Split Pea and Ham Soup

This easy split pea soup recipe is extra thick and hearty, simmered to perfection with savory ham and flavorful vegetables.

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword ham, peas

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 322kcal

Author Sara Garska

Cost $8

To Prep: If using a hambone, remove any fat or meat that you can. I had about one cup of ham that I reserved to add at the very end of the cooking.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat in a large heavy bottomed pot.
Add chopped onion and about ½ teaspoon of salt and gently sauté for about five minutes.
Add celery, carrots, garlic, and sauté for a few minutes.
Add ham bone and split peas.
Add water to cover everything.
Simmer, covered for about an hour until the peas are tender. Remove the hambone.
Add more salt if needed and pepper if desired.

Nutrition information is provided as an estimate only.

Prep Tips:

Ham - Leftover hambones add a little extra flavor if you have one on hand. Another option is to buy a smoked ham hock at the grocery store. I don’t have any experience with these but I have seen them and know that some people use them to flavor soups. However, if you don't have a leftover ham bone at the ready, you can simply stir in cooked cubed ham after the soup is done cooking.
Split Pea Cooking Time - My bag of split peas said they would cook in half an hour, so that’s why the step-by-step picture shows me adding them after cooking the vegetables for a bit. Next time, I would just cook everything together because it actually took over an hour to get the peas cooked.
Seasoning - When using a cooked ham, you may find that the meat is already seasoned or has salt added, so I recommend waiting to taste the final product before adding more salt. I waited until the soup was done cooking to see if it needed salt, and I didn’t need to add anymore.