Whenever I go to a restaurant and I ask what the Soup of the Day is, servers may find me the rudest person ever when I roll my eyes whenever they say “Split Pea.” What can I tell you? I never appealed to me. Maybe it was the color and the thin, runny look to it and often bland flavor that didn’t necessarily make it the Rolls Royce of soups.
Well I had a LOT of my followers request this soup and being that I wanted to honor such a common request, I decided to make this soup on my terms, my way and done right. No sad, thin, green slop here. Nothing less than an abundant, filling, flavorful Split Pea Soup fit for a Queen or King! And I’ll tell you this. It has now become one of my favorite soups.
It’s super easy to make in your Instant Pot and will split all the odds of ever doubting a Split Pea Soup again!
Here’s How I Made It!:
Like practically 90% of all recipes, take an onion…
…and dice it up!
Then take some carrots and celery…
…and do the same.
Mmmm…bacon. Take some thick slabs of that piggy…
…and slice it up into course pieces.
Now go to the Instant Pot, heat it up, take some butter…
…and allow it to melt and bubble.
Then, add in the veggies we diced up.
Allow them to cook in the butter while stirring occasionally.
Then, add in that luscious bacon…
…also allowing it to cook for a bit in the butter alongside the veggies.
Once it has become juicy like a ham, we are good!
Time to break out the Steve Perry, because we’re gonna introduce some Sherry to this party!
Allow everything to simmer in the Sherry for a minute….
…and then add in a bunch of broth.
Now season it up with some pepper…
…oregano…
…thyme…
…and Worcestershire sauce.
Give it all a good stir.
Now what’s Split Pea Soup without split peas?!
Rinse them and add that greenery to the pot…
…along with a few bay leaves.
Give it all a final stir, secure the lid and cook at high pressure.
When done, give the soup a good stir – especially from the bottom up…
…and you’ll see the peas marry into the soup, giving it a wonderfully thick and creamy consistency.
Speaking of creamy, if you feel so inclined, I’d suggest adding a little dairy to the mix (hello, Boursin!).
…and giving it a final stir! This soup is now ready to serve!
Ladle into some bowls…
…stick a spoon in it…
…brace yourselves for the taste test. For if you once never cared for this green soup…
…something is about to change once it crosses your lips.
Minds changed; minds blown.
Hands-down, the best Split Pea Soup recipe ever. It’ll make all the others green with envy!
Enjoy!
At the time of this post, Pressure Luck exclusively uses Better Than Bouillon/Southeastern Mills for all soup bases and bouillon
Instant Pot Best Split Pea Soup
I used to not be into Split Pea Soup. Something about the name, color and viewin The Exorcist, I suppose. But I had lots of requests to create one. And folks, I'm glad I did because this one is truly splendid.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp of salted butter
- 8 oz of thick-cut bacon or pancetta, diced OR 1 ham bone or ham hock
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup of Sherry (cooking Sherry is fine too. If not using the Sherry, add in 1/2 cup more broth below)
- 5.5 cups of chicken, garlic and/or ham broth (you can use 2.5 cups of each broth; I used 3 tsp of Garlic Better Than Bouillon + 3 cups of water and 2.5 tsp of Ham Better Than Bouillon + 2.5 cups of water but you can use 5 cups of only one flavor if desired)
- 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1 tsp of dried thyme
- 1 tsp of oregano
- 1 lb of dry split green peas, rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp or 1/4 cup of Boursin cheese (any flavor) or even cream cheese or sour cream (all optional)
Instructions
- Add butter to the Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi and hit “Sauté.” Once the butter’s melted and bubbling, add the onions, celery and carrots. Let sauté for 5 minutes, stirring and setting and then add in the bacon or pancetta (if using in place of a ham bone). Allow to cook for another 10 minutes as it will cook like a tender ham
- Add in the Sherry and allow to simmer for another minute. Then, add in the broth, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, thyme, oregano bay leaves and split peas (if using a ham bone/hock, add that in now as well)
- Secure the lid and hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” and then hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” and cook for 15 minutes at high pressure. Allow a 15 minute natural release when done followed by a quick release
- Stir all the contents in the pot from the bottom up as the split peas will have basically become a purée and will thicken the soup immediately once stirred up. If you want a slightly thinner soup, add in another cup of your choice of broth now
- Stir in the Boursin (if using, which I suggest) until melded
- Enjoy! *NOTE: See the yellow “Jeffrey Sez” section on how to reheat any leftovers
Jeffrey's Tips
*Re-heating Tip: If you have leftovers, the soup with get very thick in the fridge – almost like a paste. This is because the peas continue to absorb the broth once cooled in the fridge. Once re-heated on the stove, it will be become soup-like again. But to achieve this, add some more broth of your choice while re-heating and mix well to thin it out a bit. As a proper ratio, use 1/3 to 1/2 cup of broth for each 1 cup of leftover soup you heat up (it will be scoop-able once refrigerated for easy measuring). The more broth added to reheating, the thinner the soup.
