This split pea soup recipe is a cozy classic with simple ingredients and old-fashioned comfort. Split peas simmer with smoky ham, carrots, and celery to make a rich, velvety soup.
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Holly’s Soup-er Highlights
- Flavor: Smoky, savory, and naturally creamy from the split peas, this soup is a warm bowl of homemade comfort.
- Technique: This cozy soup gently simmers until it cooks down to be thick and creamy.
- Tools: A heavy pot or Dutch oven helps the soup cook evenly.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve old-fashioned split pea soup with some homemade dinner rolls.
Ingredient Notes
- Peas: Split peas and lentils look similar, but split peas are a little sweeter. You can use either green or yellow peas in this recipe; you do not need to soak them first.
- Ham: I love this recipe for using up leftover ham, a ham bone (or ham hock) adds flavor to the broth. You can use a leftover bone from baked ham or buy a ham steak and dice it. Replace the ham with smoked turkey if you prefer.
- Vegetables: Celery, carrots, and onions add a subtle sweetness to this soup.
- Broth: Use low-sodium chicken broth or homemade chicken broth since the ham in this recipe is salty.
- Variations: For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth and skip the ham. For a chunkier texture, add diced potatoes. Finish with a splash of cream or milk for added richness, if desired.
How to Make Split Pea Soup
- Rinse peas and combine with ham, broth, and seasonings; simmer.
- Add vegetables and cook until tender (full recipe below).
- Remove ham bone and chop meat. Return chopped meat and simmer until thick and creamy.
Holly’s Helpful Hints
- Remember to rinse the dried peas and check them for debris.
- Freeze diced ham in 1-cup portions for easy soup prep.
- Simmering it uncovered longer or mashing some peas will thicken the soup.
- For a smoother soup, blend half with an immersion blender.
How to Store and Reheat
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- This soup freezes beautifully, and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- To reheat, warm gently on the stove with a splash of broth or water.
Leftover Ham Recipes
Did you enjoy this Split Pea Soup? Leave a rating and comment below!
Split Pea Soup
Split pea soup features split peas and ham simmered in a delicious broth to create a thick and hearty soup.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried split peas yellow or green, about 14 ounces
- 1 meaty ham bone or 2 cups leftover ham, diced
- 4 cups water or additional broth if desired
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 ribs celery diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Sort through the peas to ensure there is no debris. Rinse and drain well.
- In a large pot, combine peas, ham, water, broth, parsley, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer covered for 1 hour.
- Add in celery, carrots, onion, pepper, thyme, and salt. Cover and simmer 45 minutes more.
- Remove ham bone and chop the meat. Return the meat to the soup and cook uncovered until thickened and the peas have broken down, about 20 minutes more.
- Discard the bay leaf and season with salt and additional pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
- You do not need to soak the peas.
- If desired, add 2 cloves of minced garlic along with the vegetables.
- If you don’t have a ham bone, use diced or chopped leftover ham or smoked turkey. Replace at least 2 cups of the water with additional broth for flavor if you do not have a ham bone.
- Thicken split pea soup by allowing it to simmer uncovered for longer. If you’re short on time, it can be thickened by mashing or blending some of the peas.
- Store cooked split pea soup in the refrigerator for about 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 255 | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 630mg | Potassium: 830mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 3599IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Entree, Ham, Lunch, Main Course, Soup
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First time making split pea soup, decided to go off this recipe however I made a few of my own calls. Soup turned out great.
I suggest:
1: Heat some oil in the pot and brown the ham just a little bit. When it gets a tinge of brown, add the onion, stir, and continue to brown. Once there’s a fair bit of brown stuck to the pot, or if it seems at risk of burning, deglaze it with your broth (or a splash of white wine). This will boost the flavor of the soup with barely any extra work involved.
2: More of a personal suggestion, but I suggest buying a ham steak for this recipe as they’re really cheap. I found one at my store for $4.80, about 0.80lbs and it was enough meat. All the ham bones I found at my store were much more expensive and didn’t seem justifiable (think: $10 ham bone for 1 meal VS $8 pack of chicken thighs for several meals)
3: If following suggestion 1, split the diced ham into two piles. Only brown one pile, and add in the second pile during the last 5 minutes of cooking. I’ve found that processed meat doesn’t do so well boiled. Sometimes the flavor of it will become faint / masked, or sometimes the texture might become a little off. You still do want to get some of the ham boiled in the soup, but adding half of the ham during the last bit of cooking (ironically) helps give you a stronger ham flavor in the soup.
This was so easy to make and is so good to eat…I love your recipes a lot and you are my first site to look for all my recipes. You cook like my mother and ancestors from the 40’s and 50’s…Extremely tasty.
Thank you for the kind words Lucy. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Perfect split pea soup, easy, flavourful, no need to change any part of the recipe, works much better than my mom’s old fashioned recipe. Never fail, perfect.
Great recipe. I simmered my ham hocks first in olive oil then removed. I then sautéed the onions, celery and carrots in the fat. Added the rest of the ingredients and ham hocks. Turned out so flavourable. The next day it was even better as the soup thickened up. Definitely a keeper!!
This was simple and really delicious.
I used Nieman Ranch sliced ham spirals as I had no ham bone.
Pretty awesome results.
I didn’t change any ingredients.
Do you think I could cook it in a crockpot? Maybe 8 hours on low?
To make it in the Crockpot you can see the instructions in this recipe.