This amazing recipe for Split Pea & Ham Soup is made using a ham bone or ham hocks. It can also be made in a slow cooker or on the stovetop.
Serve with a side of warm Homemade Garlic Bread for a comforting meal everyone will adore!
Split Pea and Ham Soup at Its Finest
This recipe makes a hearty and vibrant dish that’s the perfect comforting, cold-weather soup.
This is the best soup I have made in a really long time! I have been craving split pea soup for a while. So, when I had a ham bone leftover from our Christmas dinner, I knew I had to make one of my all-time favorite soups.
Why This Recipe Works
- Cooking the ham on the bone in the soup adds a ton of flavor.
- This thick and hearty, split pea and ham soup is a meal in itself.
- Having the option to cook stovetop or in the slow cooker gives you more options to suit your family.
Getting A Full Flavored Split Pea Soup
The secret to a flavorful split pea soup – Homemade Ham Stock.
When I make the ham for dinners, I freeze the liquid I boil the ham in before baking and use that as the stock for my soup.
It adds so much flavor! I highly recommend making some of your own stock before making this soup – it’s really worth the extra trouble (see the tips section below for a link to a recipe).
Just make sure you taste the stock before making the soup. Some ham is super salty and you may need to add half water half stock (like I did in the video).
How to Make Split Pea and Ham Soup
Start with rinsing the dried split peas (for information on soaking split peas, see the tips section at the bottom of this post). Once rinsed, set aside.
Chop the carrots onion and celery into bite-sized pieces.
Tie the parsley and bay leaf together with kitchen string.
Chop the onion and then in a large soup pot, saute the onions over medium heat in olive oil until translucent (about 4-5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook another minute.
Add the peas. Followed by the ham bone and a cut of ham (or ham hocks).
Add the stock (My ham was quite salty from the ham so I added half water half stock), carrots, celery, and herb bundle.
Add the paprika and pepper (save the salt until the end as the ham may be quite salty).
Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer; cover and cook (stirring often) for 30 minutes, then stir in the potatoes.
Cook until soup is thick and peas have almost disintegrated, about a half-hour more, depending on how soft you like your peas.
Remove the pot from the heat and carefully remove the herbs and the bone and then discard it. Shred the meat. If using ham hocks, take the meat off the bones, shred and discard the bones.
Add the ham meat back into the soup.
Stir to combine and return the soup to the heat to re-heat as needed. Taste for seasoning and if required, season with salt and pepper.
Enjoy every last bite!
Cook’s Tips:
- For a kick of flavor, buy an extra ham hock and use it to make stock ahead of time. To make it you can follow this recipe on Epicurious.
- Split peas absorb lots of liquid as they cook, so check the soup often and add extra stock as needed.
- The peas in this soup only need to be cooked until tender, but if you like a smoother, creamier soup, cook them longer until they are soft and falling apart.
- For an even silkier soup, puree it (before adding the shredded ham meat) with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor.
- To make this recipe in the slow cooker, follow the instructions to where you lower the heat to a simmer and then add it to a slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours, add the potatoes and then cook a further 1-2 hours.
FAQs
Do Split Peas Need to be Soaked Before Cooking?
Many people think it’s necessary to soak split peas overnight before cooking them, but it’s not imperative. Soaking peas shorten their cooking time to about 40 minutes as opposed to 1 -2 hours (depending on the brand you buy). You can do this if you want to cut down the cooking time, but in my opinion, this will cut down on flavor.
How do you make split pea soup with a ham bone?
It’s so easy, you just throw the hambone in with the soup as it cooks! It adds a lot of flavor so I highly recommend it! I also add a chunk of leftover ham meat if the bone doesn’t have much meat.
How do you make split pea soup with ham hock?
You can use ham hocks in place of a ham bone. They can be found at your local butcher or supermarket. Like with the ham bone, you just throw it in with the pot and allow it to cook with the soup.
Can Split Pea and Ham Soup be frozen?
Split Pea Soup freeze well. Allow the soup to cool before freezing (don’t leave to cool at room temperature over an hour to avoid harmful bacteria).
Freezing Split Pea and Ham Soup: Portion the soup into freezer bags or freezer-safe containers or fill an airtight container as much as possible (to avoid too much air being trapped) and freeze stacked on top of each other.
To Freeze Split Pea and Ham Soup Freezer Bags: Fill three-quarters of the way up, force out as much air as possible before sealing and store flat in the freezer.
How long can Split Pea and Ham Soup be stored in the refrigerator?
Stored in an airtight container, split pea and ham soup can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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Let's Make
Split Pea and Ham Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Large Ham Bone or a large ham hock
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 3 medium carrots chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 3 stalks of celery chopped
- 3 potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 pound dried split green peas rinsed
- 8 cups Ham Stock Chicken or vegetable stock will work too
- small bunch of parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, saute the onions over medium heat in olive oil until translucent (about 4-5 minutes) add the chopped garlic and cook another minute (being careful to not let it get too dark). Add the peas, hocks, carrots, and celery.
