Minted Peas are a traditional British side dish that’s especially popular in the spring and summer. They’re most often served with roast lamb, but work just as well with all sorts of everyday meals. Made with frozen peas and fresh mint, they’re a great way to get your greens and take just minutes to cook.
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Nothing screams British spring time more than a bowl of minted vegetables or potatoes.
Whilst you might not want to serve my minted new potatoes and these glorious peas for the same meal (it could be a bit much!), one or the other makes a great addition to a meal. And these peas really couldn’t be quicker or simpler.
How to Serve Minted Peas
Peas just make a quick and simple side dish to many everyday meals. You can add them to a roast dinner at any time of year but if you’re wanting to keep things a bit lighter, try some of these recipe combinations –
- Air fryer lamb chops with griddled courgettes/zucchini and simply boiled new potatoes.
- Paprika roasted chicken with turkish rice and roasted garlic mushrooms.
- Giant sausage plait slices with simply boiled carrots and a light onion gravy.
- Bacon and onion suet roly-poly and air fried smashed potatoes.
Minted Pea Ingredients
Peas
I always have a bag of frozen peas in the freezer and I don’t think I’m alone. Sometimes I buy fat garden peas and other times opt for the baby version – petit pois. You can use any for this recipe.
You can of course buy fresh peas and if you’re buying directly from somewhere where you know they are super fresh then these will be amazing. And of course if you’re growing your own, they will be extra fresh and special. But otherwise frozen peas really are the best option here. They get frozen the same day they’re picked and the flavour is preserved. Peas can deteriorate quite quickly, especially when it comes to flavour so this method is great.
Canned peas are also a thing. I’m personally not really a fan although I don’t have a great explanation why – I think it might be the texture as they kind of get cooked in the canning process. But there really is no good reason not to use them in this recipe if that is what you usually use and prefer.
Mint
Quite a few different variations of mint which can be used in cooking. But the most common is spearmint. This is the flavour that you are thinking of when you think of mint in food and drinks. Of course you can mix things up by using other options like peppermint or watermint. But you need to be aware that the taste will of course change.
it really doesn’t matter if you use store-bought or homegrown mint for this recipe. You just need to make sure that you have a few nice leaves with no blemishes to set aside for finishing. And the rest of the mint you can throw into the cooking water – stalks and all.
Fresh mint will give you the brightest flavour in this recipe but if you don’t have any to hand, you can use dried mint. The flavour will be a little different but still lovely. Add a generous amount of dried mint to the boiling water. Alternatively, you can stir a spoonful of mint sauce into the water.
Be Flexible
There are a tonne of ways that you can add to this recipe to take it to the next level. Try stirring through very finely chipped red chillis and/or lemon zest with the mint and butter. Or adding minced garlic to the boiling water.
You could gently fry some thinly sliced shallots or onion in butter and stir that through the peas. Or do the same with some finely diced bacon or pancetta. Consider stirring through a spoon of crème fraiche or double cream. You can even mash the peas a little before serving.
Vegetarian or Vegan Peas
These minted peas are suitable for vegetarians. To make vegan minted peas, all you will need to do is switch the butter for a plant based option. Or just leave it out entirely.
Make Allergy Friendly Peas
This recipe is free from egg, gluten and nuts.
Dairy Free: As with making a vegan version, all you need to do is switch to a dairy free butter option. Or just leave out the butter element entirely.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
Get Ahead
As this whole recipe takes 10 minutes from start to finish, there really is no reason to get overly ahead of the game. What you can do is put your peas and mint in a pan when you’re prepping and let it sit on the side until you’re ready to cook. Doing this earlier in the day or even the night before.
Leftover Peas
Leftover minted peas can be stored in the fridge or even frozen if needed.
There is no need to re-boil to reheat. They are best microwaved but you can also just add them to a frying or saucepan and give them a couple of minutes whilst moving them around. You can so this straight from frozen too.
You might want to add a little fresh mint once reheated if you want to get the bright fresh flavour you had the first time.
Boiled Minted Pea Tips
You really don’t need to be worrying about measuring ingredients for this recipe. The quantities are really there as a guide, especially to assist with giving you an idea about portion size. But otherwise, please don’t stress it!
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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More Simple Veg Recipes
The Recipe
Minted Peas with Fresh Mint Leaves Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 g Frozen Peas
- 10 g Fresh Mint Leaves
- 1 tsp Fine/Table Salt
- 2 tsp Salted Butter
Instructions
- Put a kettle of water on to boil.
- Measure roughly 200g Frozen Peas directly into a saucepan.
- Take around 10g Mint and take off around 7-8 of the nicest looking leaves. Set them aside and put the rest of the leaves and stalks in with the peas.
- Add around 1 tsp Fine Salt then cover the peas and mint with boiling water and place on a high heat.
- Bring the water to a boil then turn down the heat until it is just simmering away. Allow to cook for around 5 to 7 minutes. Note – They'll really be fine to eat after 2 minutes but we want to infuse the mint for a little longer than that.
- While the peas are boiling, finely slice the set aside mint leaves. And get around 2 tsp Salted Butter ready to hand.
- Drain the water and remove the big chunks of mint. This mint has done it's job and can be disposed of.
- Add the butter and chopped mint to the hot peas.
- Stir until the butter is melted and coating all the peas. If you need to you can put the pan back over a low heat to warm it slightly.
Hazel says
I’ve tried to make minted peas before and never managed to get the full mint flavour. Your recipe worked perfectly and there was a lovely minty buttery taste.
Karen says
Great tasting side and I love that you’re using frozen peas which have the best flavour if you don’t have fresh peas you can pick in your garden. The addition of mint is simple but adds lots of flavour.