Whether fall is officially here or not I think anytime is a good time for some hearty, tasty soup! And this soup is so darn easy that my 6-year-old practically made it by herself (with close supervision of course). All I had to do was chop an onion and garlic…oh and buy the ingredients and
help her read the recipe, but she pretty much did the rest. So the point is if a child can make this soup then so can you. 
And the best way to get your own child to possibly eat this pea green soup is to get them involved in making it with you. I suppose topping the soup off with chopped hot dogs or bacon might help lure them in as well. My other daughter, who is the pickier one, didn’t dig right into this soup like I had hoped. But as soon as she saw the bacon (which is her fav!) floating in there she ate a decent sized portion of the soup, which made me happy. So without further ado here it is!
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Split Pea Soup
Yield: 8 Servings (enough to freeze some leftovers)
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt (if you are using store bought chicken broth that is already salted only use 1/8 teaspoon)
- Pepper, to taste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pound dried green split peas, picked over and rinsed
- 8 cups chicken stock or broth (we LOVE homemade stock, which is very easy to make in your slow cooker with leftover chicken bones)
- 1 cup milk
- Hot sauce, to taste
- Recommended toppings and accompaniments: organic (and/or local) chopped bacon, ham, sausage or hot dogs plus homemade whole-wheat biscuits or toast on the side
Directions
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.
- Add the onions and season with salt and pepper.
- Once the onions have softened add the garlic, bay leaf, split peas and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add the broth/stock and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer and stir occasionally for 45 minutes or until the peas are tender.
- Remove soup pot from heat, discard the bay leaf, and puree using a hand-held immersion blender. The soup may be pureed in batches in a freestanding blender as well.
- Stir in the milk and hot sauce (if desired) and ladle warm soup into bowls. Add your favorite topping and enjoy!
This sounds delicious – thanks for sharing!
I’ve never added milk to my split pea soup. It sounds like it would be really creamy and yummy. Thanks for the idea!
The soup sounds delicious but I wish you would rethink considering processed meats like hotdogs and bacon as real foods. Organic or not, they are correlated with increased cancer risk.
Our mission is to avoid “highly” processed foods (cooking is even a form of “processing” food) and we feel if hotdogs and bacon are humanely raised and local they are okay in moderation. We only buy uncured bacon from a local farm and we only occasionally buy hot dogs (once every few months), and when we do they are either the Applegate organic grass-fed beef dogs or from a local farm as well.
Awesome recipe! We love soup in this house.
I also have been wondering what bacon or hot dog is considered not processed? Do you have specific brands that are all natural or not processed?
I can’t speak to hot dogs, as I’ve never heard of a healthy un-processed hotdog, but bacon can be. Though it is hard to find.
Basically, bacon is just pork belly that has been cured (in salt) and smoked then thinly sliced. If it’s done in the traditional way, it’s no more processed than salt fish, jerky or flour. Of course, the hard part is finding bacon that has been naturally cured and smoked. I’m sorry, I can’t help you there. I’m in canada and I get my bacon from my family, who raises their own meat.
I guess the trick would be to check out the ingredients. If there is more than pork, salt and the wood smoke listed than it’s probably factory processed. Hopefully someone will have a lead on a good product that’s available commercially.
We only buy uncured bacon…thanks for sharing your insight!
We buy local, uncured bacon from a farm that raises their animals in a humane manner. We only buy hot dogs once every few months (my 4-year-old loves them) and when we do they are either Applegate organic grass-fed dogs or from a local farm as well. Cooking your food is technically a form of “processing” it so we just try to find the least processed meats possible. I hope that helps!
Sounds really yummy! Can’t wait to get the ingredients and try it.
ok i apologize in advance if this is a stupid question but do you buy the split peas already dried out or are you suppose to dry them out yourself? Are they in the bulk food bins?
It’s not a stupid question. I’m sure lots of people aren’t familiar with split peas, you’ve probably only ever heard of fresh peas.
Split peas are purchased dried. They’re usually found in the same section of the grocery store where you find the dried beans and lentils.
There are no stupid questions on this site!
The peas are already dried when you buy them. They are available either in bulk or a pre-packaged bag.
We have made this recipe for years and usually after Christmas or Easter when we have cooked ham, we use chunks of cooked ham and it’s really good. I’m not avbig pork eater, but this is good.
You had me at “easy”
can you use the yellow split peas? I don’t know much about split peas but I thought I had some but they are more yellow. Can I use them for this soup. If so I will be able to make it here in Ethiopia! Thanks!
I think that would work just fine…I know you can sometimes only find different ingredients in different places. Good luck!
Can something else be substituted for the milk? The doc just labeled me as lactose intolerant today and I am frantically wondering about substitutions in all of my favorite budget-friendly recipes!!!
You could omit the milk or try almond milk instead. Good luck!
I am gluten and dairy free. I would recommend So Delicious plain coconut creamer or Mimiccreme cream substitute here.
Does this soup freeze well? My husband won’t touch split pea soup (doesn’t know what he’s missing).
Yes…it would be great defrosted out of the freezer!
Great recipe! We had this tonight and everyone loved it!
Do you soak the split peas over night? I attempted to make split pea soup once in the crockpot and the peas NEVER softened! I had to dump the whole pot out.
This recipe sounds delicious!
No, you don’t have to soak them and it works great. I always forget to soak beans and things overnight, which is why I love this recipe!
What does it mean to “picked over” the dried green split peas???
There are often small pebbles or stones in bags of peas and beans – just a fact of harvesting them – so you want to pick them over to find any strays. Most get sorted out before they ever get bagged, but it’s always worth looking them over yourself first. It’s not fun biting into a missed pebble.
Just make sure no stones are in the mix by accident!
I ate this every day for a week after you posted this recipe. I never ate split pea soup and I thought it was wonderful. For the “hot sauce” I used Sriracha hot sauce (aka rooster sauce) to give it some zing!! awesome!!
I’m making this soup tonight…looks delish. I had my hubby run out and get the ingredients for me, and he got yellow split peas instead….will these work, or do I need to get the green ones? Thanks!
I just saw the same question already posted!…d-uh…sorry!
I made this for dinner last night at it was a hit! My son wasn’t sure about it at first, but he eventually ate the whole bowl. We were running low on milk so instead we added a spoonful of sour cream along with our bacon topping. It was great that way!
Made this super yummy soup tonight for dinner, with whole wheat biscuits on the side. It was SO GOOD! I added some potato and carrots and omitted the milk, I will be making this again for sure. Another winner, in my book!! Thank you!
Looks yummy! Is it necessary to puree the soup? Can you leave it chunky?
It won’t have a creamy consistency if you don’t puree it, but it would surely still taste good. Give it a shot!
Hi there, You’ve done a fantastic job. I will definitely digg it and individually suggest to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this site.