I am doing NaBloPoMo this month. 30 blog posts in 30 days. Come join me. #nablopomo2022
I will be the first person to say that split pea soup is not one of the most photogenic meals, but it’s one of my favorite winter soul foods. It’s healthy, filling, and also incredibly easy to prepare. However, it needs a bit of cooking time, but is, therefore, an excellent candidate for the slow cooker (although I usually make it in a Dutch Oven on the stove.)
Most classic split pea recipes call for the addition of ham or bacon, but I’d argue that the soup is delicious without the addition of any meat. We sometimes add chicken (or Deutschländer) sausages to the soup, but we’ve also made it completely vegetarian several times.
And if you’re wondering why I didn’t list any spices in the recipe, it’s because I find that I don’t need any extra spices. The vegetable broth has enough flavor and the cooked ingredients add more flavor to it. Only occasionally do I feel that it needs a little bit more salt at the end but do the taste test and decide for yourself.
A little extra tip: this soup actually tastes even better on the second day, when it had time to sit and thicken up even more. So either prepare accordingly (and cook in advance) or make enough for two days. I’ll be making this a lot in the next few months!
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
16 oz split peas
1 medium onion (chopped0
3 carrots (sliced)
6 stalks of celery (sliced)
6 Baby Dutch Yellow potatoes (cubed)
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
4 chicken sausages (optional)
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil and add the onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Sauté for a few minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, water, and split peas, and bring it up to a boil again. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least 1-1.5 hours (possibly longer) with the lit closed.
- The soup is done when everything has turned soft and the soup has thickened.
- Slice and add pre-cooked chicken sausages and continue simmering for a few more minutes until they’re heated through.
Nutrition
Yields: 5 servings Calories: 270 Sugar: 7.5 g Sodium: 756 mg Fat: 6.1 g Saturated Fat: 1.2 g Carbohydrates: 33.6 g Fiber: 9.7 g Protein: 21.8 g Cholesterol: 52 mg (calculated with MyFitnessPal)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 16 oz split peas
- 1 medium onion (chopped0
- 3 carrots (sliced)
- 6 stalks celery (sliced)
- 6 Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes (cubed)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups water
- 4 chicken sausages (optional)
Heat up the olive oil and add the onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Sauté for a few minutes.
Add the vegetable broth, water, and split peas, and bring it up to a boil again. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least 1-1.5 hours (possibly longer) with the lit closed.
The soup is done when everything has turned soft and the soup has thickened.
Slice and add pre-cooked chicken sausages and continue simmering for a few more minutes until they're heated through.
Yields: 5 servings Calories: 270 Sugar: 7.5 g Sodium: 756 mg Fat: 6.1 g Saturated Fat: 1.2 g Carbohydrates: 33.6 g Fiber: 9.7 g Protein: 21.8 g Cholesterol: 52 mg (calculated with MyFitnessPal)
Suzanne
November 27, 2022 at 3:29 pmThis is one of those foods that I have always WANTED to like because it sounds so warm and hearty. Plus, I love lentil soup and I love spring-pea soup… so it seems like it would be an easy dish to love. But I have never enjoyed it, sadly. I like to blame the ham flavor, so maybe it I tried your meat-free option I would appreciate it more!
San
November 30, 2022 at 9:25 pmOh, I am sorry to hear that you don’t enjoy split pea soup… is it the texture? Although it can’t be, if you like lentil soup. Could be the ham flavor (which can be quite strong)… maybe try it ONE MORE TIME as a vegetarian option ;)
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
November 27, 2022 at 4:35 pmThe soup looks good! I know what you mean by it’s fine with meat or without, though I have to say that the sausage it looking tasty.
San
November 30, 2022 at 9:25 pmThe sausage WAS tasty ;)
Bob
November 27, 2022 at 6:56 pmI like split pea soup – but I didn’t always know I liked it. When I was 5 (this is a very clear memory for me) my mom made split pea soup. I looked at and said, “I’m not going to eat that.” Mom said, “if you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it – but you have to try it.” I refused and went to bed without dinner. Mom reheated that soup for me for breakfast, lunch, dinner the next day; and for breakfast and lunch the day after that. I held out until that second lunch… (Mom and I could both be stubborn.) Tried the soup, decided I liked it, and split pea soup has been a favorite of mine ever since. And no, I wasn’t mistreated as a kid.
Elisabeth
November 28, 2022 at 2:39 amThis story made me laugh and is so relatable.
We’ve done a slight twist on this with our own kids. If they really dislike the food on offer, we’ll say “hopefully you’ll like the next meal more” and send them off to play without having had to eat that meal but without any other option/no snacks until the next meal. So they have an “out” if they find something truly abhorrent, but learn that we aren’t going to capitulate to every whim. That said, I aim to make crowd-pleasing meals, but it’s hard to keep everyone happy. My go-to meal when company visits is Chicken Mango Curry over rice; one child LOVES this dish and the other tolerates it the first night but will say a very quick NO if there is any other option (like we’re using up multiple leftovers and he/she will have a choice over what to pick).
San
November 30, 2022 at 9:28 pmI hear the same stories from my sister and her two kids… sometimes it’s really hard to please everybody ;) but sometimes it’s also good to make kids eat something that they don’t love, but tolerate… not every meal can be your FAVORITE (nor is it supposed to be).
San
November 30, 2022 at 9:27 pmHaha, don’t we all have a story like that?? I love that after two days you decided it was worth proving that you didn’t like split pea soup (as I said, not the most photogenic meal)… but then surprisingly it turned out to be your favorite.
Meike
November 27, 2022 at 7:13 pmI love a good split pea soup! It brings good memories of hiking days in the town where I grew up when the voluntary fire department made it in the ‘Gulaschkanone’ for lunch. You could bring your pot from home and have them fill it up (or have it for lunch there). It was always the best.
San
November 30, 2022 at 9:29 pmOh yeah, I have a memory like that from back home… for the local “Schützenfest”, every Tuesday was “Erbsensuppenessen” and everybody was invited :)
J
November 27, 2022 at 7:20 pmI really like Split Pea Soup. My favorite recipe has a nice addition of chopped fresh spinach leaves. I do like it with ham, but I’ll bet a vegetarian version would be lovely as well.
San
November 30, 2022 at 9:29 pmOh, chopped fresh spinach! Now that sounds like a nice addition!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
November 27, 2022 at 11:43 pmI love love love pea soup. I usually buy it canned from. the discounter. Best one I ever had. But then I never really attempted to make it myself. Maybe I should give it a try.
San
November 30, 2022 at 9:31 pmThere is pretty good canned split pea soup here, too, but since it’s so easy to make (and it freezes well, btw!), I’d rather make it myself and know what’s in it :)
Jenny
November 28, 2022 at 5:02 pmThis looks delicious- I would probably like it without the “meat” but my family likes a good vegan sausage. Oh, and I think most soups taste better the second day. I’ll try this!
San
November 30, 2022 at 9:31 pmYes, I agree, I also think MOST soups taste better the second day ;)