Split Pea Soup

Prep 20 min
Total 3 hr 50 min
Servings 8

With only 20 minutes of prep time and just seven ingredients, this soup will cure your cravings for a cozy, soul-warming meal without a ton of work. Split pea and ham soup is just about the easiest, least fussy soup you’ll ever make, and this time-tested recipe is one you’ll come to rely on whenever you need a comforting meal.

By Betty Crocker Kitchens

Updated June 13, 2019

Ingredients

2 1/4

cups dried split peas, (1 pound), sorted and rinsed
8

cups water
1

large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2

medium celery stalks, finely chopped (1 cup)
1/4

teaspoon pepper
1

ham bone or 2 pounds shanks
3

medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch slices (1 1/2 cups)

Steps

1

Heat peas and water to boiling in 4-quart Dutch oven. Boil uncovered 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour.
2

Stir in onion, celery and pepper. Add ham bone. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 1 hour 30 minutes or until peas are tender.
3

Remove ham bone; remove ham from bone. Trim excess fat from ham; cut ham into 1/2-inch pieces.
4

Stir ham and carrots into soup. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until carrots are tender and soup is desired consistency.

Jump to Video

Serve a grainy cornbread (don’t forget the honey butter or drizzle of maple syrup) and a spinach salad with fresh grapefruit segments with the soup. The tart freshness of the citrus contrasts nicely with the rich, thick soup.
Preparing split peas for cooking is easy! Just pick over the dried split peas and discard any grit or discolored peas. Place the split peas in a bowl, and cover them with water. After a minute or two, remove any skins or split peas that float to the top. Finally, rinse the split peas in a colander.
A ham hock or bone pairs perfectly with split peas but so will a smoked turkey leg. Its smokiness seasons the soup as well as ham. Remove meat from bone, chop into smaller pieces and stir into soup with the carrots; continue as directed in recipe.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 170
Calories from Fat: 20

% Daily Value

Total Fat: 2 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol: 15 mg
Sodium: 30 mg
Potassium: 690 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 33 g
Dietary Fiber 13 g
Protein: 17 g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 86%; 86%
Vitamin C: 4%; 4%
Calcium: 2%; 2%
Iron: 12%; 12%

Exchanges:

1 Starch; 3 Vegetable; 1 Very Lean Meat;

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Split pea soup has been a favorite winter warm-up for thousands of years. As long ago as 500 B.C., Greek farmers cultivated this legume, while Athenian street vendors sold hot pea soup to passersby. When King Louis XIV of France was hungry for pea soup, his court at Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye served up its famous version, Potage Saint-Germain. These days, split pea soup continues to be featured in cuisines across the globe. In the Netherlands, for example, it’s known as “erwtensoep” and adorably nicknamed “snert.” The soup is often enjoyed by skaters who purchase it from outdoor food stalls set up alongside frozen canals. When you’re ready to try split pea and ham soup on your own, start with this guide How to Make the World’s Best Split Pea Soup, which features step-by-step photos of the process. Once you’ve mastered this split pea soup recipe, check out Betty’s best soup recipes.