Split Pea Soup Recipe
Split Pea Soup is a classic leftover ham recipe and a personal family favorite.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 305kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ham bone with meat - leftover ham bone works best
- 10-12 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 yellow onions - chopped
- 6 large carrots - diced
- 4 celery stalks - diced
- 6 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2.5 cups dried split peas - rinsed well
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt + black pepper - to taste
- Fresh chopped parsley - for serving
- Croutons - for serving
- Tabasco sauce - for serving
Instructions
- Boil the Ham Bone (optional). Place your ham bone in a large soup pot and cover it with enough water to fully submerge the ham bone. Cover the pot and bring water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour (see notes).
- Remove the Ham Bone and Strain the Broth. After an hour or so, remove the ham bone from heat and strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a large, clean pot. Place the ham bone on a large plate and allow it to cool.
- Cook the vegetables. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil and the onions and mix to coat. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or just until the onions just start to soften. Mix in the chopped carrots and celery and sauté for an additional 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and mix to combine.
- Add the Split Peas. Add bay leaves, green split peas, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add 10-12 cups of prepared broth, or a mix of prepared broth plus low-sodium beef broth (see note below) and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low, and cover.
- Add meat to the soup. As the soup cooks, cut off as much meat from the ham bone as possible and add it to the pot. Add the bone back to the pot, as well.
- Simmer the soup. The longer the soup cooks, the better. That said, allow at least 2 hours for the soup to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally. After two hours, the soup should be thickening. Add more broth, as needed.
- Serve. When ready to eat, season with additional salt and pepper to taste and discard the bay leaves. Serve with croutons, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can skip boiling the ham bone separately, and simply add the ham bone at the same time as the split peas; however, I like to make a separate ham broth and decide from there how much I want to include in the soup. Depending on how fatty your bone is, the broth may be very heavy; usually, in this case, I’ll reserve half the broth for later use and substitute the other half with water or low-sodium beef broth.
- The soup will thicken as it cools. To reheat, add water to the soup until desired consistency is reached.
- If you do not have a leftover ham bone, substitute it with two ham hocks.
- Freeze leftovers in a gallon or quart-sized freezer-safe bag or another freezer-safe container. Allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature before reheating (never reheat in a plastic bag).
Nutrition
Calories: 305kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 63mg | Potassium: 802mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 5290IU | Vitamin C: 6.7mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 3.1mg
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