Got a leftover meaty ham bone from the holidays? Great! Use that instead of the bacon/pancetta!
Want it vegetarian? Skip the bacon and ham broth! Just use garlic, chicken or vegetable broth!
If you feel the final soup is too thick for your liking when done, simply stir in another cup of any broth just before serving.
Paula Packard
Making split pea soup in Maine for my son to take to work in New York!
Jeffrey
So sweet!
Kevin N
This recipe is simply amazing.
We tried this over the weekend and we couldn’t get enough of it! We had leftover ham from a previous meal and used that instead of bacon, so our soup had lots of delicious chunks of ham in it. The seasoning was perfect, and the leftovers tasted like fresh-made with the addition of just a little bit of water to thin it back out.
Jeffrey, you’ve outdone yourself with this one. This is in our top five homemade meals, and it was so easy to make! We already have another bag of split peas on the shopping list so we’ll be ready to make it again.
Jeffrey
What a wonderful comment! I’m so happy you enjoyed the soup, Kevin!
Diane
Making this today on a snowy rainy day here in Maine!
Shari
This is fantastic!!! I have made several of your other recipes in the past. All have been amazing. You are the Instant Pot whisperer!!!!
Jeffrey
Thank you so much!
Mary
I’m making this soup today with leftover ham from our late Christmas family gathering. I’ve made it several times before and it’s the BEST recipe there is! I make it exactly as written. I’ve become a big Boursin cheese fan, too. After 21 inches of snow in the past 3 days, we’re ready for some rest & good comfort food. This soup fits the request!! Thankyou for the wonderful recipe!!!
Polly Workinger
I would never do the sherry, because my fella hates alcohol and can smell and taste it a city block away. I made this without, and hands down, it was the best split pea with bacon and ham soup I’ve ever had in my life…..
never again will I entertain canned soup. Thanks for the recipe
MissyG
You know what’s great with this recipe if not using Sherry? Splashing in a bit of Sherry Vinegar at the end. Go slow ans you can easily go overboard with that stuff, and add to taste of course. It’s amazing and no alcoholic
MissyG
You know what’s great with this recipe if not using Sherry? Splashing in a bit of Sherry Vinegar at the end. Go slow as you can easily go overboard with that stuff, and add to taste of course. It’s amazing and no alcohol
Michael
Just made this tonight and it was amazing! Thanks for another awesome recipe for the IP.
Gisele Phipps
My husband and I LOVE pea soup and this is the very best recipe. We go through it so fast I have a double recipe on in my 8qt IP. We had a lot of Christmas ham leftover so next to make will be bean and ham soup. Thank you Jeffery for all the best recipes! I bought my daughter your cookbook for Christmas (I have a Kindle version) and she was so excited. I didn’t know but it was on her wish list!
Mark and Mom
Making this for my 91 year old Mom who says she has a hankering for split pea soup on this cold and blustery Jersey coast day. Love all your recipes…so i know she will love this soup too!!
