Peas (green)
Vegetables · Legumes
Peas are not a food anyone measures in tablespoons, and two tablespoons, 23 g, is the amount rated green. Half a cup, 75 g, is red: GOS reaches 0.33 g and fructans 0.26 g. A handful thrown into fried rice, a risotto or a pasta is well past the green amount before anyone has thought of it as a portion.
Last updated 4 September 2026Serving sizes for peas (green)
Two tablespoons (23 g) is rated green. Half a cup (75 g) is rated red.
Tested serving sizes
| Serving | Amount | Main FODMAP | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 tablespoons | 23 g | GOS 0.1 g | |
| 1/2 cup | 75 g | GOS 0.33 g |
Breakdown for 2 tablespoons
Is peas (green) low FODMAP?
Green peas are a legume, and they carry the legume FODMAP: GOS, the group behind the reputation of beans and lentils. Two tablespoons hold 0.1 g of GOS, sitting exactly on the line where it starts to matter, with 0.08 g of fructans behind it. Roughly triple the spoonfuls and both roughly triple, so half a cup reaches 0.33 g of GOS, past the 0.3 g high mark on its own, alongside 0.26 g of fructans. Tinned legumes shed some GOS into the brine that gets drained away. Peas never sit in one, so nothing is lost before they hit the pan.
Peas (green) and IBS: what to know
The difficulty is that peas are almost never the dish. They come scattered through frozen mixed vegetables, shepherd’s pie, paella, fried rice and a pub side, which means the serve was decided by whoever filled the bag rather than by you. Pea and mint soup is the concentrated version, a bowl blending several serves into something you drink. If tinned beans have already caused you trouble, expect the same from a generous spoonful of peas, since the group doing it is the same one. If GOS went well in reintroduction, you may sit comfortably above two tablespoons.
Gut-friendly ways to eat peas (green)
Two tablespoons is a real scattering when the peas are the colour rather than the bulk: stir them through a risotto at the end, fold them into a rice dish for four so no plate collects more, or crush them with mint and lemon as a topping instead of a side. Where you want volume on the plate, green beans do the job and stay green at three-quarters of a cup on 0.05 g of fructans, and snow peas bring the pod flavour back at their own counted serve. Frozen is no gentler than fresh, so the freezer aisle is not a way around this.
Frequently asked questions
How many peas can I eat on a low FODMAP diet?
Two points are measured: two tablespoons at 23 g is rated green, and half a cup at 75 g is rated red. A quarter of a cup sits in the untested middle, so it is a personal experiment rather than a known safe amount. In practice that makes peas a garnish you scatter, and the easiest way to keep to it is to add them to the pot rather than to your own plate.
Are frozen peas low FODMAP?
Freezing does not change the FODMAP content, so frozen peas count exactly as fresh ones do by weight. The real risk with the freezer is the bag of mixed vegetables, where peas arrive already blended with corn and beans and get poured out by the cupful. Measuring two tablespoons of plain frozen peas into a dish is far easier to control than a scoop of a mix.
Why do peas cause so much wind and bloating?
GOS is the reason. Humans lack the enzyme needed to break these sugar chains apart, so every gram of GOS you eat travels to the large bowel intact and is fermented there by bacteria, producing gas. It is the same mechanism that gives beans their reputation, and it is dose-related rather than an intolerance you either have or do not have.
Is pea and mint soup or mushy peas low FODMAP?
Both concentrate the problem. A bowl of soup or a spoonful of mushy peas holds several times the two tablespoons rated green, and blending removes the visual cue that would normally tell you how many peas you have eaten. Most recipes also start on an onion base. A few peas stirred into a potato and leek-green soup gives the colour and flavour at a fraction of the load.
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