Hearty split pea soup is both delicious & healthy with green split peas, ham, potatoes & carrots.

Hearty Soup Recipe with Green Split Peas

Homemade split pea soup is made with healthy ingredients like dried green split peas, vegetables, and a healthy ham hock bone broth soup base.

No soup bones! No problem… I have included an all veggie soup base with fresh herbs & spices that is just as delicious.

Serve hearty soups with fast pizza dough crescent rolls ,or savory garlic knots. But, everyone at my house loves to have Grandpa’s homemade white bread with butter.

Keep reading to get easy recipe tips, bone broth substitutes, and an easy way to use leftover ham bone to make a delicious soup.

Ready to start cooking? View Recipe

Green Split Pea Soup Recipe With Ham Potato and Carrots – Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

What are Green Split Peas

Green Split peas are dried green peas. When fresh peas are harvested, pods are picked from a vine and shelled. Fresh green peas are then split and dried for green split peas.

Dried split peas are a healthy source of protein and fiber.

“½ cup of cooked split peas contains about 115 calories, 8 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fiber.“
food smart colorado

Good Substitute For Green Peas: yellow split peas or split baby lima beans.

Split Pea Soup Variations – Veggie & Bone Broths

Simple bone broth & vegan broth variations for a hearty dish of split pea soup.

Split Pea Soup With Leftover Holiday Ham: A favorite soup to make with leftover ham bone is split pea soup.

Place your leftover hambone into the soup as indicated in the recipe. Remove when done cooking and crumble ham back into the soup.

Chicken Bone Broth Split Pea Soup: Use chicken stock or chicken bone broth in place of water for a delicious chicken split pea soup.

Split Pea Soup With Beef Bone Broth & Sausage: Substitute beef soup bones or knuckles instead of ham hock.

For a meaty split pea, separately cook beef Italian sausages. Dice or crumble sausage into the cooked soup or place in soup bowls before serving.

Veggie Split Pea Soup Without Ham: For a delicious vegetarian soup base, don’t add soup bones, instead add herbs and spices to your soup.

I have added my go-to soup spices below. I would add them all but you can omit or add more as you see fit.

Soup Spices for a more flavorful soup: 1 tablespoon freshly chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon thyme, ⅛ to ½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper, 3 tablespoons olive oil and salt to taste.

Chopped potato and carrots – Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

Ingredients

Dry split peas 2lb bag of split peas

Uncooked bones 2 lbs pork, beef bones, or chicken bones

Celery stalks

Potatoes red bliss potatoes or russet potatoes

Carrots whole medium carrots are the easiest to dice but you could also use baby carrots.

Onions normally I use white or yellow onion but you could also use red or leaks.

Olive oil extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter

Table Salt or sea salt

Tomato juice 64 oz canned tomato juice, or 12 to 16 fresh medium tomatoes. Place whole tomatoes into boiling water for 1-2 minutes, or until skins start to split. Remove skins when cooled. Blend with a stick or standing blender to make tomato juice.

Soup making tools – Photo by Kristina Snowasp from Pexels

Tools

Large Soup pot
Cooking spoon
Tongs
Cutting board and sharp knife

Steps For A Big Pot Of Soup

Before you start making Green Split Pea Soup With Ham Potato and Carrots be sure to sort out any dirt or rocks and rinse split peas with a little water.

Step 1 – In a large heavy bottom soup pot add all ingredients with 7 cups of water.

Step 2 – Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and reduce heat to a simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally by scraping the bottom of the pan every thirty minutes or so.

Step 3 – Turn off heat. Remove and discard bones with tongs. Crumble leftover ham or cooked sausage into the soup and serve while hot.

Store leftover soup in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight container or place in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

Warm individual servings of leftover soup over medium heat on the stovetop or microwave until hot.

Split pea soup fall table serving suggestions – Photo by Monstera from Pexels

Serving Suggestions

Serve the best split pea soup recipe with crusty bread, homemade rolls, or crispy bagel breadsticks.

Need a quick baked side dish? Use store-bought pizza dough for homemade bread rolls, cheesy breadsticks, or try these other store-bought pizza dough recipes.