The perfect cool weather dish, this easy split pea soup recipe is a nourishing, hearty, and flavor packed meal. Tender split peas are simmered with veggies, chicken stock, and a ham bone to yield a flavorful, deliciously comforting soup.
As the days come to an end quicker, and the weather is cool, I find myself craving warm comfort foods. This split pea soup recipe hits the spot.
This classic recipe is bursting with flavor from the flavorful broth, to the fresh herbs and added ham. It is also packed with lots of veggies making it a great way to get nutrients into your diet and a perfect meal to serve to your family. Top this soup with homemade sourdough croutons. This adds a crunch and a yummy texture to this smooth pea and ham soup.
My favorite way to serve this meal is with sourdough cheddar biscuits or sourdough bread, and a side salad with homemade ranch. This is the best split pea soup, give it a try next time you need a delicious weeknight meal!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy – This simple recipe is easy to make and has a quick prep time making it a great weeknight dinner.
Flavorful – This delicious homemade soup is full of so much flavor and makes for the best cold weather dish.
Comforting – One of the best things about cooler weather is whipping up one of my favorite hearty soup recipes over the stove top on a chilly evening. It is even better when it is nutrient dense and delicious like this comforting split pea soup!
Ingredients
Olive oil – Avocado oil or butter would also work in place of olive oil.
Chicken stock and water – I love to use homemade bone broth in this recipe. It adds so much nutrition to the dish and is really easy to make, but regular chicken broth from the store works great.
Ham bone, ham shanks or pork hocks – Classic split pea soup is seasoned with a ham bone. If you do not have a ham bone or shank, you could substitute it with a couple pieces of uncooked bacon.
Sourdough croutons – Homemade sourdough croutons are optional, but a seriously delicious topping, and easy to make!
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Easy Split Pea Soup Recipe
Step 1: Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots and sauté for three minutes or until the veggies start to become translucent.
Step 2: Pour in chicken stock, water, split peas, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme.
Step 3: Add the ham bone into the soup and bring mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer for about an hour, or until the peas are tender.
Step 4: Remove the ham bone from the soup, and allow it to cool.
Step 5: Take the meat off the bone and cut it into bite sized pieces with kitchen shears.
Step 6: Add chunks of ham back to the soup.
Step 7: Remove bay leaves.
Step 8: Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve into bowls and top with homemade sourdough croutons.
Tips
- If you want to make this a little heartier, you could add a few red or gold potatoes.
- Fresh or dried herbs will work just fine. I prefer fresh when available.
- You do not have to soak split peas before cooking. You can if you’d like, but it’s not necessary.
- To make this a vegetarian split pea soup recipe, use all vegetable broth instead of chicken stock and water, and skip the ham bone. It will have a different and milder flavor, but you’ll still find it yummy. You may want to add some more herbs to boost the flavor.
Recipe FAQs
It is not necessary to soak split peas before cooking, although soaking does speed up the cooking time and can help get rid of gas.
Yes! This recipe is packed with veggies, split peas, homemade bone broth if you choose to make it (which is super good for you), and meat; it’s a good source of several vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Always try to pick the best quality ingredients you can afford.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 5-7 days. Reheat and serve. This soup also freezes really well for up to 2 months.
If you want to reheat it in the instant pot, you can even place a freezer safe Ziplock bag in the stainless steel container, fill it up with soup, seal the bag (eliminating as much air as possible), and then freeze it in the Instant Pot container. This will freeze it to the shape of the Instant Pot, and when you are ready to reheat the frozen soup, you can pop it out and place it in the instant pot to heat. You may need to add a little bit of extra broth during reheating.
More Soup Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Homemade Creamy Chicken And Gnocchi Soup
- Sausage Sauerkraut Soup
- Creamy Chicken And Wild Rice Soup Recipe
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Easy Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Easy Split Pea Soup Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven or large soup pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 2 cups water
- 16 ounces dried split peas
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped or 1/2 tsp dried
- 1 1/2 pound meaty ham bone or ham shanks
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sourdough croutons, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots and sauté for three minutes or until the veggies start to become translucent.
- Pour in chicken stock, water, split peas, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme.
- Add the ham bone into the soup and bring mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer for about an hour, or until the peas are tender.
- Remove the ham bone from the soup, and allow it to cool.
- Take the meat off the bone and cut it into bite sized pieces with kitchen shears.
- Add chunks of ham back to the soup.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve into bowls and top with homemade sourdough croutons.
Notes
- Avocado oil or butter would also work in place of olive oil.
- I love to use homemade bone broth in this recipe. It adds so much nutrition to the dish and is really easy to make, but regular chicken broth from the store works great.
- You do not have to soak split peas before cooking. You can if you’d like, but it’s not necessary.
- Fresh or dried herbs will work just fine. I prefer fresh when available.
- Classic split pea soup is seasoned with a ham bone. If you do not have a ham bone or shank, you could substitute it with a couple pieces of uncooked bacon.
- Homemade sourdough croutons are optional, but a seriously delicious topping, and easy to make!
- If you want to make this a little heartier, you could add a few red or gold potatoes.
- To make this a vegetarian split pea soup recipe, use all vegetable broth instead of chicken stock and water, and skip the ham bone. It will have a different and milder flavor, but you’ll still find it yummy. You may want to add some more herbs to boost the flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It came out exactly like your picture. It tasted delicious. I had been making your sourdough recipes and my husband loves each and every one of them. Thank you!
How would you cook this in the crockpot? Would you still sauté the veggies first and then add it to the crockpot and about how long would you need to cook it?
Yes, still sauté the veggies and then put into a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.
I was wondering if you have a Cook book ?
I do not, I do have a few ebooks with many of recipes to download for free.
Can you share the recipe for your sourdough croutons? Thanks
Here you go: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/homemade-sourdough-croutons
I never know which split peas to use, when dried is it green or yellow ones?
I use green, but either would work.
I buy the split peas in the bulk food section of the grocery store. They have green and some yellow mixed in with the green. We just had some last night as we had leftover ham from last Sunday.
Hello, since you get a whole or a half of the pig can you please explain what you do with the ham. I have a RAW ham in my freezer and I don’t know how to cook it. I have cooked split peas soup for all my life but I have never cooked it with a ham, would love to try it! Thanks!
After you cook and use the ham and it is carved and eaten, you freeze and save the ham bone or refrigerate and use next day to make the soup. It is also great cooked in other bean soups