Split Pea Soup (2024)

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by Stephanie on April 18, 2022623*This post may contain affiliate links. Read more »

This classic Split Pea Soup recipe is made with a meaty ham bone, carrots, onions, potatoes, and has a thick and flavorful broth. It’s easy to make on the Stove Top, Instant Pot, or Crock Pot!

I realize that I’m making quite a claim when I say that this is the bestsplit pea soup ever, but it really is. Just read through the comments, people are in love. There is no doubt in my mind that it could win awards.

The recipe comes from a super old cookbook that my mom has. The steps are simple, and so are the ingredients! This one even landed a coveted spot in The Cozy Cookbook, so you know it’s good!

How to Make it

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions, including the Crock Pot and Instant Pot cooking methods.

Add a meaty ham bone to a 4.5 quart Dutch oven or soup pot along with the rinsed split peas, onions, butter, olive oil, onion powder, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover partially and simmer for 2.5 hours or until desired thickness is obtained. (Higher altitudes will require longer cooking time.) Add the potatoes and carrots about 40 minutes prior to serving.

Remove from heat once the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Discard the bay leaves and thyme stems. Remove the ham bone and cut/shred 2 cups of ham from it and add it back to the soup. Serve!

Do You Need to Soak Split Peas

• Soaking split peas may decrease the cooking time slightly, but since they’re already halved and pretty thin, it’s not necessary. I don’t soak them for this recipe.

Using a Ham Bone

Using a meaty, uncleaned ham bone is what gives this soup it’s amazingly rich and savory flavor.

• If your ham bone is small, or you are using a ham bone substitute: Be prepared to add up to 4 chicken bouillon cubes to the broth to add more flavor if needed.
• If your bone doesn’t have much meat: You can also add a diced ham steak at the beginning of cooking. 1 (8oz.) steak = about 1 ¼ cups diced ham.

Ham Bone Substitutes

• Bone-in Picnic Shoulder or smoked ham shank
• Using a ham hockis the next best option.
• Chopped salted pork and/or chopped smoked bacon can also be substituted.

Pro Tips

• Unlike most soup recipes, the vegetables don’t need to be softened in butter/oil first. They float to the surface of the soup and cook/soften in the fat from the ham bone.
• The longer you simmer split pea soup, the more it thickens. Just make sure the temperature is low if you are going to simmer for several hours to avoid losing too much liquid.
• If you’re at a higher altitude, longer cooking time is required.

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Storage

• Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
• This soup does freeze and reheat very well, just ensure that the potatoes and carrots are cooked until just fork tender so that they don’t become too soft.

Tools For This Recipe

(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.

• 4.5 quart Dutch oven – the perfect size for this recipe.
• 6 quart Crock Pot – This one is programmable and will automatically switch to warm when the cooking time is up.
• Instant Pot
• Soup Ladle (This is the one pictured in this recipe.)
• 16 oz. storage containersI use these to store/freeze my soups. They have 8 oz. sizes as well. They’re stackable, leak proof, and dishwasher/microwave safe.

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posted by Stephanie on April 18, 2022 — 623 Comments »