Garlic Sugar Snap Peas

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Garlic sugar snap peas are made in less than five minutes for the tastiest side dish for any meal. These healthy, slight sweet veggies are a favorite for kids and a good way to get everyone to eat their veggies. Plus sugar snap peas are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Serve them with this Healthy Kung Pao Chicken or Honey Garlic Salmon.

Sugar snap peas rank up there as one of my favorite veggies and I am constantly dipping them in hummus, adding them to stir-fries, and sauteing them as a quick side dish. I love their slightly sweet taste and crunch. This recipe for garlic sauteed sugar snap peas is a bit of a copy-cat of the PF Chang’s sugar snap pea side dish. The snap peas are very quickly cooked in coconut or vegetable oil and garlic until just cooked and beginning to brown. Then they are tossed with a bit of soy sauce and black pepper. Ready in under 5 minutes and delicious.

Let’s talk about kids and veggies for a minute. It’s frustrating for most of us to get our kiddos to eat their veggies. My veggie loving one year old turned into a two year old who wouldn’t touch a veggie unless it was hidden in rice, pasta, or scrambled eggs. And while I have no problem with hiding veggies to make sure she gets a nutritious meal, I also want her to eat plain veggies as well. After reading lots of articles about kids and veggies, I have started including whole veggies with every meal (as well as some more hidden ones) and encouraging her to eat them. I am hoping if they keep showing up, she will start eating them. 

And so far this is actually working with these garlic sugar snap peas. The first night she moved them around, the second night she licked off the garlic, and the third night she ate about four of them. For us, that is winning these days and it is encouraging me to keep trying with new veggies. And you wouldn’t be wrong if you assumed I will be making these easy sauteed snap peas on repeat since she is eating them. I am defintiely that Mom that kicks something over and over again once we find healthy meals and snacks she likes.

How to prep sugar snap peas?

The one thing I don’t love about snap peas is the prep work they take and to be honest, I normally buy them pre-prepped to save some time. However if you buy them fresh, you will want to cut off the ends and peel away the string from the snap pea. I find that sometimes the easiest way to do this is by gently snapping off the tip from one end and pulling it off with the string all one motion. If you aren’t sure how to do this, look for a video tutorial or buy prepared snap peas.

How long to cook snap peas?

It depends on how you are cooking the snap peas. If you are cooking them in a pan stove-top, then they will only take 3-5 minutes to become tender crisp. If you decide to boil them, they take about 3 minutes. For roasting them in the oven, it will take 8-10 minutes in a 400 degree oven. In all cases, you want to cook the peas until they are tender crisp not until they get mushy. The best sugar snap peas still have a little crunch and are bright green.

Are sugar snap peas low carb?

Even though they have sugar in the name, sugar snap peas have about the same amount of carbs as snow peas and regular peas. With around 5.25 grams of carbohydrates per half cup, they can work for a low carb or ketogenic diet when used in moderation. Since they have a sweeter flavor, they are popular both raw and cooked. Many low carb eaters like to add them to stir-fries and sautes to add a bit natural sweetness without adding too many carbs.

What to serve with snap peas?

Normally we are looking for side dishes to serve with a main dish recipe but today let’s think about this in reverse. These snap peas are versatile and work with tons of different main dishes. I often serve them with a quick grilled or baked protein like chicken or pork tenderloin. They also pair well with Asian flavors like this Skillet Hoisin Chicken or this ten minute Soy Honey Salmon. For a vegetarian entree, these snap peas are delicious over a bowl of brown rice with chickpeas, carrots, cabbage, and this easy peanut dressing.

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