Warm, thick, and packed with smoky flavor, this Instant Pot Split Pea Soup transforms simple ingredients into a comforting meal that tastes like it cooked all day.
Why You’ll Love It
- Flavor: This soup is rich, smoky, and full of flavor. It has a creamy texture and savory taste with a hint of natural sweetness that makes every spoonful warm, hearty, and satisfying.
- Skill Level: It’s a beginner friendly recipe that is easy to follow. With a quick sauté to build flavor, the Instant Pot cooks the dried peas until they are soft and creamy without soaking.
- Budget: This budget friendly meal is made with low cost ingredients like dried split peas and leftover ham for a hearty family sized batch with plenty of leftovers for easy weekday meal prep!
- Serving: Split pea and ham soup is delicious served with some crusty bread, biscuits, jalapeno cornbread muffins, or a simple cucumber tomato salad.
Split Pea Soup Ingredients
- Dried Split Peas: Choose green split peas which are sweet and earthy, or yellow which have a milder flavor. In either case, rinse and check for any debris.
- Ham Bone: Seasons the broth as the soup cooks for the best flavor. Remove meat after cooking, chop, and stir back in.
- Broth:
- Use chicken broth for a light, savory flavor.
- Try beef broth with water for a more deep and rich flavor. If the ham is salty, choose low sodium broth options to balance it out.
- Vegetables: Dice them up small for delish flavor in every spoonful!
- Carrots add sweetness and color.
- Celery adds a savory depth.
- Aromatics:
- Use yellow or white onions to build a tasty flavor base
- Mince garlic but be sure to add it after veggies have softened to avoid a burnt flavor.
- Seasonings:
- A bay leaf adds a gentle, earthy depth that slowly builds flavor as the soup cooks, but should be removed before serving.
- Thyme leaves bring a light, herby taste that pairs well with smoky ham and sweet peas.
- Black pepper adds warmth and a bit of spicy kick that wakes up the whole bowl
- Parsley gives a fresh, clean finish stirred in at the end. Fresh is best but dried works in a pinch.
- Salt (only if needed) enhances everything and helps balance the savory and smoky notes. Taste finished soup before adding.
- Swaps:
- You can use leftover holiday ham, ham steak, or diced boneless ham if you don’t have a ham bone. A smoked ham hock would give an extra smoky flavor.
- For a vegetarian soup sub in potatoes in place of ham and use vegetable broth.
- Extra parsley, croutons, or a splash of lemon juice are all optional, yet tasty garnishes.
How to Make Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
- With the saute function, cook the vegetables, then add garlic.
- Deglaze the pot with broth, then stir in peas, ham, and seasonings.
- Pressure cook, then partially natural release. (Full recipe below.)
- Remove bay leaf and ham bone, chop and stir ham in, and season.
Make Ahead and Store
- Refrigerate cooled no soak split pea soup in an airtight container, or in individual containers, for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat on the stovetop over medium low heat or in the microwave, stirring often. Add broth or water to loosen up thick soup.
Cozy Instant Pot Soups
Did you make this Instant Pot split pea soup? Leave a comment and rating below.
Instant Pot Split Pea Soup With Ham
This pressure cooker split pea soup is a comforting, budget-friendly meal made with simple vegetables, broth, and a ham bone or chopped ham.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried split peas yellow or green (1 pound)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 ribs celery diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 6 cups chicken broth or 3 cups beef broth and 3 cups water
- 1 meaty ham bone or 2 cups chopped ham
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons chopped parsley fresh or dried, plus more for optional garnish
- salt *optional, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse peas, remove any debris, and drain well. Set aside.
- Select SAUTE setting on Instant Pot. Add olive oil. Once oil is shimmering, add celery, carrots, and onion. Cook until onions are almost translucent, about 4 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add broth and stir, scraping any bits from the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add peas and stir. Add ham bone (or ham), bay leaf, thyme, and pepper.
- Seal the lid and using MANUAL setting, set for 18 minutes on high pressure.
- Allow natural release for 15 minutes, then manually release remaining pressure.
- Remove bay leaf. If using ham bone, remove from the soup, remove any meat from the bone, chop the meat, and add the meat to the soup.
- Add parsley and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt if needed, then serve. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Notes
*Salt may not be necessary depending on the salt level of the broth and ham. Taste before adding it.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 228 | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 86mg | Potassium: 758mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3158IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
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