Easy Split Pea Soup

This split pea soup recipe is absolutely delicious and unbelievably comforting! It’s easy to make with simple ingredients like dried split peas, carrots, celery, onions, and ham. We love the ham in this soup, but you can easily adapt our recipe to be vegetarian.

I love hearty soup recipes, and this split pea soup definitely hits the mark! We use dried split peas as the base, and slowly simmer them with aromatic veggies, broth, and thyme until perfectly tender. Then, we blend the soup until smooth for an extra creamy texture. It’s hearty, flavorful, and unbelievably delicious.

The ham adds a lovely smoky flavor, but if you’d prefer to make this without it, you can (and it will still be delightful). For more hearty soups like this one, see our lemon turmeric lentil soup and this easy black bean soup. I also love this ham and cabbage soup!

Key Ingredients

• Split Peas: Split peas are dried peas that have been split in half, which helps them cook faster. They have an earthy and slightly sweet flavor. There are two main types: green and yellow. For this soup, we’re using green split peas because they have a slightly sweeter taste and hold their shape better during cooking, resulting in a heartier texture.
• Ham: I use boneless ham steak and usually find it sold by the pound (or close) in 1/2-inch slices. Bone-in ham is excellent, too. You can add the ham bone to the soup as it simmers for even more flavor. We’ll briefly cook the ham in the pot, remove it, and pulse it in a blender until it is shredded. This seems unusual, but it creates the perfect texture for the soup! We’ll save the shredded ham for serving.
• Aromatics: We’re keeping it classic with a mixture of onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to create a flavorful base.
• Herbs: I love the combination of bay leaves and fresh thyme. I usually take 6 or so thyme stalks and tie them with some twine for easy removal later.
• Broth: Use what you love! That’s chicken stock for me, but veggie broth works perfectly well, too.
• Wine: A dry white wine adds a bit of complexity to the soup. Use something you already enjoy drinking. I often go for something simple like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or unoaked Chardonnay. You can also use a dry sherry.
• Dijon Mustard and Parsley: This is our secret! To add a lovely pop of flavor and color right at the end, we’ll blend in a couple of teaspoons of Dijon mustard and half of a bunch of fresh parsley. It livens everything up and really makes the soup taste incredible.
• Toppings (Optional): When serving this soup, we’ll blend it until smooth and creamy, then top it with the shredded ham, a dollop of sour cream, and some sliced green onion.

Vegetarian Adaptation: As discussed earlier, you can leave the ham out of this recipe to make it vegetarian-friendly. It will still be delicious and satisfying!

How to Make Split Pea Soup

We love this comforting split pea soup! This recipe is easy to follow and yields a creamy, flavorful soup perfect for any occasion (especially chilly nights).

First, we’ll start with the ham. Cook the ham in a large pot until browned slightly. Then, remove the ham and cook the aromatics (onion, carrot, celery, and garlic) in the same pot. The aromatics will pick up the ham flavor, making the soup extra delicious.

Once the onions are translucent, stir in the green split peas, herbs (bay leaves and thyme), and wine. Once the wine evaporates, pour in the broth, season with salt, and simmer until the split peas are tender (50 to 60 minutes).

As the soup simmers, you can prepare the ham. Grab a blender, add the ham, and pulse until shredded. It feels odd to blend ham but trust me. The ham breaks down into the perfect texture for adding to our serving bowls.

Remove the herbs, then blend the soup until smooth with some Dijon mustard (I use an immersion blender, but a stand blender in batches works, too).

To serve, place a generous spoonful of ham into the bottom of a bowl and then pour over the soup. Garnish with more ham, sour cream, and sliced green onions.