bit of butter, then simmered in some broth and brightened up with an optional flurry of chopped fresh herbs. If you use vegetable broth, this is a vegetarian recipe.

And if you happen to have fresh peas on hand, you can cook them the very same way! The cooking times should be about the same.

How to Cook Frozen Peas: Having a bag of frozen peas on hand means you will be able to pull together a quick and easy vegetable side dish within minutes!

Why Frozen Peas Are Great

• They actually cook up more quickly than fresh peas.
• Frozen peas are just as tender and delicious when cooked. 
• Since fresh peas have a short spring and summer season, this is the best way to enjoy peas year-round.
• They are very economical.
• Frozen peas will keep in the freezer for over a year.
• If you don’t need to use the whole bag, you can close it up tightly to prevent freezer burn and store the rest for another time.
• No shelling needed! A huge time saver!
• They are frozen just after being picked and shelled, and so have a similar amount of nutrients to fresh peas. 

Also, try frozen peas in Creamed Peas and Pearl Onions, Linguine with Shrimp and Frozen Peas, and Simple Sautéed Spring Greens.

SaveSaved Pin Print

5 from 2 votes

The Best Way to Cook Frozen Peas

By: Katie Workman

The easiest way to cook frozen peas. Within minutes you can have a fast, easy side dish that will add color to a plate.

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 People

Save this recipe!

We’ll send it to your email, plus you’ll get new recipes every week!

Email *

Save

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 4 scallions (white and light green parts, trimmed and thinly sliced)
• ▢ 2 cups fresh or frozen peas
• ▢ ½ cup chicken or vegetable broth
• ▢ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• ▢ Minced fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, or dill; to serve, optional)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• Melt the butter in a large skillet. Sauté the scallions for 3 minutes until they start to become tender. Add the peas and broth and bring to a simmer.
• Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes until the peas are hot and the liquid has mostly evaporated, and the butter is glazing the peas. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the fresh herbs if using.

Notes

Frozen peas do make a great side dish, but can also be incorporated into recipes that use peas as an ingredient. Most of the time, you’ll want to use this simple sauté method to thaw and partially cook the peas before adding them to the dish to finish cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 140kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 406mg, Potassium: 218mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 938IU, Vitamin C: 31mg, Calcium: 31mg, Iron: 1mg

Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

What to Serve With Sautéed Frozen Peas

• Meatloaf
• Pork Chop Marsala
• Cheeseburger Pinwheels
• Shrimp Alfredo
• Milk-Braised Pork

More Simple Green Sides Dishes

• Sautéed Broccolini
• Sautéed Zucchini and Corn
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Spring Greens
• Sautéed Spinach