This split pea soup recipe is just what you need during cold winter days. It makes one of the most soothing and heartwarming soups that make you want to stay inside all day, just sipping bowls of warm comfort.
What Is Split Pea Soup?
Split pea soup is made from dried peas, such as split peas or green beans. It is often greyish-green or yellow depending on the types of peas used.
The split pea soup recipe is an ancient recipe that has been enjoyed across cultures and in many cuisines. In the United States, split pea soup is often cooked from powdered concentrates.
Split pea soup can be a smooth puree as pumpkin soup or a thinner soup with visible peas, vegetables, and baked bacon. It has a smoked flavor and lightly sweet taste that everyone will love!
Is Split Pea Soup Healthy?
Sipping a bowl of hearty split pea soup not only brings you instant warmth, no matter how cold or sad you maybe, but also offers a variety of health benefits.
Helps weight loss: According to scientists and personal experience, soups can be as filling as solid foods. You can serve your favorite soup as a regular meal without worrying you’ll become hungry again soon.
Consider including some meat into your split pea soup recipe to add protein if needed. A side salad would also be a wonderful complement to this split pea soup recipe.
Improves bone health and wound healing: Split peas are especially rich in vitamin K. This type of vitamin teams up with vitamin D to make sure that calcium gets delivered properly into the bones, thus helping them develop normally.
Moreover, vitamin K plays an important role in triggering blood clotting; protecting you from blood loss. With a smaller chance of severe bleeding from cuts, your wound may heal more quickly and effectively.
Has a positive effect on heart health: These wonderful peas also contain a significant amount of heart-healthy minerals like potassium and magnesium. The combination of such minerals helps relieve tension in your blood vessel walls, preventing high blood pressure and preventing the risk of heart disease.
Fuels gut bacteria: Pulses, like beans, peas, and lentils are some of the best sources of fiber to nourish your gut bacteria. Balanced and thriving gut bacteria is essential for good health. Pulses are also associated with improved heart health, digestive function, weight management, and reduced cancer risk.
Split Pea Soup Nutrition
While canned split pea soup can be found at any local store, we suggest you make it at home. Preparing homemade split pea soup not only helps you avoid some food additives but also improves the nutritional content significantly.
1. Calories
Each serving of our split pea soup recipe contains 248 calories. We suggest serving this soup as a side dish with a main dish for a nutritious 750-calorie dinner or lunch.
2. Carbs
Split pea soup is a great all-in-one meal. Each serving of this split pea soup recipe contains 33 grams of carbohydrates which is 11% of the recommended daily intake for women. Containing various types of vegetables, this soup is also a good source of fiber (12 grams per serving) and vitamins A and C.
This split pea soup recipe is an easy way to help you get all your essential nutrients in one dish.
Split Pea Soup Ingredients
With a shortlist of ingredients, split pea soup is such a humble soup. All you need to do is simmer split peas with vegetables of your choice until thick and hearty.
The basic split pea soup recipe calls for 4 main ingredients:
- Split pea
- Onions
- Heavy cream
- Bacon
Simple available ingredients make a comforting dish that is savory, sweet, creamy with a touch of smoky. For a vegetarian version, you can leave the bacon out.
How To Make Split Pea Soup
So what makes the best split pea soup? High-quality ingredients and a proper cooking method. Here are some key takeaways to help you achieve a simple, yet savory soup on your first try!
Step 1: Prep the peas
Heat peas and water to boiling in a small soup pot. Boil uncovered for a few minutes, remove from heat. Cover and let stand for at least 2 hours.
Step 2: Saute vegetables
Heat olive oil in a small soup pot over medium heat. Add any of your favorite vegetables and saute them. A little chopped garlic in this step would be a nice addition to impart to the soup flavor.
Step 3: Add split peas and herbs
Add split peas and bay leaf, and continue stirring until combined.
Step 4: Add liquid
Pour in chicken broth into the pot. You should season the mixture slightly with salt and pepper.
