Split Pea Soup

This split pea soup is what comfort food is all about. It’s the classic recipe you know and love with meaty chunks of ham – and it’s super easy to make at home!

Split pea soup is a must-make recipe after you’ve cooked a ham for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Green split peas are simmered with veggies and a meaty ham bone until they’re softened, for a perfectly chunky, veggie-heavy soup with deep pork flavoring. This has always been one of my mom’s favorite soups, and honestly, who can resist it? I guarantee you’ll definitely be going back for seconds!

Just remember to save (and freeze if you’d like) your meaty ham bone to flavor this soup. But if you don’t have a leftover ham bone, I’ve got several tips and alternatives so you can still enjoy this split pea soup recipe today!

Split Pea Soup Ingredients

First, let’s clarify the difference between split peas and green peas. Green peas are fresh and harvested when young and tender, then typically eaten as a vegetable. Split peas on the other hand are dried and mechanically split in half, and are commonly used in soups, stews, and curries (similar to lentils). So make sure to grab a bag of dried split peas rather than fresh peas.

• Split Peas: You can use dried green split peas or yellow split peas in this recipe. Just not that green ones tend to be a bit sweeter and yellow ones tend to be a bit more earthy.
• Fresh Vegetables: A simple mirepoix blend of onions, carrots, and celery are all you need. Just make sure to dice the all veggies about the same size.
• Ham: I’m using a leftover meaty ham bone to create deep flavor in this soup. But if you don’t have a ham bone, see my notes in the next section below.
• Herbs and Aromatics: A little dried thyme, a bay leaf, and salt and pepper are all you need!
• Soup Base: The liquid base consists of half chicken broth and half water.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How To Make Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone

Cook the vegetables. Sauté the onion, carrots, and celery over medium-high heat. Then add the garlic and sauté for another minute.

Add the split peas, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together!

Add the bay leaf, ham bone, chicken broth, and water. Bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 50 to 60 minutes. Don’t forget to stir occasionally, until the soup is slightly thickened.

Add the diced ham. Remove the ham bone to a cutting board and dice the remaining meat, then add it back to the soup. Stir and simmer uncovered for an additional 5 to 15 minutes, or until it’s thickened to your liking. Use tongs to remove the bay leaf, then serve it up!

More Soup Recipes

I’ve got quite the list of soup recipes. But here are a few of my favorites I think you’ll instantly love.

• Greek Avgolemono Soup
• White Chicken Chili
• Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Black Bean Soup
• Very Best Lentil Soup

Classic Split Pea Soup

5 from 14 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Yield: 1.5 cups

Author: Lisa Bryan

Print Pin Review

This split pea soup is what comfort food is about! It's got a chunky, savory split pea base, and it's loaded with vegetables and ham. Watch the video below to see how this comes together!

Recipe Video

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 medium onion, diced
• ▢ 3 carrots, diced
• ▢ 3 ribs of celery, diced
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ▢ 1 pound dried split peas, rinsed
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 1 meaty ham bone (see tips and alternatives above)
• ▢ 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 3 to 4 cups water
• ▢ 1 cup diced ham (from ham bone or added separately)
• ▢ finely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions 

• Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Then add the garlic and saute for another minute.
  
• Add the split peas, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir together.
  
• Add the bay leaf, ham bone, chicken broth, and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 50 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the soup has thickened and the peas have broken down.
  
• Using tongs, remove the ham bone to a cutting board and dice the remaining meat (about 1 cup of diced ham), then add it back to the soup. Stir and simmer uncovered for an additional 5 to 15 minutes, or until it's thickened to your liking. If it's too thick, you can add another cup of water. Note that the soup will continue to thicken as it sits, so it's best if it's not overly thick at this stage.
  
• Discard the bay leaf, ladle the soup into bowls, and garnish with finely chopped fresh parsley and black pepper.
  

Lisa’s Tips

• You do not need to pre-soak the split peas for this recipe.
• If you use regular rather than low-sodium chicken broth, you might need to reduce the added salt, so that the soup isn’t overly salty. 
• The serving size is based on using 4 cups of water. 

Nutrition

Calories: 395kcal, Carbohydrates: 53g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Sodium: 782mg, Potassium: 1142mg, Fiber: 21g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 5223IU, Vitamin C: 18mg, Calcium: 73mg, Iron: 4mg

Course: Dinner, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Split Pea Soup, Split Pea Soup Recipe

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