After a quick roast at high heat in the oven, naturally sweet sugar snap peas intensify in flavor and sweetness. Oh my goodness, resistance is futile. You’re going to love this easy way to prepare sugar snap peas. I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to share these roasted sugar snap peas. I mean, duh, I love pretty much every roasted vegetable under the sun. I can’t believe I haven’t been making these for years! Don’t wait! Fresh sugar snap peas are plentiful in the spring and readily available in grocery stores and farm markets. Maybe you even grow your own. Make these green flavor bombs today!
About this Recipe
The key to roasting any vegetable is getting them dry. I use my salad spinner to get rid of excess moisture after washing the peas and sometimes pat them with a paper towel to make sure they’re good and dry. You’ll want a nice hot oven for these babies. Get the oven preheated to 450°F. If I think of it, I even put the roasting pan in the oven to preheat while I prepare the sugar snap peas. Toss the peas with olive oil, garlic powder, coarse salt, and freshly ground black pepper (or my all-purpose seasoning). Spread them on the baking sheet and slip the peas into the oven. They’ll be ready in about 10 minutes. The peas should be flecked with browned spots and be just slightly wrinkled. Enjoy immediately piping hot or at room temperature. Either way is great! Serve roasted sugar snap peas as a side for most any meal or as an appetizer or healthy snack.
How do you clean and trim snap peas?
Rinse snap peas well in a colander under running water. Since you eat the pods of sugar snap peas, you’ll want to remove the inedible stringy part that runs along both sides of the pod. It’s easy to do. You can use a sharp knife or your fingers. If you like, watch this short video to see how it’s done. Identify the stem end of the pod. The stem end is where the pea is attached to the vine and sometimes has a few little leaves on it. The blossom end sometimes has a soft brownish “hair” hanging on it. Snap or slice off the stem end, pulling down the flat side of the pea as you snap it off. A green string will detach itself from the side of the pea. Do the same thing for the curved side of the pea pod. Ordinarily that string will be smaller, or even non-existent. Sounds tricky? It’s really not, it’s one of those things that are easy to do and kind of hard to explain. Trust me, you’ll finish this task in a snap! (ha, pun intended!)
How to make them your own
This recipe is perfectly simple and delicious as is but here’s a few suggestions if you’d like to jazz it up.
I use garlic powder, but to intensify the garlic flavor, use minced garlic. Don’t like garlic? Leave it out. Chopped shallot would be good, too. Mix in shredded or grated Parmesan cheese before roasting the peas. Or sprinkle the peas with Parmesan after roasting, similar to this roasted cauliflower with parmesan. Add cherry or grape tomatoes to the pan and roast them along with peas. Or mix them in afterwards. Add dried Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, or fresh thyme. Try a teaspoon of my homemade all-purpose seasoning stirred into the oil instead of the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast the peas with a heaping teaspoon of black sesame seeds. If you like, stir in a bit of toasted sesame oil. Garnish roasted peas with chopped fresh chives or mint leaves, a squeeze of lemon, or a drizzle of hot honey. Can you use frozen sugar snap peas? You know, I haven’t tried that yet but I did a little research and it appears that frozen vegetables can roasted pretty much the same way. Don’t thaw them first. It may take just a bit longer so add 5 minutes to the roasting time. Rather leave your oven off? A quick sauté will yield yummy results, too. Learn how to saute snap peas.
Storage and Reheating Tips
Roasted sugar snap peas are best eaten right away. Should any happen to survive, leave them on the counter for ten more minutes and I’m sure they’ll disappear. Mine certainly do! Or wrap them well, and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in microwave in 20-30 second intervals until warm, or just allow to come to room temp and eat them as a snack. You can also reheat them in the oven or air fryer.
Want to try roasting more vegetables?
I have a fantastic 40+ collection of recipes for roasted vegetables to peruse, or take a look at a sampling here:
Spicy sweet roasted butternut squash Roasted green beans with Parmesan and basil Roasted carrots with cumin seeds Roasted carrots with thyme and nutmeg How to roast broccoli – for the best broccoli ever! Lemon roasted broccoli with Parmesan Roasted cauliflower – How to roast cauliflower Crispy roasted potatoes – get them nice and crisp with this method Roasted Brussels sprouts with Asiago cheese