- Tie the parsley and bay leaf together with kitchen string. Add the herb bundle, stock, paprika, and salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer; cover and cook (stirring often) 30 minutes.
- Stir in the potatoes and cook until soup is thick and peas have almost disintegrated, about 30 minutes more.
- Remove the pot from the heat, and remove the bone to a bowl to cool.
- Pull meat from ham bone and shred.
- Remove the herb bundle from the soup and discard.
- Add the shredded ham and heat the soup to a simmer.
- If needed, season with salt and pepper.
- Serve hot.
Tips + Notes
How to make split pea soup with a ham bone?
It's so easy, you just throw the hambone in with the soup as it cooks! It adds a lot of flavor so I highly recommend it! I also add a chunk of leftover ham meat if the bone doesn't have much meat.How to make split pea soup with a ham hock
You can use ham hocks in place of a ham bone. They can be found at your local butcher or supermarket. Like with the ham bone, you just throw it in with the pot and allow it to cook with the soup. To make this recipe in the slow cooker: Follow the instructions to where you lower the heat to a simmer and then add it to a slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours, add the potatoes and then cook a further 1-2 hours. For the Ham Bone: Using a bone with a good amount of meat still attached is best so you'll have enough meat for the soup. Top Tips- Split peas absorb lots of liquid as they cook, so check the soup often and add extra stock as needed.
- The peas in this soup only need to be cooked until tender, but if you like a smoother, creamier soup, cook them longer until they are soft and falling apart.
- For an even silkier soup, puree it (before adding the shredded ham meat) with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes:
This recipe was originally posted in January of 2015 but was republished in September 2019 with new photos and step by step instructions.
Kathy says
I love how flavorful this soup is, everyone loved it,
Erren's Kitchen says
It is a wonderful soup, I’m pleased you enjoyed it Kathy.
Nicky says
I am a big fan of ham and pea soup and have made many recipes but have to say this is my all time favorite!! I was not able to locate green split peas in our grocery store and used yellow ones and they worked just fine. I have added this recipe to my much treasured recipe book as one to keep. Thank you for sharing with us!
Erren's Kitchen says
That’s so good to hear Nicky, glad you enjoyed it, and it worked with yellow split peas!
Deirdre E Best says
Made this in a crock pot instead of on the stove. I added an additional cup of dried peas and about a quarter of the bone’s meat was still on and this made it a heartier soup. It took about 4 hours total on the high setting before the peas broke down but well worth the wait. This was my first attempt at split pea and ham bone soup. I can’t wait to make it again. It looked a bit on the liquid side at first but when you took the first bite it had that lovely creamy consistency. Thank you for this recipe!
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Diedre, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and managed to successfully adapt it for the crockpot! Amazing!
Lady says
Recipe is amazing. It truly is. It’s the only recipe I use for this soup but it shouldn’t take 5 hours of scrolling to get to the actual recipe!
TC says
Anxious to make this tomorrow but don’t see your mentioned ham stock recipe. Can you please post??
Erren Hart says
Hi TC. To make a ham on the bone, I parboil it in water with some celery and onion before baking it in the oven. I don’t really have a recipe. Sorry!
Denise says
This was delicious! My only change was to add some chipotle sauce when served ’cause me and chipotle, we got this thing going on. 😉
Erren's Kitchen says
Oh, that does sound good Denise, haha!
Lily says
We pureed the onions, carrots, and celery because my boyfriend is picky. Made this Sunday after cooking my ham bone since Friday night. The ham I used was a brown sugar glazed ham. Everything else I followed for the recipe. Let me tell you… This was absolutely amazing. I will definitely only use this recipe from now on. Hello food coma!
Erren's Kitchen says
I’m o glad you enjoyed it, Lily!
Lynn says
Made this tonight. Yum! Will definitely be making this again.
Erren's Kitchen says
That is awesome to hear Lynn!
John says
Modified things a bit, no potatoes or carrots. Onions, celery, and garlic. Cooked the ham and onions and celery on slow heat until ham was almost cooked through. Strained the juice from the ham(about a cup o liquid) into my slowcooker, added peas. Bay leafs, parsley. and ham. Covered with ham stock and two cups of water. No other moisture.
Just made sure the ham and peas were covered. Cooked for four hours. Deboned ham and cut meat in chunks back into slow cooker. Cooked for another two hours on low. No added salt and because of no stock whole soup was less salty.
Erren's Kitchen says
Sounds delicious John!
Sophie Anderson says
declared delicious and the best pea soup i have made. added more broth to thin soup before serving. yum!
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you Sophie, I’m glad you enjoyed it!