Creamy Split Pea Soup (Printable Version)

A creamy, comforting soup packed with split peas, vegetables, and smoky flavors. Vegetarian, gluten-free, and ready in 90 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Legumes

01 - 2 cups dried split green peas, rinsed

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 large onion, diced
03 - 2 carrots, peeled and diced
04 - 2 celery stalks, diced
05 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
06 - 1 medium potato, peeled and diced

→ Aromatics & Liquids

07 - 1 bay leaf
08 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
09 - 6 cups vegetable broth
10 - 1 tablespoon olive oil

→ Optional

11 - 1 cup diced smoked ham or 1 ham bone

→ Seasonings

12 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
13 - Salt to taste

# Directions:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, carrots, and celery; sauté for 5 minutes until softened.
02 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add split peas, diced potato, bay leaf, thyme, and vegetable broth. Include ham or ham bone if desired.
04 - Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until peas are soft and soup thickens.
05 - Remove ham bone if used and discard bay leaf. Stir diced ham back into soup if included.
06 - For creamier texture, use an immersion blender to puree part of the soup, or blend half in a blender and return to pot.
07 - Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • It transforms a handful of humble ingredients into something that tastes like you've been cooking all day.
  • The texture becomes naturally creamy without any cream, just patience and starch from the peas themselves.
  • It freezes beautifully, which means future you gets a gift every time you make it.
  • You can make it heartier with ham or keep it completely plant based without losing any soul.
02 -
  • This soup will thicken as it sits, sometimes dramatically, so add a splash of water or broth when reheating to bring it back to life.
  • If you skip the potato, the soup will still work, but it won't have that same velvety body that makes you go back for seconds.
  • Don't salt too early, the broth and ham (if using) can be salty enough on their own, and it's easier to add than to fix.
03 -
  • If you want an even silkier texture, blend half the soup and leave the other half chunky for contrast.
  • Use a ham bone if you can find one, it adds a richness that diced ham alone can't quite match.
  • Taste the soup after an hour, if the peas aren't completely soft yet, give it another 15 minutes, they should melt on your tongue.
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