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!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt (if you are using store bought chicken broth that is already salted only use ⅛ 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
- 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!
Just made this tonight for dinner. It is AMAZING!!! I have had a lot of bad split pea soups but this one is delicious! My kids even ate it. I made it with the chicken stock recipe from this website and served this soup with ham on top and with the cheddar and buttermilk biscuits on the side.. I even forgot to put the milk in the soup and it was still great. My 4 and 5 year old ate it up! Thanks for all of your recipes! I have been living off of this site for the past month! Love it!
I LOVE split pea soup from my younger days when mom used to make it from a ham bone. I made this from the homemade chicken stock today. I haven’t even gotten to the part where you puree it as it is so good just as is! YUM!
[...] 1.http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/09/28/recipe-easy-split-pea-soup/ [...]
Wondering what the nutrition is on this.
Hi Kara. We do not provide nutrition details but there are tools available online that can help you calculate those details. This post helps explain our philosophy on calorie counting and nutrient tracking: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/. Hope it helps. ~Amy