Step 5: Simmer
Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce to low heat. Cover the pot and simmer for about 1 hour or until the peas are tender.
Step 6: Blend
Use a handheld stick blender or a regular blender to puree the soup until you have a smoother texture. However, remember to let your soup cool down a bit before jumping into this step.
Step 7: Serve
Top your split pea soup with baked bacon, ham, or croutons. This hearty soup tastes best when still warm, so don’t forget to reheat it before serving.
How Long to Cook Split Peas
The cooking time of the split pea soup recipe depends on the way you prepare split peas. Soaking peas in water shortens their cooking time.
Unsoaked peas require 1-2 hours of simmering while the soaked ones take less than 1 hour.
How Do You Thicken Split Pea Soup?
If your soup is looking a bit too thin or doesn’t have the exact density that you desire, you may have unintentionally added a little too much water. Well, don’t panic, because there’s a way back!
There are several easy and simple methods to handle the situation, using something you may already have on hand:
Cornstarch: This one is an incredibly versatile ingredient that cannot only be used to make the coating mix for classic fried chicken or to form a sturdy pizza crust but is also effective as a thickener. Plus, due to having no flavor at all, it will not spoil the taste of your soup.
Simply whisk a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch into a little bit of cold water in a separate bowl before adding it slowly into your soup. This prevents the cornstarch from congealing and helps it dissolve into the soup evenly.
Cream: Using a cream to lend a silky mouthfeel and rich flavor to your soup is one of the easiest ways to thicken your soup. Be sure to add the cream near the end of cooking.
If the cream stays in boiling soup liquid for too long, it will curdle into floating chunks, which is not nice at all.
What Goes with Split Pea Soup
1. Ham and Carrots
Ham and carrots are made for each other. Carrots add sweetness to almost any soups while savory ham balances out the earthy flavor of the peas.
If you can’t find fresh ham, look in the frozen meat section for the frozen one.
2. Bacon
Giving the soup a smokey flavor, bacon is a wonderful enhancer. Crispy bacon also makes an interesting contrast to the silky texture of the soup.
3. Potatoes
Potatoes release starches to create a silky texture. We love traditional veggies like onion, celery, but you can substitute other ingredients or greens like spinach.
How Long Does Split Pea Soup Last?
At room temperature, you should finish the soup within 2 hours. If you store it in the fridge, split pea soup will last up to 3 days.
Can You Freeze Split Pea Soup?
Yes, you can. Frozen split pea soup can last up to 6 months. The split pea soup recipe contains dairy so we recommend using the ice method to reduce the soup temperature instead of letting it cool down at room temperature.
For the ice method, simply place your container in a bowl filled with ice and cold water. Stir the container regularly so that the food cools down evenly.
Split Pea Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 oz onion chopped
- 1 oz celery chopped
- 1 oz carrot chopped
- 1 tsp bay leaf
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 6 oz green split peas
- 3 cup unsalted chicken broth
- 0.4 oz baked bacon
- 1 oz baguette bread baked
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Instructions
- Heat peas and water to boiling in a small soup pot. Boil uncovered 3 minutes, remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 2-4 hours.
- Heat butter in a large pot over small heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and onion. Cook and stir often for 8 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
- Add split peas, bay leaf and continue stirring until combined.
- Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil, then season with salt and pepper.
- Cover the pot, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, until the split peas are soft and falling apart and the soup is thickened to desired consistency. You may simmer without the lid for the last 10-15 minutes if you would prefer some liquid to evaporate and the soup to further thicken. Remember to stir occasionally and more frequently when the soup starts to thicken.
- Remove from the heat and blend with immersion blend.
- Pour the soup back into the pot, then stir in the cream. Top with the cooked bacon and the baked crouton bread.
Nutrition
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How much is a serving, 1/2 cup or 1 cup?
Hi Kathy, one serving is about 1/2 cup.
I love it. Flavorful!!!!!!!!!!!!