Peas are another no-effort batch. Frozen peas are blanched before they are bagged, so they go straight onto the tray. The result is a light, crunchy pea that kids eat like popcorn and that comes back to life in a pot of soup.
Fresh garden peas are just as good if you blanch them first, which stops the enzymes that turn peas starchy and dull.
Prep and loading
- Frozen peas: spread straight from the bag.
- Fresh peas: shell, blanch for 1½ minutes, chill in ice water, drain well.
- Spread about ½ inch deep.
- Snow peas and sugar snaps can be dried whole after a 1½ to 3 minute blanch, but take longer.
How to tell it’s dry
- Peas crack when squeezed, with no soft middles.
A steady weight only shows the drying has stopped; breaking the thickest piece is the check that counts. Neither is a safety test. Safety comes from tested prep, safe cooking temperatures where needed, complete drying and airtight packing. See what a kitchen scale can and cannot tell you.
Not sure? The weight check compares two weighings and the expected dry weight for peas.
Problems and fixes
Some peas split open
Normal; the skin cracks as water leaves. It does not affect quality.
Peas taste starchy
Older, larger peas. Pick fresh peas young, or use frozen.
Rehydrating and storing
Rehydrate: Hot water 5 minutes, or straight into soup. By weight, 100 g of dried peas takes back about 362 g of water to return to fresh weight; the rehydration calculator does any amount.
Store: Mylar or jar with an oxygen absorber.
Ways to use it
- Snacking
- Soups, fried rice and pot pies
- Backpacking meals
How much fits per batch
At a normal single layer, peas load at roughly 2.8 lb of fresh food per square foot of tray. That works out to:
| Machine | Fresh per batch | Dried per batch |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest Right Countertop 360 | 7.0 lb | 1.51 lb |
| Harvest Right Small | 8.4 lb | 1.83 lb |
| Harvest Right Medium | 13.1 lb | 2.84 lb |
| Harvest Right Large | 21.5 lb | 4.66 lb |
| Harvest Right X-Large | 43.8 lb | 9.48 lb |
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central: peas, green, raw (water content)
- Utah State University Extension: Can I Freeze-Dry That? (2026)
- Penn State Extension: Let’s Preserve: Freeze-Drying
- National Center for Home Food Preservation: freezing (blanching times)
- Iowa State University Extension AnswerLine: Preserving by home freeze drying
Water content rounded from USDA FoodData Central (peas, green, raw). Cycle times are typical ranges at default settings; thickness, load and your room change them. How we put these together.