This Easy Split Pea Soup Recipe is comfort in a bowl. Use bacon or leftover ham, chopped carrots, onions, potatoes, and dried split peas to create a delicious hearty soup that’s creamy and delicious.
Happy day after Christmas! Today is the perfect day for making a lazy soup while lounging around playing with all your new holiday gifts. I made this split pea soup with bacon, but if you have a leftover ham bone from Christmas, save it and use it in this soup! It’s the perfect use for it without letting the ham bone go to waste!
This recipe for split pea soup is total comfort for me. I love that it’s made up of tons of veggies, savory and salty ham, or bacon and potatoes that add a bit more of a hearty, chunky, and creamy texture.
How To Make Split Pea Soup With Bacon
This recipe is a cinch to make.
- Start by browning your bacon in a large pot.
- Next, add your onion, followed by garlic, celery, carrots, and spices, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes or so.
- Add your stock, potatoes, and split peas, and then let the soup languish over low heat on the stove for about 2 hours or so until your potatoes and split peas are softened and the flavors have melded nicely together.
- Allow the soup to cool for a few minutes. Then top with homemade croutons, a sprinkling of shredded parmesan, and fresh thyme. Enjoy!
How To Make This Split Pea Soup With Ham
Making this split pea soup with ham is just as easy. If you’re using leftover cooked ham, and or a hambone, make these slight alterations to the recipe:
- Add the cooked ham and/or the ham bone to the soup after you add the chicken stock, along with the potatoes and peas. Continue cooking as directed.
- Additionally, hold off on the salt, as the ham will likely make the soup salty enough. You can add more to taste after it’s been simmering for a while.
I love this soup, especially when topped with baked garlic and Parmesan croutons. Delicious!
If you make this Easy Split Pea Soup Recipe, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment below to tell me what you think, or tag me on Instagram!
More Cozy Soup Recipes
- One Pot Chicken Minestrone Soup
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- The Best (And Easiest!) Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Summer Corn Chowder
- Easy Crockpot White Chicken Chili
Easy Split Pea Soup Recipe (With Bacon Or Ham)
Ingredients
- 6-8 strips of bacon, chopped (if using leftover ham, or a ham bone, see notes above)
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 small yukon gold potatoes, chopped i
- 1 lb split peas, rinced
- 10-12 cups chicken stock (or ham bone stock if you have it!) (your soup will be thicker if you add less stock, and thinner if you add more. Go with whatever you prefer.)
- salt and pepper to taste
- baked garlic and parmesan croutons, fresh thyme, and extra Parmesan for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook chopped bacon over medium heat until browned.
- Add olive oil and onion to pot and continue cooking until onions become translucent.
- Add garlic, celery, carrots, and spices and cook an additional 5 minutes.
- Add potatoes, split peas and chicken stock and stir well to combine.
- Let the soup simmer lazily on the stove over low heat for 1 ½ - 2 hours, stirring every so often to prevent the peas from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Taste soup and add extra salt as needed.
- Allow soup to cool slightly for 5 minutes then serve in bowls topped with croutons, fresh thyme, and grated Parmesan.
Did you try this recipe? Tell me what you think!