Jo Lynne Nugent
I’m left wondering what we do with the ham bone besides putting in the soup. Do we cut ham off it to get some in the soup?
sue
it should falloffbut when you pull the bone out if theres still hamon it pull it off toss ham back in back
Linda
Can the leftovers be frozen? Thanks so much!!
Patricia Walls
Would the instructions be the same if I used yellow split peas instead of green. Also, the lay time I used my cooking sherry it seemed to be very salty,is regular sherry the same as I have never tasted it? Thanks for all your amazing recipes!
Noreen G Eads
When I make YELLOW split pea soup, I make it Swedish -style:
6 pounds dry yellow split (or whole) peas
1 ham bone
6 bay leaves
2 T whole cloves
2 T salt
1 tsp pepper
3 cloves garlic
4 pounds of grated carrots
8 med onions
½ c chopped parsley
1 quart cubed cooked ham
The CLOVES are wonderful with the yellow peas!!!!
Mel
Yes,I don’t like to use cooking Sherry cause it’s very salty..Regular sherry is so much better
Donis
Curious why the directions say 2TBSP or 1/4 cup of the Boursin? That doesn’t seem like the same measurement. Thank you!
MissyG
You’re correct in that 2 Tablespoons is actually 1/8 cup, but 4 Tablespoons is a 1/4 cup and that’s what I use. It comes out perfect.
Mike
Is there any way to make this without ham or pork. I was thinking a hotdog as a substitute.
Cheryl
I made it with a smoked turkey wing instead of ham (same substitution I do when I make greens) and it was great.
Wendy
Awesome idea …. Thanks my hubby’s cholesterol needs help so I’ll be doing turkey wings with this 😊
Mary Laiuppa
Use a drop or two of Liquid Smoke. After it’s done put in a drop or two and stir.
Sandie Young
Thank you Jeffrey, for this wonderful recipe. I have made green split pea soup for many years, though never used an Instant Pot before, I am grateful you tell just what to do so I don’t mess up.I have always made a robust soup but yours sounds so much better, i am certain my son will be happier with it, I am doing it tomorrow so I will let you know. I Thank GOD for letting me find you, I know my son will be very happy, Many Blessings to you for all your help. Thanks again, sincerely, Sandie Young
May
Just made this today, probably the hottest day of the year. Well I had leftover ham, so pea soup it was. WOW WOW WOW was it ever good. I did add rutabaga and didn’t have any oregano. No matter, I did have Boursin and that added the creamy taste I was searching for. Thank you Jeffery for all of your spectacular recipes.
Jenny Wagt
Looks like the dutch pea soup. When you put in a patato when you cook it it wil thicken up very nice.
Matty Ice
Best split pea soup ever. I highly recommend adding a good homemade ham to it. BTW….if you ‘want it vegetarian’, you probably don’t wanna add chicken broth as stated HAHAHA!!!!
Wendy
That also cracked me up. 😃🤣😹🙊
Stephanie Karpf
Can you add Barley to this recipe? If so, what you need to increase the amount of liquid?
SarahLeigh
So comforting! We had a winter storm come through Texas & I was able to make this with items on hand. Used leftover smoked ham from the freezer and cream cheese instead of Boursin. Not much to look at, but really tasty.
Jram
Thank you so much for this recipe! This soup is so delicious. I love Split Pea Soup, and this recipe is perfection.
Laurie
This is the best! Used my leftover Easter ham!!! Yum.
Hannah Bell
This is my absolute favorite recipe. It’s 85 degrees in VA today and I’m still making this soup because I deserve a treat!
Laurel
I’ve been making split pea soup for many years. This recipe is easier and much faster. Absolutely delish!
I use an stick blender to give it a silky finish.
Wendy
Thanks for the tip I’ll be using mine as well
🫶🏻
Lee Schwartzberg
I had a ham bone left over from a spiral ham, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make some pea soup. I went with the recipe from Jeffrey’s book which is very close to this one… minor differences.
