Wondering what to do with sugar snap peas? This guide covers how to pick them, cook them, store them, and swap them, plus 45 recipes to put them to work.

What are sugar snap peas?

Sugar snap peas are a cross between the snow pea and the garden pea, bred so you eat the whole thing: plump pod and the small sweet peas inside. The pod is rounded and full, not flat like a snow pea, and it stays crisp and juicy when fresh.

They're best known for crunch and sweetness. Raw, they snap like a fresh green bean and taste almost candy-sweet, which is where the name comes from. That sugar starts converting to starch the moment they're picked, so the fresher they are, the better they taste.

Cooking With Sugar Snap Peas

The cardinal rule is to keep them snappy. Cook them hot and fast, or eat them raw, because long cooking turns them drab and soft and throws away their best quality.

Raw, they make a great dipper and salad component, as in the Sugar Snap Peas with Orange Sesame Asian Dressing.

A quick blanch takes off the raw edge and deepens the green: drop them in boiling salted water for 60 to 90 seconds, then plunge into ice water, the method behind Blanched Sugar Snap Peas.

Stir-frying is their other home. High heat for 2 to 3 minutes gives you blistered, still-crisp pods.

That's how the Tofu & Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry and Sugar Snap Pea & Scrambled Eggs Fried Rice use them. They also hold up tossed into noodle bowls and sheet-pan dinners near the end of cooking.

Pairing and Where People Go Wrong

Their clean sweetness loves sesame, soy, ginger, garlic, and a squeeze of lemon. They sit well next to chicken, tofu, shrimp, and eggs, and a little chili keeps the sweetness in check.

The mistake nearly everyone makes is skipping the string. Most sugar snaps have a tough fibrous string running down the straight seam that turns stringy and unpleasant in the mouth. Snap off the stem end and pull it down the length of the pod to zip it off before cooking.

The other error is overcooking. Past about 3 minutes the pods go olive-drab and limp and lose their snap, so pull them while they're still bright green and squeaky. If you're adding them to a braise or soup, do it in the last couple of minutes.

Substitutes

Snow peas are the closest swap, flatter and with smaller peas but the same edible pod and sweet crunch. Use them the same way; they cook a touch faster.

Sugar snaps work in a pinch where you'd use green beans, though beans need a longer cook to tenderize. Going the other way, blanched asparagus tips or even thin-sliced raw fennel can stand in for the crunch in a salad.

For the peas alone, shelled English peas or thawed frozen peas give you the sweetness without the pod. They won't deliver the signature snap, so use them where texture isn't the point.

Picking and Storing

Choose pods that are firm and bright green, full enough that the peas show but don't bulge or split. Skip any that look yellowing, limp, or spotted, and give a pod a bend; it should snap, not flop.

Because their sugar turns to starch quickly, eat them within a few days for the best flavor.

Store them unwashed in a perforated bag or loosely closed container in the crisper, where they keep 3 to 5 days. Don't wash them until you're ready to cook, since surface moisture speeds spoilage.

You can freeze them after a quick blanch and ice bath: pat dry, then bag and use within 8 to 12 months, mainly in cooked dishes.

Quick facts

Where to find sugar snap peas: Sugar snap peas are usually found in the produce section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese

甜豆

British (UK) term

Sugar snap peas

en français

pois mange-tout

en español

guisantes

Recipes using sugar snap peas

There are 45 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 45 recipes