Natural form

Whole sugar snap pea pods showing the plump, bright green edible shells.

Shows the defining feature of snap peas — the plump, fully enclosed edible pod — distinguishing them from flat snow peas or shelled green peas.

Produce

Snap Pea

Sweet, edible-pod peas for snacking and quick stir-fries

Crisp and sweet, sugar snap peas are eaten pod and all — raw for snacking or flash-cooked in a stir-fry. Cook them briefly to keep the snap. Keep them cold.

Sugar snap peas are the best of both pea worlds — a plump, sweet pea inside a crisp, edible pod you eat whole. Crunchy and candy-sweet raw, they're a perfect snack and crudité, and a flash in a hot pan or a quick blanch keeps their snap while warming them through. Don't overcook them: the whole point is that fresh, juicy crunch. A handful raw, dunked in something creamy, is one of spring's simplest pleasures.

Measured in: g
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 5 days

Find it in

Produce

Types & varieties

Sugar snap pea

Plump, rounded pod with full peas inside; eaten whole

Snow pea (mangetout)

Flat pod, tiny peas; also eaten whole, milder

Shelling (English) pea

Tough pod, eaten for the peas inside only

How to choose

Want bright-green, firm, plump pods that look and feel crisp and snap cleanly. Avoid yellowing, limp, swollen, or blemished pods. The pea seeds inside should be small to medium — overgrown ones mean a tougher, starchier pod. They should feel light and fresh, not heavy and tired.

How to store and prep

Keep snap peas cold in the crisper, loosely bagged, and eat within a few days for peak sweetness, which fades over time. Some varieties have a tough fibrous string along the seam: pinch the stem end and pull it down the length to remove it. Many modern snap peas are nearly stringless.

Eat within a few days for max sweetness
String them if the seam is fibrous
Keep cold and loosely bagged

How to cook (briefly)

The cardinal rule is don't overcook — snap peas are at their best raw or barely cooked, so the crunch and sweetness survive. Blanch for under a minute and shock in ice water, stir-fry over high heat for a minute or two, or just toss them raw into salads. Long cooking turns them limp, drab, and dull — exactly what you're trying to avoid.

Common uses

Raw with dip / cruditésStir-friesSpring saladsQuick blanched sidePasta primaveraGrain and noodle bowlsSautéed with mint and butterCrunchy slaws

Tips & pitfalls

Eat them raw — they're at their sweetest and crunchiest uncooked
Blanch under a minute and shock in ice water to keep the snap
Stir-fry hot and fast with ginger and garlic for a quick side
String the seam if it's tough; most modern ones don't need it
Halve on the bias to show the peas inside and grab dressing

Nutrition

81kcal

Energy

339 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 26%Carbs 70%Fat 4%

Protein

5.4g

11% DV

Carbs

14.5g

5% DV

Fat

0.4g

1% DV

Fiber

5.7g

20% DV

Sugars

5.7g

of which

Sodium

5mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin C44% DV

Thiamin (B1)22% DV

Vitamin K21% DV

Folate16% DV

Niacin (B3)13% DV

Zinc11% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · approx. Peas, green, raw

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In the shops

Matched grocery products

Snow Pea LA COLLITA in Tray 250 g
LA COLLITA · kg · Bonpreu
€3.39

Good to know

Peak season: Spring through early summer (cool weather)
Flavor: Sweet, crisp, fresh, grassy; juicy
Origin: A 1979 cultivar (bred by Calvin Lamborn) crossing snow and shelling peas; the pea itself, Pisum sativum, is an ancient Near-Eastern/Mediterranean crop
Nutrition: ~42 kcal/100g; fiber, vitamins C, K, A
How to buy: Bright green, firm, plump pods that snap; no yellowing or limpness

Substitutes