Easy Oven Cooked Peas for a Crowd
This recipe for oven-cooked peas lets you easily make tender, buttery peas for 25, 50, 100 people or more. Assemble these ingredients in pans, then let the oven do all the work. This recipe is so easy that the peas can still be frozen with no thawing necessary. This is a beginner-level recipe to help anyone that wants to serve delicious food for a crowd of people.
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Why this recipe works
This recipe works because it is so easy to make on a large scale. The ingredients are affordable, and peas are kid-friendly.
Cooking peas in water on the stovetop is one of the easiest things in the world… until you are dealing with pounds and pounds of peas. If I can avoid large amounts of scalding hot water, I do that.
By cooking in the oven, you are then free to focus preparing other dishes. And once the peas are done, they can be kept warm in a low oven or in a chafing dish.
How to cook peas in the oven
To cook peas in the oven, we put the peas in pans, dot with butter, season, cover with foil to hold in the moisture, and throw the pans in the oven. One hotel pan accommodates 4 pounds of peas.
Check on them once in a while to give them a stir and check that they are not overcooking. Once the peas are thoroughly warmed through, they are done.
Once cooked, the peas should still be vibrant green. Overcooking will turn them to drab green like canned peas.
The cook time can vary dramatically depending on how much peas are in each pan, the oven temperature, and whether the peas are still frozen or thawed. So it is best to check on them after 15 minutes, then continue checking regularly.
Once cooked, the peas are best kept warm in a low (150 def F) oven.
How many pounds of peas to cook for 50 people or more
Grocery stores (Publix and Walmart for me) sell convenient 32-ounce bags of peas in the freezer section. Each bag feeds 22 people per the nutritional information on the package, at 1/2 cup per serving.
Let’s keep the math easy: plan 3 ounces peas per person and always round up. For 25 people, that is 75 ounces (about 5 pounds); 50 people is 150 ounces (about 10 pounds); and 100 people is 300 ounces (about 20 pounds).
FAQs
No peas do not have to be thawed. If cooking with frozen peas, just be aware that they will take longer to cook.
Want to complete your meal? Check out my Meatloaf with Guinness Gravy and Buttermilk, Boursin, and Chive Mashed Potatoes.
Easy Oven Cooked Peas for a Crowd
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 lbs peas two (32 oz) bags is the most convenient
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Put the peas in a hotel pan or 2 half pans.
- Cut the butter into tablespoon sections and dot the butter over the peas.
- Sprinkle the seasonings over top.
- Cover pans tightly with foil and bake at 400℉ for 20 to 30 minutes (up to 45 minutes if starting with frozen peas).
- After 15 minutes, give a stir to mix in the butter and to check how they are cooking. Peas are done when steaming hot but still vibrant green. Taste for seasoning.
