In a 12-inch skillet, cook bacon (4 slices) until crispy. Remove cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Crumble and set aside.
In a large pot, bring 1 quart of water to a boil. Blanche the peas (16 ounces) for 1 minute, drain them into a colander, and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process. Drain well.
In a salad bowl, add bacon, onion (1/3 cup), cheddar (1/2 cup), and ranch dressing (1/2 cup). Toss well to evenly coat all ingredients. Add peas and chopped eggs and gently fold into the mixture, so they don't get mushy. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes minimum up to overnight. Serve.
Notes
Peas – The overall flavor and integrity of this salad with bacon really depend on the type of peas you use. Canned peas can be…well – mushy. Not an attractive quality in peas salad.
What you really want for this dish isfrozen petite peas. First off, they’re sweeter than their mature counterparts and the skins aren’t as tough. Plus, they’re typically frozen at the peak of freshness and they’re cost-effective. What’s not to love?
Cheese: Sharp cheddar is my favorite cheese for this dish. It adds some cheesy flavor without competing with the ranch dressing. Mild or Longhorn varieties also work well. Feel free to experiment with other firm cheeses, though, and use whatever you like.
I add it either shredded or cubed, frankly depending on my mood at the time!
I think shredded cheese gets distributed throughout the salad better, though, so that’s what I use, and I prefer to grate mine by hand. Pre-shredded cheese usually has some anti-caking agents that put a thin powdery coating on each shred, so I prefer not to use that in cold dishes (though it’s definitely a great time saver for warm melty-cheese things).
Onions: There are so many onion varieties, but red works great in this dish mainly for color but also for flavor. Red onions are one of the mildest varieties, but you can always rinse chopped onions in cold water first if they’re particularly strong. Sweet onions like Vidalia are a great substitute.