Split Pea Soup
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Cozy up with a bowl of homemade split pea soup, rich with smoky bacon and ham—this soup is a hearty meal unto itself.
Split pea soup is a classic American soup made from split peas and a pork-rich broth. While traditional recipes call for a smoked ham bone, locating one in modern-day supermarkets can be quite the treasure hunt. This recipe, modestly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, has a genius workaround: simmering a few slices of thick-cut bacon and a ham steak in the broth to make the soup smoky and extra meaty.
This is one of my favorite soup recipes—it’s simple, brimming with flavor, and hearty enough to serve as a meal. I love garnishing it with crunchy croutons from a fresh baguette, but it’s equally delicious with crusty artisan bread or cornbread.
Table of Contents
“I made it exactly as written and it is the best split pea and ham soup that I have ever made in my life.”
What You’ll Need To Make Split Pea Soup
- Onion and Garlic: These aromatics form the flavor backbone of the soup.
- Chicken Broth: The liquid base of the soup, the broth contributes a savory depth, complementing the natural sweetness of the peas and vegetables. Using low-sodium is necessary to mitigate the saltiness of the pork.
- Water: Added to adjust the soup’s consistency without diluting its flavors.
- Ham Steak: Infuses the soup with a rich, smoky flavor and also adds a hearty, meaty component.
- Bacon: Flavors the broth with a deep, smoky richness.
- Green Split Peas: The star of the soup, green split peas break down during cooking, thickening the soup naturally and providing a creamy texture without the need for dairy.
- Thyme and Bay Leaves: These herbs add a layer of aromatic complexity to the soup
- Carrots and Celery: These vegetables add sweetness, color, and a hint of bitterness, creating a balanced flavor profile.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by sorting through the split peas to remove any rocks or debris.
Rinse the split peas and let drain.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Do not brown.
Add the broth, water, ham steak, bacon, peas, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves.
Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to keep the peas from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are tender but not falling apart, about 45 minutes.
Remove the ham steak and place it on a plate; cover with foil and set aside.
Stir in the carrots and celery and continue to simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender and the peas have almost completely broken down, about 30 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, shred the ham steak into small bite-size pieces with two forks. Cover with foil again.
Remove and discard the thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and bacon slices. Add the shredded ham to the soup.
Return to a simmer. Add a few grinds of pepper, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (depending on the saltiness of the ham and bacon you used, you may need an additional 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt).
How To Make Croutons
Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups of cubed good-quality French or Italian bread.
Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes, then let cool.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the fresh croutons. The soup will thicken as it sits on the stove; thin it with water and adjust seasoning as necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Split peas are peas that have been hulled, dried, and split. They’re available in both green and yellow varieties. Green split peas are a bit sweeter and most commonly used in split pea soup recipes. The yellow variety are are milder in flavor and often used to make Indian dal recipes. Split peas are similar to lentils in that they are both part of the legume family and they don’t need to be soaked prior to cooking.
Split pea soup naturally thickens as the peas break down during cooking and also as it sits, especially if refrigerated. If it’s too thick for your liking, you can easily thin it by adding a bit of chicken or vegetable broth, or even water, until you reach your desired consistency. Remember to adjust the seasonings if needed after adding more liquid.
Yes, the soup can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and refrigerated.The flavors will actually improve as it sits.
Absolutely! Split pea soup freezes beautifully. Once cooled, transfer the soup to airtight containers, leaving about an inch of space at the top to allow for expansion. It can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stove, stirring occasionally.
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Split Pea Soup
Cozy up with a bowl of homemade split pea soup, rich with smoky bacon and ham—this soup is a hearty meal unto itself.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 pound ham steak, skin removed, cut into quarters (see note)
- 3 slices (4 oz) thick-cut bacon, left whole (see note)
- 1 pound green split peas (about 2 cups), picked through and rinsed
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for serving
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 medium carrots, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 medium celery rib, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh croutons, for serving (optional; see instructions below)
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Do not brown.
- Add the broth, water, ham steak, bacon, peas, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to keep the peas from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are tender but not falling apart, about 45 minutes.
- Remove the ham steak and place it on a plate; cover with foil and set aside. Stir in the carrots and celery and continue to simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender and the peas have almost completely broken down, about 30 minutes longer.
- Meanwhile, shred the ham steak into small bite-size pieces with two forks. Cover with foil again.
- Remove and discard the thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and bacon slices. Add the shredded ham to the soup and return to a simmer. Add a few grinds of pepper, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (depending on the saltiness of the ham and bacon you used, you may need an additional ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt). Ladle the soup into bowls and top with fresh croutons, if using. (The soup will thicken as it sits on the stove; thin it with water and adjust seasoning as necessary.)
- Note: A ham steak is a thick slice of cooked ham cut from a whole ham roast. They can be found packaged in the refrigerated meat section of the supermarket, near the bacon.
- Note: Regular sliced bacon can be used, but the thinner slices are a little harder to remove from the soup.
- To Make Fresh Croutons: Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups of cubed good-quality French or Italian bread and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. The soup will thicken once cool, so thin with water and adjust seasoning as necessary.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 431
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fiber: 15 g
- Protein: 34 g
- Sodium: 1,686 mg
- Cholesterol: 57 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Delicious!!!
I love this soup – and so does everybody else for whom I’ve made it. I often fry up the bacon the day before I make the soup, to save time and cleanup when I make the soup and then sprinkle the bacon on top of the soup before serving. I use the bacon fat to cook the onions and garlic. (I love bacon!) If I don’t have fresh thyme, I use a bit of dried thyme. Thank you for such a delicious recipe! I make it often!
Joyce
Very good! The times mentioned in the recipe were spot on with the new pound of split peas that I bought on a whim, after all the news in January of the closure of Pea Soup Andersen’s in Buellton after almost 100 years of operation. I’d seen the billboards advertising them since last century but was always going somewhere else.
I used about half the meat mentioned, with no apparent deficiency.
I was a little confused by the phrase “Remove and discard .. bacon slices.”: what does that mean? Is that really something people do?
So glad you enjoyed it! The recipe calls for discarding the bacon because it’s really just intended to flavor the soup and its texture at the end of cooking is not very appealing. (Some readers have mentioned they’ve left it in the soup and have been happy with it.)
I have made so many recipes from Jen Segal and I am beyond impressed, everything turns out so perfect, recipes are great I just ordered the weekend recipe book. So this pea soup I made for my inlaws and my family with some homemade biscuits also another Jen Segal recipe and they loved it as did we. Try the steakhouse burgers, so good. Thank you so much Jen Segal your recipes are incredible and real
A perfect soup recipe on a snowy, March day. It is simple and absolutely delicious, but does need extra cooking time to achieve pea tenderness. I used a dash of ground thyme in lieu of thyme sprigs.
I love split pea soup, but my husband is not a fan! However, I made this soup using some leftover spiral sliced ham that I had on hand. He ate 3 bowls for dinner, and another two for lunch the next day. He told me to make sure I got the recipe, so it was a great hit! Thanks for sharing.
This is excellent. Flavors are “Bright” and the flavor of the peas is dominant, while everything else has a suberb supporting role. Adding the bacon directly is an unusual approach, but it works!
This recipe is very good. Even better the next day. Followed to the letter in my cast iron pot.
Excellent recipe, made it exactly as listed and it was absolutely delicious!
Just not the same as a real ham and pea soup, smoked ham is just a regular ham that you eat at a meal, they are all smoked or processed to resemble smoked or if you want it real smoked go to a butcher shop or phone around to German, Ukrainian, etc. meat markets.
just isn’t the real thing and uses a lot of processed food