What do you make with leftover ham? Well, Split Pea Soup of course! It’s a fun and tasty soup make super quickly with ingredients you likely have, other than the split peas of course. 😉
This thick Instant Pot Soup is full of flavor and a favorite soup recipe in many cultures.
Split Pea Soup
8 Servings | Ready in 20 Mins | Good for Dinner | 6 Qt Instant Pot
It’s a given in our home after we make a spiral ham that we use the leftovers for Split Pea Soup. I’m always amazed how quickly this recipe comes together.
It may not look like much, but this Split Pea Soup Recipe is wonderfully delicious. It also freezes well and perfect to save a bowl for a cold day.
As I write this post, my husband is eating a bowl of this thick soup. He loves it. I think it’s his favorite soup.
He likes to dip Garlic French Bread into his Soup and I really don’t blame him. I enjoy the added flavor that a good tasted piece of garlic bread brings.
I might also suggest a slice of Cheese Bread with this soup too. I’ve been making cheese bread for decades and I love it.
The cheesy bread dipped in this thick Instant Pot Split Pea Soup recipe is a party in your mouth. Trust me. It’s good!
I have used leftover Spiral Ham in this recipe, however you could cube up ham from a large ham, or purchase a ham steak and dice or even the perfect little diced ham cubes found by the lunch meat section in the grocery store.
It all works. I tend to be very generous on my 2 cup measurements because we like a good hearty soup.
How Long is Split Pea Soup Good For?
If refrigerated properly, Split Pea Soup will last 3 or 4 days. Keep in a covered container and reheat only the portions you will eat at a time.
Can I Freeze Split Pea Soup?
YES, you sure can! In fact, I purposely freeze half this recipe in single serving portions for an easy lunch.
To freeze, place in a freezer Ziploc bag and lay flat
How to Reheat Split Pea Soup
This recipe is easy to reheat. Place the desired amount in a pan over medium/high heat. Add a little broth to thin the soup down a little bit
Stir until you reach a desired temperature
Do you Soak Split Peas?
When making Split Pea Soup in the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker I do not soak split peas. There is not need.
How do you puree Split Peas?
Fortunately there is no need to puree Split Peas. Because you had large chunks of carrots and ham you would not want to blend any of it up.
Instead, just stir and the split peas will fall apart turning this soup into a thick delicious Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
Can I double the Recipe?
Doubling the recipe when using the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker is easy. However, just make sure the ingredients don’t go over the fill line on the inner liner
Or you will have a problem releasing pressure and making a mess.
What are Split Peas?
To make a split pea, the green pea is peeled and dried. Split peas are field peas, they are either yellow or green peas grown specifically for drying
Can I substitute Yellow Split Peas?
Yes you can. Keep everything else the same and enjoy a Yellow Split Pea Soup
How to Make Split Pea Soup Creamy?
Split Pea Soup is a very thick soup all on its own, however if you wish to make it more creamy add 1 cup heavy cream after it has cooked. It will be rich, thick AND creamy!
How to Freeze Split Pea Soup?
We love to freeze Split Pea Soup in Quart Size Zip-lock bags. Fill each back with 2 cups, seal and lay flat. Place in the freezer and allow to freeze.
To thaw, remove from freezer and place in refrigerator overnight. Soup can then be heated on the stove or in the Microwave. Enjoy!
I’ve also thrown a ham bone into this recipe while cooking for extra added flavors. It works perfectly.
Simply pull the ham bone out when done
Pin this Recipe for Later!
Quick Tips
It’s important to remember to Deglaze your Instant Pot / Pressure cooker after you Saute’.
Deglazing means add thing liquid and scraping to the bottom of the pot to lift up anything that might be cooked and stuck to the pan. This helps prevent the burn notice.
Split Pea Fun Facts
Peas are a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, thiamine (B1), iron and phosphorus.
They are also rich in protein, carbohydrate and fibre and low in fat.
A 100 calories serving of peas contains more protein than a whole egg or tablespoon of peanut butter.
MUST TRY RECIPES!
- White Chicken Chili
- Chicken Taco Soup
- Chicken Chili Verde
- Taco Soup
- Chicken Corn Chowder
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup (Copycat fm Cafe Zupas)
- Beef Stew
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup
Bread Recipes for Dipping!
Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Cups dried Split Peas
- 3-4 Celery Stalks diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cups chopped carrots
- 4 1/2 Cups Broth Vegetable or Chicken
- 2 Cups Diced Ham
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 2 Tbs Butter
- 1 Tbs Garlic
Instructions
- Dice and chop, celery, onion, carrots and ham. Set aside.
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute’ and wait until it reads “Hot”
- Add Butter and garlic to Instant Pot and saute’
- Add Onion and saute’ for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add Ham cubes and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Turn Instant Pot Off
- Add Broth and deglaze bottom of pot if needed.
- Add diced carrots, and celery and split peas
- Add pepper and stir
- Close lid and set to manual for 15 minutes. Quick Release pressure and open lid.
- Stir. Peas will be broken down and form a thick soup. The more you stir the smoother the soup will become.
Can I make this without an instant pot? I’m dying to try this recipe!
You can, cooking on the stove will take longer on a low simmer. It would be just as delicious.
Easy peasy and delicious. A real crowd pleaser. I buy a spirol cut have after the holidays when it goes on sale and what I don’t eat goes into the freezer. Then it’s like getting ham for free for my recipes.
