This easy split pea soup gets its depth of flavor from sautéed carrots, onion, and celery cooked in a simple broth with smoky ham.
This Simple Recipe Comes Straight From My Mom’s Kitchen
When it comes to making soups, being flexible with ingredients and technique is where home cooks like me really shine. In soups, precise measuring can be tossed out with the carrot tops and subbing one ingredient for another is perfectly acceptable. It’s where meals like this split pea and ham soup are put in the category of unfussy cooking, while gloriously fulfilling their promises of nourishment and comfort in the most understated ways.
The backbone of this simple soup comes from my mom, which I find highly ironic because 1) She never made it for us as kids, and 2) She hates peas. But somehow this soup has become part of her repertoire, and something she makes for herself and my dad whenever she has leftover ham.
So when I found myself with chunks of leftover porky goodness and a well-stocked pantry that included split peas, my mom’s recipe for homemade split pea soup was where I turned first.
Enjoy!
The 8 Basic Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Butter or olive oil — For sautéing the aromatics.
- Ham — Use leftover ham from your holiday dinner or pick some up from the deli counter. You can also sub the chopped ham for a ham bone to infuse the soup with even more flavor.
- Dried split peas — You’ll commonly find green or yellow split peas, with green peas tasting sweeter and yellow peas earthier. I love that they don’t need to be pre-soaked before cooking, and depending on how long they’re cooked, they will either hold their shape or with longer cooking times, become soft and creamy.
- Onion, carrot, and celery — The flavor foundation of many of my favorite soups!
- Chicken broth + water — Instead of using only chicken broth for this soup, but I like adding a bit of water to dilute the heavy chicken flavor so the vegetables can shine.
- Fresh thyme — I like a lot of fresh thyme leaves in this soup. If fresh thyme isn’t an option, use half the amount of dried.
How to Make Split Pea Soup with Ham
- Prep and cook the mirepoix. In French cooking, carrot, celery, and onion are known as a mirepoix. The three vegetables are chopped to the same size then slowly cooked in butter or oil to develop their inherent sweet flavors without browning or caramelizing them. This step is what truly infuses the soup with flavor and shouldn’t be rushed.
- Add the chopped ham and the split peas. Chop the ham in similar sizes to the vegetables so you get equal representation with each and every bite. If using a ham bone instead of chopped ham, add it with the broth and water to infuse the soup with depth of flavor.
- Skim the soup as it cooks. The ham and peas will release a frothy scum in the first few minutes of simmering. Use a fine mesh skimmer to remove it from the soup as it cooks.
- Add the seasoning (but watch the salt!). Because ham is salty, and so is regular chicken broth, be wary of adding too much salt, and taste as the soup cooks before adding more salt.
- Simmer until the soup reaches your desired consistency. Split pea soup can too often become a sludge fest: Too creamy, too thick, and too pasty. While I love a creamy soup like clam chowder, I prefer my split pea and ham soup midway between broth and cream, and stocked with chunky bites. Depending on how you prefer your soup will determine how long to cook the soup.
For a brothy soup, cook the soup for 1 hour. The peas will remain mostly intact, and while soft, will still retain a bit of bite.
For a creamier soup, cook the soup longer, for 90 minutes or a bit longer, so the peas break down.
How to Thicken Your Soup
If you like your soup on the thicker side, there are a few options to make it so:
- Cook for 90 minutes or longer and mash the peas and vegetables a bit to cream.
- Reserve 2 cups of the soup and set aside. Add the rest to a blender or a food processor and pulse to blend.
- Add 1 cup cream instead of water to the soup to reduce as it cooks.
- Add a roux of butter and flour to the soup to thicken the last half hour of cooking.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
The BEST Split Pea Soup with Ham
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1 carrot , chopped
- 1 rib celery , chopped
- 1 medium onion , chopped
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups chopped ham*
- ½ pound dried split peas
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 /2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics. In a 3 qt. stockpot, warm the butter or olive oil over medium high heat. Add the carrot, celery, and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
- Add the remaining ingredients and simmer. Add the chicken broth, water, chopped ham, split peas, thyme, kosher salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour or until the peas are tender. If the soup is too thick to your taste, add more chicken broth or water in the last 20 minutes of cooking. For a creamier soup instead of brothy, cook the soup for 90 minutes and lightly mash to cream. Taste for seasoning and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
What to Serve on the Side
More Recipes to Make with Leftover Ham
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B ruble
I have always loved this dish, but my mother who is was German made it, minus celery, with ham bone,, onions, peas, cook then add sauerkraut and sliced u p hotdogs to it, wonderful!