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 best split 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 hock is 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
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- 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 containers I 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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Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dry split peas, equal to 2 cups
- 1 ham bone, See notes for substitution options
- 2 cups ham, cut from the ham bone at the end.
- 2 cups onions, diced
- 1 ½ tablespoons onion powder, not teaspoons
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 8 cups water
- 2 cups carrots, diced
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
Equipment
Instructions
- Note: The split peas do not need to be soaked for this recipe.
Stove Top
- Add the uncleaned/meaty ham bone to a large soup pot along with the rinsed split peas, onions, onion powder, butter, olive oil, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme.
- Add the water and bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, with the lid slightly cracked.
- Let the soup simmer for 2.5 hours or until desired thickness is obtained. Stir occassionally as it cooks to lift any settling on the bottom of the pot. (Note that higher altitudes may required 5 or more hours of simmering time.) The longer it simmers, the thicker and more flavorful it will get.
- Add the carrots and potatoes about 40 minutes prior to serving.
- Once the carrots and potatoes are fork tender, remove the ham bone, bay leaves, and thyme stems. Shred/cut 2 cups of ham from the bone and add it back to the soup. Serve and enjoy!
Instant Pot
- Rinse the peas. Add all of the ingredients to 6+ quart instant pot. Make sure the pot isn’t more than 2/3 full.
- Secure the lid and set it to cook on high (or press the ‘pressure cook’ button) for 25 minutes.
- Once finished, let 10-15 minutes pass before you trigger the quick release valve. This will allow most of the pressure to release naturally, allowing the soup to cook a little bit longer.
- Remove the ham bone, the bay leaves, and thyme stems. Slice/cut 2 cups of ham from the ham bone and add it back to the soup. Serve!
Slow Cooker
- Rinse the peas. Add all of the ingredients to a large Slow Cooker (5 quarts or larger).
- Cook on low for 8+ hours or on high for 6+ hours. It's ready to serve once the peas are tender and the soup has reached your desired level of thickness.
- Remove the ham bone, the bay leaves, and thyme stems. Slice/cut 2 cups of ham from the ham bone and add it back to the soup. Serve!
Notes
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 hock is the next best option.
- Chopped salted pork and/or chopped smoked bacon can also be substituted.
Nutritional information is an estimate, and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.
Nutrition
I have one question. I says to use water but there is a picture of chicken broth, also in the video it show chicken broth being added. So do you use 1/2 water 1/2 chicken broth?
Hi Jennifer! My apologies for the confusion. If you have a ham bone, I would use all water. If you don’t have a ham bone, then I would use half water, half chicken broth.
Made it just as written. Best pea soup ever.
Thanks so much Stacey! This soup is extra special since my mom helped me with the recipe! It’s one of my favorites and a great way to use a ham bone or leftover ham! Thanks so much for the review!😀
my family gives this 5 stars! I busted out my new Ninja Foodi to make this soup and it was so quick!! really delish. thank you!
Great to hear! Thanks so much for the review Susan!😀
Why are we adding Olive Oil and butter. Are we suppose to cook the onions in them before we add it to the soup or just for flavour
Hi Leslie, the oil and butter are added for flavor, no need to cook the onions first. They rise to the surface while the soup is simmer and they cook down in the ham fat 🙂
Soup was delicious! Made a pot on the first rainy day of the season and a second one the next day to share. Everyone loved it. Thank you Stephanie for your quick and kind reply to a question I could have answered if I had read more carefully.🙄 Can’t wait to make it again.
Heyyyyyy Lorrie!! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the soup, and really appreciate the review too! Thank you so much!!! Happy Holidays! (Almost!)
What is the name of the super old cookbook that the split pea recipe came out of? Thank you.
I’m sorry I have no idea. I’ll try to find out from my mom if she still has it!
When freezing this recipe doesn’t the potatoes get grainy, and taste weird when reheated?
Hi Angie! I’ve never encountered that, and I always have this soup in the freezer because I make this recipe so often! I think because the broth is so thick, it isn’t even noticeable and might be perhaps more noticeable in a thin, brothy soup. It’s also best to make sure you don’t overcook the potatoes during the first round so that reheating them up again another time won’t be an issue.
This soup is delicious. Made it on the stove did the recipe just the way you wrote it. My family had it for supper and there wasn’t anything left. Thank you.
Hi Laura! I’m so happy you like this as much as I do!😀 I’m loving soup season right now! Thanks so much for the review!
Delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe! Super easy! I ran out of time and ended up making it in my pressure cooker instead of on the stove. My 11-year old picky eaters each ate two bowls! I’ll definitely be making it again.
Hi Melissa! I’m so happy to hear the picky eaters approved!😀 I froze a big batch and have been helping myself almost daily to this!
The recipe states 8 cups water, but the photo of the ingredients shows chicken broth. Which do you use?
Hi Lorrie! If you have a ham bone, you can use just water, especially if you’ll be simmering it for awhile. Otherwise, you can use 4 cups of chicken broth and 4 cups of water! 🙂