I made this soup for the 1st time period it was so yummy. My grandmother used to make pea soup with ham and I loved it
I’m so happy to hear this Michele! It’s a wonderful soup that is loved by so many.
Followed the recipe and it was a hit! Family chose this over pizza last Friday night.
I have the Walmart version of instant pot so I need to adjust some of the settings. I love how it is an easy recipe with having everything on hand. We aren’t into all the different spices like parsley etc. The only thing I had to change as I had to cook it longer than 15 minutes. It’s cooking now with an added 10 minutes. The taste was excellent but peas were still a little hard. Can’t wait to have a bowl full!
Hi LeAnn, Make sure your Pressure Cooker is cooking on “High” that should help in the cooking process. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. It really is delcious!
A very easy to make one pot meal!
Thanks Mike! We sure love this recipe.
I had to cook mine longer also but my peas were about 20 yrs old 😬. It turned out delicious after an additional 15 min. Older peas will take longer (hopefully you use yours up quicker than I did or don’t have to dig in the back of your food storage to find some so you don’t have to go to the store 😉
Hi Laura! I can honestly say that I have not recipe tested with 20 year old peas. 😉 But I’m glad it all worked out for you.
Delicious soup ! I did half it and it was perfect.
I have shared the recipe with my family
Hi Valerie, I’m so glad you enjoyed the Split Pea Soup. It is delicious and a favorite of ours to make anytime we have ham!
If I double this recipe will it still work in my large Instant Pot?
Hi Mel, You can double the recipe as long as you don’t have ingredients above the “fill” line of your pot. Also be aware that soups will “spit” out the vent when releasing pressure. You might want to allow additional time to Naturally release with such a full pot.
Super easy recipe. I also added a ham bone which which made the soup taste great.
Hi Jennifer! So glad you enjoyed the Split Pea Soup Recipe, it is delicious!
OMG! I love it. I guess I will get rid of my slow cooker that takes 6 hours to cook pea soup.
Hi Dee! Making Split Pea Soup in the Instant Pot is such a time saver and as you found out, this soup is delicious! Thanks for the awesome review.
I really enjoyed this recipe and l enjoy being able to have left overs. I put the extra in the freezer as I am only home on the weekends.
Thanks Mike! I always freeze some leftovers for later and I’m always thrilled when I have some later. Always so good.
I use kielbasa in addition to the ham
This is super similar to my recipe and I think this will be my new go-to since it’s for the Instant Pot. The only difference in mine is, I cook onions and butter in a tiny skillet, low and slow, for an hour. Then add in a teaspoon more or less of dill. Just before serving mix the onion/dill mixture in the soup. It’s great with or without it. Just a fantastic recipe.
Hi Nancy, Thank you for the Raving Review! I love your addition of Dill, what a fun idea!
Delicious this is about the third or fourth time I made it and every time the family raves over it! I add a bit more that ;1/2 cups of broth and also the whole bag of peas. Also more ham than recipe calls for.
Wow!!! Healthy, insanely delicious, incredibly easy comfort food soup! I made 1 1/2 the recipe so we would have leftovers. 💖💖
Leftovers are always welcome in my home! It’s a wonderful Recipe that we love
Hi Vicki
I am making this soup right now and my husband can’t wait for it to finish. It smells terrific. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Billie! I sure hope you liked this recipe. It’s a keeper. Also you can freeze extra portions for another day. It’s a perfect lunch when you need it.
Super easy to make and it was delicious.
Perfect! I only had leftover ham, no bone. Followed everything else to a T, and it’s great!
That’s what I love about this recipe, Leftover ham works perfectly!
Do you have to soak the peas first or just put them in dry?
Great Question Terri! I will rinse the Split Peas and then throw them in. No need to soak for this recipe!
Made this today using chopped up bacon,had no celery but chopped up some bok choy and threw it in. Truly the most delicious pea soup I’ve ever made and so easy.
Isn’t it great??? Seriously so simple and oh so good! So glad you loved it too! 😉
This was so easy & delicious! Reminded me if my mom’s homemade split pea w/ham soup, that I unfortunately never got the recipe for.
Hi Nancy! That’s the BEST Review ever! Thanks so much and I’m so glad you found a recipe that reminds you of hers.
Can I use the same receipe but not include any meat?
Thank you.
Hi Frances! You can certainly omit the ham if you wish. However, you might want too add some salt to the recipe if you choose to leave the ham out. The ham is full of salt, so the recipe could be lacking without it. I would put 1/2 tsp salt into the recipe and still possibly add salt to each bowl depending on your liking.
Frances, I am a vegetarian and I always add a little Liquid Smoke to my split pea soup to replace the ham. I did that with this recipe, and it turned out great.
What a great idea Sheia! Thanks so much for sharing that tip!
This recipe is delicious! I made it just as it was written (I used store-bought small-cubed ham because the family ate all the leftover Thanksgiving ham!). I thought I might need to add some liquid smoke at the end. NO – I didn’t. I thought I might need to use my immersion blender and add some cream at the end. NO – I didn’t. This soup is lovely and creamy and delicious just the way it is. My adult son was looking in my pressure cooker and said, “oh, good – there’s more” – probably one of the best compliments from one of my kids.
Hi Vicki! I love hearing this. Your comments made me smile, why? Well, I love a good creamy soup and initially planned on adding cream to this recipe, but felt in the end it just didn’t need it. We love the chunky bits of carrot and celery and ham. It’s packed full of great flavor just how it is without over-doing it. You hit it perfect in your comments. I’m so glad to hear the success!