Creamy Traditional Split Pea Soup (Printable Version)

A comforting bowl of creamy split pea soup packed with hearty vegetables and smoky flavors, perfect for cold winter days.

# What You'll Need:

→ Legumes

01 - 2 cups dried split green peas, rinsed

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 large onion, diced
03 - 2 carrots, peeled and diced
04 - 2 celery stalks, diced
05 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
06 - 1 medium potato, peeled and diced

→ Aromatics & Liquids

07 - 1 bay leaf
08 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
09 - 6 cups vegetable broth
10 - 1 tablespoon olive oil

→ Optional

11 - 1 cup diced smoked ham or 1 ham bone

→ Seasonings

12 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
13 - Salt to taste

# Cooking Steps:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, carrots, and celery; sauté for 5 minutes until softened.
02 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add split peas, diced potato, bay leaf, thyme, and vegetable broth. If using, add smoked ham or ham bone.
04 - Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until peas are soft and soup thickens.
05 - Remove the ham bone and bay leaf. If using diced ham, stir it back into the soup.
06 - For a creamier texture, use an immersion blender to puree part of the soup, or blend half in a blender and return to the pot.
07 - Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's the kind of soup that actually gets better as you sit with it, the flavors deepening while you work on other things.
  • One pot means less cleanup, which somehow makes the whole experience feel less like cooking and more like self-care.
  • Vegetarian by nature but flexible enough for anyone at your table, smoky and satisfying regardless of which version you choose.
02 -
  • Don't salt the soup heavily until the very end—as it simmers, everything concentrates, and you can always add more but you can't take it back.
  • If you're making this ahead, the soup will thicken significantly as it cools and sits, so add extra broth when you reheat it to get back to that perfect consistency.
03 -
  • If your soup ends up too thick, resist the urge to add cream—just stir in more warm broth and it'll come right back to the consistency you want without changing the flavor.
  • The ham bone option is worth exploring if you can find one; it costs almost nothing and gives you a depth of flavor you can't create any other way, and then you can eat the marrow after you remove it from the soup.
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