A comforting bowl of split pea soup will make your belly happy and your mouth smile. This method couldn't be easier - just put all the ingredients in a pot and let them do their magic together!
Last week was cool and rainy - too cold to work in the garden, but a perfect day for coccooning inside with a bubbling pot of soup simmering on the stove, weaving its enticing aroma through the air. Pea soup is one of my most beloved soups - bringing back deliciously happy memories from childhood. I always loved my mom's pea soup, and it's seriously got to be one of the easiest soups to make. All it takes is time and love.
There's no need to sauté ingredients first, or to purée anything, or thicken a broth. Just chop up the basic ingredients and cook them all together for a long time until they meld into an aromatic pot of silky richness. The peas become a satisfying base laced through with rich porky flavours. Vegetables and aromatics add complexity and natural sweetness. All together it's a delightful symphony.
This classic soup has stood the test of time for a reason. It's simple, nourishing, and comforting.
What to Add?
The ingredients for split pea soup are simple. You'll need:
- a nice meaty ham bone (about 1½ lbs/700 grams, or more) or a couple smaller ones. Save your ham bones after making a holiday feast or a large dinner - just wrap them with plastic food wrap and pop them into a bag in the freezer (they'll keep for up to 6 months). Then when you are in the mood for pea soup, you can put the frozen bone directly into the soup pot.
- onions - 2 medium yellow or white onions, finely chopped
- celery - about 3 stalks, finely chopped
- carrots - about 3 medium, diced a bit larger so they don't disappear into the soup during the long cooking time, but if you like them finer, that'll work, too
- salt and pepper - I like white pepper for its flavour and so there are no black flecks in the soup, but either will work
- marjoram - a milder herb with a bit or oregano flavour, but other herbs will be tasty, too, like oregano or thyme
- a couple of bay leaves - fresh or dried
- a bit of oil or butter - for richness and to bring out the flavour of some of the vegetable compounds
- water - plain water becomes a rich broth once it's simmered with the ham bone, veggies, and aromatics
- and of course, dried split peas. Either green or yellow will work. The flavour is the same and it's just a matter of colour preference and availability. (Green is more traditional.)
How Easy is it to Make a Pot of Split Pea Soup?
Instead of the saying 'as easy as pie' (cause who said pie is easy?!) it should be 'as easy as pea soup'. There's not much to it. Unlike other soups, you don't need to sauté the veggies first - this soup cooks long enough that all the flavour and sweetness from the onion, celery, and carrots gets fully released. By the time the peas are soft, the soup is rich and full-flavoured. You don't even need to add chicken stock. The ham bone and vegetables will turn ordinary water into their own beautiful stock during the long slow cooking time.
Your only choice is whether to add everything to the pot first and then pour on the water, or fill the pot with water first and then dump in the rest of the ingredients. Isn't that easy?
Simmer it slowly for a long time - 2½ to 3 hours - and give it a stir now and then. All that goodness will magically meld into a flavourful creamy mass. The split peas will have broken down completely to make a thick liquid, dotted with soft, melting chunks of carrot. The onions and celery are in there, but they are a part of that luscious silky soup.
Now you can fish out the bone - which is falling apart - and cut off any bits of meat to add back to the soup.
Check for seasoning, and you're ready to enjoy a soul-satisfying bowl of hot split pea soup.
The bowl below was made with yellow split peas, so you can see the colour difference. It's more golden, but just as tasty.
How Does it Freeze?
Split pea soup freezes very well. Ladle it into freezer containers and it'll keep well for up to six months. (It'll keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.) As the soup cools, it will thicken up considerably. It will reliquify somewhat when you reheat it, but generally needs to be thinned out with a bit more water upon reheating, plus an additional sprinkle of salt to balance out the extra liquid.
A bowl of comfort food awaits. Spoonfuls of that hot, smooth, silky soup with its nubbins of soft carrots and bits of tender, salty ham - what sheer delight. Don't wait for a rainy day to enjoy this beautiful classic soup.
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Guten Appetit!
Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large meaty ham bone or smoked ham hock about 1½ lbs (700 grams) or more
- 1 lb (450 g/2¼ cups) split green or yellow peas
- 2 cups (250 g/2 medium) finely chopped yellow onions,
- 1½ cups (200 g/3 stalks) finely diced celery,
- 1½ cups (250 g/2 large) diced carrots (½-inch/1 cm)
- 2 tablespoons oil or butter
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper (or black pepper)
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram (or ½ tsp. oregano or thyme))
- 8 cups (2 litres) water
- 1-2 cups of extra diced or shredded cooked ham, if desired
Instructions
- Put the ham bone and all the other ingredients except the extra diced or shredded ham into a large heavy-bottomed soup pot or a 5 to 6 quart dutch oven.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot with a lid.
- Simmer the soup for 2½ hours or longer, until the split peas have completely broken down to a silky smoothness. This could take longer at higher altitudes or if the peas are older. Lift the lid occasionally and stir the soup to redistribute any thickness that settles on the bottom of the pot.
- If the soup is too thin for your liking, remove the lid for the last half hour or so, raise the temperature a bit, and cook the soup until it is reduced and thickened as desired. Remember that the soup will thicken more upon cooling.
- Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper if it needs it.
- Remove the ham bone and the bay leaves. (By this time the bone may have come apart, so you might have to scoop it out in pieces.) Let the bone cool for a few minutes, then cut off any bits of meat, and dice them or shred them. Add the ham bits back to the soup or reserve them to add on top of each bowl as it is served. If you are adding extra ham to the soup, add it and cook the soup for a few minutes to warm them through.
- Makes 8 to 10 cups of soup, depending on how much the liquid is reduced.
Wendy Stadnick
Oh I love making split pea soup! Your recipe has a few different ingredients I am going to try! Thanks, it looks delicious 😋
Margaret
Thanks so much, Wendy. ❤️ I am with you there - I love making it, too. It smells so good while it's cooking, and it's such a comfort food. The old classics are the best!
Sonja A.
This is how I make pea soup also. Instead of marjoram l use summer savory. I also add potatoes 15 minutes before it’s done. Yum
Margaret
I love those additions - you're making me hungry! I have summer savory in the garden, so I'll have to give that a go! Thanks. 😍