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.
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.
If you don’t have a ham bone, not to worry! I include instructions on how to use ham hocks or smoked shank too!
Why This Recipe Works
- Using a ham bone or stock made with a ham hock or shank gives the soup a deep richness
- Plenty of aromatics, fresh vegetables and herbs give the soup heartiness and extra depth of flavor.
- A little vinegar enhances flavor and adds brightness to the soup.
Getting A Full Flavored Soup
The secret to a flavorful split pea soup is using a ham bone or joint to create a rich and flavorful stock to cook the soup in.
When I make ham that’s on the bone dinner, I freeze the liquid I boil the ham before baking and use that as the stock for my soup. It adds so much flavor!
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).
What Are Split Peas?
Split peas are simply peas that have been peeled, dried, and split in half. They come in green and yellow and can be used interchangeably in recipes. I find yellow split peas to be milder in flavor, while green split peas tend to be sweeter.
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 as simmering the soup as long as possible with the bone adds so much more flavor.
Ingredient Notes
- Ham – For this recipe you can use a ham bone with some leftover ham meat, ham hocks, or smoked ham shanks.
- Split Peas – Green or yellow split peas work equally well.
- Garlic – I always use fresh garlic in my recipes as I feel it provides the best flavor, but you can use store bought peeled or even garlic powder in its place.
- Carrots – I use orange carrots, but you can use any variety you like best. Parsnips also work great in this soup.
- Potatoes – I use gold potatoes, but any boiling potato that’s high in moisture and low in starch will do. You can also omit the potatoes if you choose.
- Onions – Yellow or white onions work just as well. You can use leeks in their place.
- Celery – Choose celery that’s light in color. I also use the leaves as they ad plenty of flavor.
- Herbs – This recipe calls for parsley and bay leaves, but you can use fresh or dried thyme.
- Paprika – Smoked or sweet paprika both work well for this recipe. I use smoked for extra flavor when using leftover ham and bone instead of ham hocks or smoked shanks.
How To Make Split Pea and Ham Soup
Start by rinsing the dried split peas (click here if you missed the section on on soaking split peas for soup). Once rinsed, set aside.
If you are using ham hocks, ham shank or joint instead of the bone and leftover ham, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat in large Dutch oven or stockpot; add the hocks or joint to pot and brown meat on all sides.
Cover with eight cups of water and if desired, add a rib of celery, one carrot, an onion, and some black peppercorns to the pot.
As ham can be salty, don’t add salt to the pot at this stage. Once the meat is cooked, you can safely taste the stock and season from there.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours before moving on to making the soup.
Chop the carrots, onion and celery into bite-sized pieces.
Tie the parsley and bay leaf together with kitchen string.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot, saute the onions over medium heat 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 the ham hocks or shank).
If you made stock using a ham hock or shank, taste the stock for saltiness before adding it to the soup mixture. If it tastes quite salty, use half stock and half water.
Add the 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 for 30 minutes. Be sure to stir often as the split peas can stick to the bottom. Stir in the potatoes.
Cook until soup is thick and peas cooked down to your desired consistency. This can take 30-40 more minutes, depending on the brand of peas you use.
Remove the pot from the heat and carefully remove the herbs and the bone (if using and then discard it). If using ham hocks or shank, remove the skin, discard it, and then remove the meat from the bone.
Shred the meat and add it to 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.
Erren’s Top Tips
- If your bone isn’t meaty, or you don’t have a leftover ham to add to the soup, use thick sliced bacon or cubes of pancetta by browning it in the pan before and removing excess oil before cooking the onions.
- Ham can be salty, so add the salt at the end to avoid over-salting your soup.
- Stir often as split peas can stick to the bottom of the pot as they cook.
- 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.
Make ahead and Freezing Instructions ❄
Stored in an airtight container, split pea and ham soup can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing: Split Pea Soup freezes well. Allow the soup to cool before freezing (don’t leave to cool at room temperature over an hour to avoid harmful bacteria).
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.
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Let’s Make Split Pea and Ham Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Large Ham Bone (with leftover meat) or a large ham hock or smoked shank
- olive oil
- 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 peas rinsed
- 8 cups Ham Stock Chicken or vegetable stock will work too
- small bunch of parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
If Using A Ham Hock or Shank
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat in large Dutch oven or stockpot; add the hocks or joint to pot and brown on all sides.
- Cover with eight cups of water and if desired, add a rib of celery, one carrot, an onion, and some black peppercorns to the pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours to make the stock before moving on to making the soup.
For The Soup
- 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, ham & bone (or ham hocks/shank), 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 30-40 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.
- Taste and if needed, season with salt and pepper.
- Serve hot.
Tips + Notes
- If your bone isn’t meaty, or you don’t have a leftover ham to add to the soup, use thick sliced bacon or cubes of pancetta by browning it in the pan before and removing excess oil before cooking the onions.
- Ham can be salty, so salt at the end to avoid over-salting.
- Stir often as split peas can stick to the bottom of the pot as they cook.
- 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.
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.
REALTwinFlame says
If using a smoked Ham Hock, cut all of it up in to 1cm x 1cm cubes and give them a good roast (bone/rind included)or pan fry in olive oil, before adding to the final pot. Adding the Hock directly to the pot, with out any prep work, will result in chunks of collagen blubber (Hock is only about 30% meat, the rest collagen) that many will not find appetizing, especially children. I do not mind it at all because it is very healthy.
Or, make a broth with the hock before hand and remove all but the solid meat. Just use the liquid and solid meat, the rest throw out. You’ll still get the benefits of collagen this way, even more so because it will have had more than 1 hour to melt in the broth. Good luck and thanks for the recipe.
The flavour was perfect and delicious.
Andrea says
Quite good. I used my pressure cooker. The result was a smooth, creamy and rustic soup that hits the spot on a cool day.
Erren Hart says
I’m delighted to hear you liked it so much! 🙂
Tanya Stinson says
Most gorgeous pea and ham soup recipe ever
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you Tanya! That’s very kind 🙂