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!
Easy Split Pea Soup
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse. This recipe serves 8, but there will also be enough to freeze some leftovers!
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 green split peas, dried, picked over and rinsed
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- hot sauce, to taste
Recommended Toppings and Accompaniments
- bacon, chopped
- ham, diced
- sausage
Instructions
- 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!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
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Does this freeze/reheat well?
Yes, you can freeze it. The texture changes a little.
Amazing!! I have never made split pea soup and never had it. I thought there was no way I would like it. My sister made it and said it was the BEST. I figured what the heck and made half a batch. My husband was in no way going to have it, that’s gross he said. Well guess what? We should have made the full recipe because we both loved it! It is for sure a recipe we would do again and again and again! Thank you
We have made this recipe quite a few times because it is easy and so delicious. My husband even says no to the toppings. It is all about the peas! This time I made the biscuits that you have linked. They were so good and super easy! I will definitely make both of these recipes again soon. Your site is terrific!
I use lots of onions and carrots and so have lots of peels and trimmings. Add those to celery trimmings and maybe an extra rib or two), and a few herbs, and boil it all in pasta or potato water, and presto! instant veggie stock. I always put in a couple smashed cloves of garlic and a couple bay leaves and dill, but use whatever herbs you like or will go with the dish you’re using the stock in. Sometimes I will add green bean ends and sometimes tomato bits, etc. Just don’t use trimmings from the cabbage family and no fennel. I’ll save all the trimmings and then on Saturday, do the boiling and I have anywhere from 4-6 cups of stock to use during the next week. This kind of veggie stock is really good for bean soups (including split pea!) and others where the broth isn’t a major flavor.
I adapted this recipe for slow cooking since I’ve done many soups (including split pea) with it. so no troubles there. I tripled the garlic and added some curry ingredients to kick it up a notch because that’s how I role.
Also, I omitted the milk. it’s not needed to achieve a desirable thick consistency in pea or bean soups. Very good basic recipe. nice.
My family are all fans of curried split pea soup (also skipping the milk) – with a slow-cooker I can toss together a pot in well under an hour start to finish
Hi I was wondering if you have a recipe for homemade organic vegetable stock as my husband is vegetarian and I don’t like using the stock cubes from the shops which have flavour enhancers in them, I have made the chicken stock but would like to make soup for both of us thanks
Hello Leslie. We don’t but I make veggie stock variations all the time. Here are a couple favorites: http://www.marthastewart.com/332810/homemade-vegetable-stock and http://markbittman.com/very-flavorful-vegetable-stock-in-1-hour/ along with some extra stock making tips: http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2010/05/7-tips-for-full-flavoured-vegetable-stock/. Hope that helps. ~Amy
i have never made spit pea soup this way but today i will go & make some now Thank You
I make split pea soup all the time and my soup is so popular that people request it at work. It never lasts. I never add milk and I don’t puree it either…I do add some oregano, celery and carrots and always make it with any left over pork. I also will make it with bacon or hamhocks. It is so good that once when I made it I put some in a paper cup and sent my kids outside with it only to have them return with about 10 more requests from neighborhood kids who have never tried it before and a stranger who happened to comment on how good the soup looked as he was walking by all the kids eating it was offered a cup and he couldn’t stop complimenting me on it so I gave him the recipe to take home so his wife could make it to. I always make a huge pot of it so I like to add a couple extra bayleaf to mine. It’s a great hearty soup on these chilly winter nights…full of iron too!
Would love the recipe also!
Would love your recipe! Please share!
Julie, can you please provide your recipe for the split pea soup? Thank you.
Julie, Can you please provide your recipe for the Split Pea Soup?
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: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/. Hope it helps. ~Amy
Wondering what the nutrition is on this.
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!
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!
Made this soup tonight with the homemade chicken stock that I made from the chicken in a crock pot recipe! It was easy, delicious, and I have to say I’m so proud of following it through and making the whole thing from real food. I think it tasted even better knowing that! Thank you so much for all the work you put into this website! It’s our main resource and motivation for my family’s transition to real food.
absolutely delicious. and easy. loved it.
I love making meals in the crockpot. Do you have a crockpot version of this recipe. It looks delicious.
Hi Stephani. Sorry, we don’t. Jill