Soups · American
Split Pea Soup
Thick, smoky green split pea soup simmered with ham hocks and blended as smooth as you like.
- Hands-on
- 25 min
- Hands-off
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 25 min
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Serves
- 6
15 min prep, about 1 hour to come to the boil and simmer covered (stir now and then), then about 10 min to pick the meat off the hocks and blend. The original total is 1 h 15 min; we add the time for picking the meat and blending.
- easy
- dairy-free
- winter
- make-ahead
- freezer-friendly
- one-pot
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Doubles in a big enough pot. A fuller pot takes longer to come to the boil, and older split peas can take longer to soften, so judge by texture, not the clock. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: large soup pot or Dutch oven with a lid · kitchen string · sieve or colander · immersion (stick) blender, or a stand blender · bowl, two forks and a cutting board for the hocks · ladle
Contains: celery (EU)
Method
Sort and rinse the peas
Spread the 454 g (1 lb) of split peas on a plate or tray and pick out any small stones or shrivelled peas. Rinse them in a sieve and drain.
Fill the pot
Put the peas, the 2 smoked ham hocks, the chopped carrot, celery stalk and onion into a large soup pot. Tie the 10 parsley sprigs, 4 thyme sprigs and the bay leaf into a bundle with kitchen string and add it. Pour in 1.4 L (6 cups) low-sodium chicken broth (or water) and add 1 tsp kosher salt.
Bring to the boil
Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, stirring now and then so the peas don't stick to the bottom.
Ready when: Big bubbles break across the whole surface.
Simmer until the peas are soft
Turn the heat down so the soup just bubbles gently, cover the pot and simmer for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Stir now and then, scraping the bottom.
Ready when: A pea crushes easily between your fingers or against the side of the pot, with no hard centre, and many peas are starting to fall apart. If they're still firm, keep simmering and check every 10-15 minutes.
Take out the hocks and herbs
Turn off the burner and move the pot off it. Lift the hocks into a bowl to cool a little, and fish out the herb bundle and throw it away.
Pick the meat
When the hocks are cool enough to handle, pull off the meat. Throw away the bones, fat and skin, and cut the meat into small cubes.
Blend
Blend the soup with an immersion blender until it's as smooth as you like. If you use a stand blender, let the soup cool for about 5 minutes first and blend it in batches. Fill the jar only halfway, leave one corner of the lid open and hold a folded towel over the top.
Otto tried this firstOtto fills the blender to the brim with hot soup and clamps the lid down. Steam pushes the lid off and hot soup sprays out. Fill it only halfway, vent the lid and cover it with a towel.Reheat with the ham and season
Return the soup to a gentle simmer, stir in the cubed ham, and season with salt and pepper. Serve in warm bowls.
Ready when: Steaming hot all the way through, with small bubbles at the surface. The ham is hot too.
Swaps
- Instead of chicken broth: water, or half broth and half water Water gives a lighter soup. Taste before adding more salt, because smoked hocks add salt too.
- Instead of 2 smoked ham hocks: a leftover ham bone plus about 1 cup (150 g) chopped cooked ham Simmer with the bone, then pull off any meat. Leftover-ham versions often simmer longer, uncovered, until the peas are very soft and falling apart (1 1/2 to 2 hours).
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- Make it a day ahead. It thickens as it sits, so loosen it with a splash of water or broth when you reheat it and adjust the salt.
- Storage
- Cool it quickly by dividing it into smaller containers, and refrigerate it within 2 hours. It keeps for 3 to 4 days in the fridge or 3 to 4 months in the freezer.
- Reheat
- Reheat on the stove, stirring often so it doesn't catch on the bottom, until it's steaming hot all the way through (74°C / 165°F). Add a little water if it's too thick.
If something goes wrong
- Peas still firm after an hour Why: Old dried peas, or the simmer was too gentle.
Keep simmering and check every 10-15 minutes. Some pots need up to 2 hours before the peas fall apart. - Soup is very thick or set in the fridge Why: Split peas keep absorbing liquid as the soup stands.
Thin it with water or broth while you reheat it, then check the salt again.
Good to know
- Blend all of it for a velvety soup, or only half for a chunkier one.
- Smoked hocks bring salt and smoke, so taste the soup before you add more salt at the end.
- Stir and scrape the bottom of the pot now and then, especially while it comes to the boil, so the peas don't stick and scorch.
Safety
- Hot soup in a blender can blow the lid off. Let it cool for 5 minutes, fill the blender only halfway, vent the lid and cover it with a towel.
- A full soup pot is heavy and very hot. Keep the handles turned inward, and keep children away from the stove and the blender.
- Ham hock bones have small sharp pieces. Pick the meat carefully and throw away all bone.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
- Store-bought broth can contain wheat, celery or other allergens. Check the label.