Soup is delicious. The recipe (book) suggested adding in some 2% plain Greek yogurt at the end, but I probably didn’t need to. It did not mix in well, even with some vigorous whisking.
I took the ham bone out, tried to get as much meat off of it as I could, dumped it back into the pot which gave the soup a chunky, heartier texture.
Not sure the seasoned salt, Worcestershire are necessary, nor the sherry. I’ve made pea soup bunches of times without those ingredients, with great results (plain old salt works). So if you don’t have it on hand, don’t stress about leaving it out. The soup will still be delicious.
John
What would the cooking time be if I wanted to double the recipe and instead of the celery add in Yukon Gold Potatoes (diced)
MissyG
I used Yukon golds all the time. I cook it at 20 min with a 5 min natural release but that does disintegrate the potato. I’ve also done it 15 min with 5 min natural release which left some of the potato and peas soft but not completely broken down. It depends on what texture you’re after. Know though that the different models and sizes of Instant Pots tend to very a bit so you may need to figure out what works for yours. Goods luck!
Larry
I loved this recipe but there is a minor “but.” I tasted thyme almost to a fault. I will be scaling back on this herb when I make it again. I checked your recipe several times to make sure I didn’t misread it, but it does say 1 tsp and that’s what I added. The taste of thyme was so strong, I struggled to taste any peas. I followed your recipe to a tee, save for the two types of stock you used. I instead used 5.5 cups of BTB chicken stock (in addition to the 1/2 cup of sherry). But could this possibly explain the strong taste of thyme? Next time I will use less or no thyme and the exact stocks you recommend in your recipe.
The only other comment I would add is to just go ahead and add the whole 12oz package of bacon. Your recipe says to add 8oz. It pretty much disappears in the soup, so I think the extra 4oz would help. Certainly don’t think it would hurt.
Otherwise Jeffrey, this was another winner. I’ve follow many of your recipes and loved every one. I also love your books. I credit your great recipes for me using my IP as much as I do. Please keep them coming. Thanks for all you do.
Donna
Just set the time. I know it will be delish. Made it before! Thanks, Jeffery <3
Todd
Thank you so much for your very specific info and instruction!!!
I’m an old fart that loves cooking and I always tweak recipes to fit my personal taste or picky recipients…lol!
Your conversational recipe sharing style with options/substations is PERFECT!
THANKS!
P.S. I discovered you and your YouTube channel when I got my 1st Instantpot a couple yrs ago AND bought your FANTASTIC “step by step” cookbook!!!
Love it!!!
Jeffrey
Thank you so much!
Shaun Mymudes
Who would have thought Split Pea soup would be life changing? This is now my Wife’s, Mother’s and my favorite soup. Made it twice so far and will make it every month or so. Perfect for leftover smoked ham with the bone and I add navy beans, a few diced potatoes, some bacon bits, and ham bouillon. Cream cheese with chives is the finishing touch and OMG is it amazing! Thank you!
Jeffrey
So glad you enjoy it – truly the ugliest-looking soup but also one of the best!
Linda
I have made this many times. it is delicious. when my neighbor had an organ transplant and meals were being prepared for she and her husband, I made them this. They commented on it being the best split pea soup they had ever had.
I’m making it again now, the day after Thanksgiving.
Jeffrey
SOUPer comment! Glad you all enjoyed!
Janice
Made this MANY times for my now 99 year old mom who keeps kosher. Substituted Kosher turkey bacon and margarine. One of her favorite meals!
Thank you!!
Jeffrey
So honored!
Karen Ridges
I know good pea soup, and I have tried every recipe out there..This is IT. Absolutely divine. That touch of Sherry and the Boursin should not be left out. I got up in the middle of the night to have a cup cause I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Make this!
Jeffrey
This is the highest compliment ever! Thank you!
Terri
It was very good. I will make it again. I didnt add the boursin because I didn’t see the point. Why do you add it?