Split Pea Soup

If you’ve never tried split pea soup before, this is your sign to do so! It is so hearty and cozy, super nourishing, healthy, and delicious. It’s salty, smoky, a bit earthy and is made with simple vegetables, dried split peas, and spices. If you’re on a budget, this would be an awesome recipe to make as potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, and dried split peas are all quite inexpensive. It also reheats well for leftovers!

Split pea soup has always been one of my favorite soups. I love the texture of the split peas and the small, creamy cubes of potato. The split peas have so much flavor on their own - a bit earthy and super savory - and only need some salty broth and a little touch of smokiness to really highlight their natural flavor. It is often made with ham which gives it this nice saltiness and smokiness; however, this recipe achieves a smoky flavor without the ham. There is no meat in this recipe, but the simple addition of a little bit of liquid smoke gives it the flavor of a more traditional recipe while keeping it vegetarian/vegan.

Some people will puree the soup or cook it so long that the split peas completely disintegrate into a thick soup, but I think a brothier soup with split peas that still have some shape, texture to them, is so much more interesting and delicious!

is split pea soup healthy?

This split pea soup is very healthy. Split peas have an amazing 16g of protein AND 16g of fiber per cup of cooked split peas. In addition to the split peas, this recipe is simply filled with nourishing vegetables, broth, and spices, so it’s low in calories, yet super filling. You can sauté the vegetables in oil if you wish, but it’s not at all necessary. I simply sauté the vegetables in a splash of water, adding more as necessary to prevent sticking.

what’s the difference between split peas and green peas?

Split peas are are actually green peas that have been peeled and dried. Surprisingly, they do not taste like green peas when cooked. If you were to make a pea soup (from fresh or frozen peas that were blended) it would bear a different result. I, personally, find the flavor of pea soup off putting, yet split pea soup is one of my favorites!

DO YOU NEED TO SOAK SPLIT PEAS BEFORE COOKING?

You do not need to soak the split peas before cooking. If you do so, it will reduce the cooking time; however this will also reduce the amount of time the vegetables are cooked which is fine if you don’t mind them to be firmer, but the cooking time of this recipe results in soft, silky vegetables.

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THE RECIPE

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Split Pea Soup

Author: MADELINE APPEL

Ingredients

• 1 TBS olive oil (optional)
• 1 small/medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 celery stalks, chopped in small pieces
• 3 medium/large carrots, diced
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups vegetable broth (I used water + 2 tsp Vegetable Better than Bouillon)
• 1 1/2 cups split peas, rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 3/4 tsp dried chili flakes
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• black pepper and salt to taste

Instructions

1. Finely dice the onion, celery, carrot, and cube the potato - set aside.
2. In a large, heavy bottom pot, heat the oil on medium heat - or if you'd prefer to not use oil, add a splash of water to water-saute the vegetables. Add the onion, celery, and carrot, and cook while stirring occasionally until the onion is translucent and the vegetables have softened (add splashes of water as necessary to prevent sticking if water-sauteing).
3. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, stirring constantly so the garlic doesn't burn.
4. Add the broth, cubed potato, rinsed split peas, and all of the spices, including the liquid smoke. Bring to a boil, then cover, turn down to medium/low, and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the split peas are soft and starting to fall apart.