Split Pea Soup is the perfect thing to make after Easter! It is the best way to use up leftover ham or to make as a vegetarian option for a healthy, simple and cozy lunch or dinner.
I grew up having this soup on a regular basis – I love the fact that my mom was such a loving, good cook who enjoyed spending time in the kitchen! My mom was really good at creating healthy meals that weren’t complicated, and her love of home cooked simple comfort foods has stuck with me. To this day I don’t enjoy deconstructing my food – super fancy restaurants aren’t really my jam.
One of the best things about this soup is that it leans on dried split peas as the foundation, along with a couple of VERY simple ingredients, all of which can be stored for extended periods of time in your fridge or pantry. I love meals that are built off of these simple hearty foods! It’s good to have a handful of recipes that can be made with basic pantry staples at your fingertips, especially right now.
Dried split peas are so inexpensive, are a great source of plant-based fibre and protein, and don’t take long to cook. They will keep for ages in your pantry: I always have some on hand. This is my favourite thing to make with split peas, and after a weekend filled with indulgence, I was pretty happy to put a pot on the stove and cook it today.
You can make this with the leftover ham if you happened to have made some (I put the instructions at the end of the recipe) but I made this one vegetarian – the choice is yours! If you didn’t happen to buy a bone-in ham but still want to make this simply add the ham in near the end as described below and use stock.
With only 2 steps and under an hour from prep to hitting the table, this soup will be sure to hit your regular rotation of cozy comfort meals. I love serving it with a homemade bun or a biscuit warm out of the oven (I’ll get that recipe up this week too). Talk about a food hug!
This soup is naturally gluten-free and is vegan if you use vegetarian stock.
Hope you’re all doing well and are safe and healthy!
xo
Tori
Split Pea Soup
Split Pea Soup
This hearty simple soup is perfect to serve all year round. I included a vegetarian version but you can make this as a way of using up leftover baked ham too.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 cups diced peeled carrots (3-4 carrots)
- 2 cups diced celery (3 ribs)
- 1 cup split peas (rinsed and drained)
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- 8 cups stock (chicken or vegetarian)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
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Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until it is translucent and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir, cooking, for 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrots and cook until the vegetables are soft, 5-8 minutes, stirring occassionally.
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Add the split peas, bay leaves and stock and bring to a boil. Stir, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the peas are soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve!
Recipe Notes
To make this with ham, remove the meat from the ham bone (dice the meat - you can add around 2-3 cups to the soup), place in a large pot, cover with water along with 1 quartered yellow onion and boil for 1 hour. Strain in a colander, reserving the liquid, and use it in place of the stock in the recipe. Stir in the diced ham toward the end of the cooking.
Thanks Tori. Going to make tomorrow
Can’t wait to hear how you like it!
Is it possible to make this with canned peas instead of dried?
Hi Karly, you could try adding in a can of peas at the end and skip the cooking part with the peas… it won’t be the same though I would worry it may be quite watery….
You could try adding canned lentils instead and just add less liquid I think that would work better.
Made this soup today, and it was delicious! Honestly all your recipes are amazing, thank you for sharing with all of us!
Thank you Kathleen you are so sweet! Tori
This is such a delicious and cost saving soup. Full of flavor. Thank you once again for a lovely recipe.
It feels like we’re in the polar vortex up north at our cottage this weekend. This soup was easy and sooooo good – perfect for the chilly weekend. Served it with Tori’s buns and whipped up a batch of your vegan breakfast cookies for a healthy snack.
I added a pack of diced vegan ham and a diced potato. Was so good, thanks Tori.
Yum! So happy you enjoyed it Carly!
The soup was yummy but took 3 hours to cook to soften the split peas (even after soaking them for 6 hrs). I will try making it the pressure cooker next time. 🙂
Hi Tania,
That’s so strange! They should cook quicker. Is there any chance you added any form of acid (ie: tomatoes or…) prior to them being fully cooked? That can interfere with the cooking process.