This Instant Pot Split Pea Soup, made with a leftover ham bone (or any other ham), is a game-changer. The pressure cooker cuts the cooking time in half and imparts the flavor of the ham into every scrumptious bite. It’s so simple, but SO delicious. And it’s ridiculously easy to make!
What are split peas?
Dried split peas are part of a food group known as pulses, which include beans, chickpeas, peas, and lentils. I love cooking pulses in my pressure cooker because it takes such a short amount of time, meaning you can start it on a weeknight and have it ready in less than an hour for dinner. My last pressure cooker pulse creation was this Instant Pot Chili, made with dried kidney beans and ground beef.
I love cooking with split peas because they have many of the same health benefits as other pulses, but take a shorter time to cook and don’t require pre-soaking. And they are just so tasty!
And my favorite part about pulses: you get a lot of nutritional bang for your buck. They are one of the cheapest and healthiest foods out there- a whole 1lb. bag of split peas cost me only $0.89 when I made this recipe.
How to make split pea soup with a ham bone
If you’re planning on having ham this holiday season, do NOT throw out the bone! And don’t let the person hosting throw it out either. I fully plan on being “that person” who asks to take the turkey carcass home after Thanksgiving at my in-laws so I can make homemade turkey stock. I don’t care, I am who I am :-)
Adding a ham bone to split pea soup elevates it to a whole new level. There is a ton of flavor in the bone itself, as well as marrow and gelatin, which infuses into the soup as it cooks (which both thickens it and gives it many of the same health benefits as bone broth). And there’s also still likely a lot of meat left on the bone, which will easily come off after letting it simmer in the soup for so long.
Confession: I actually bought a whole ham JUST so I would have the bone to make this soup. Such is the life of a food blogger.
What to do if you don’t have a ham bone
You don’t have to be like me and buy a whole ham just for the bone! If you don’t have a ham bone – since it’s not very often in life that we come across them, is it? – you can definitely just use thick-cut diced ham, or a ham hock.
You can use a smoked turkey leg if you want a pork-free version.
And you can even make this soup vegetarian or vegan by omitting the ham and making a few other changes (see notes in recipe below).
What kind of pressure cooker to use
I made my Instant Pot split pea soup in (you guessed it!) an Instant Pot. It’s a very popular and high-quality pressure cooker, and I’ve been LOVING it.
You can even replace it for your slow cooker (it has a slow cooker setting as well). Pressure cookers not only cut the cooking time of things like pulses and tough cuts of meat wayyyyy down, but I find it also tends to cook things with better flavor than a slow cooker. It also has a sauté function, so you can cook up the mirepoix (that’s the fancy word for the celery, carrots, and onions) right in the pot.
Keep an eye out for black Friday sales- I got my six quart Instant Pot for only around $60 last year (what a deal!).
Don’t have a pressure cooker or instant pot? Just look at the recipe notes below for how to make this on your stovetop or in your slow cooker.
Other Easy Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken, Broccoli, and Quinoa with Cheese
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Turkey Breast with Lemon and Thyme
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Fish Stew
Here’s a link to all of my pressure cooker/instant pot recipes! For a plant-based version, try this vegetarian split pea soup with potatoes, lemon, and dill.
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Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham
Equipment
- Instant Pot 6 qt. minimum size, see recipe notes for more info.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion diced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 1 ham bone a smoked ham hock or 6 oz. diced deli ham can also be used
- 1 lb. dry split peas sorted through and rinsed
- 6 cups low sodium chicken stock/broth or veggie stock, water, or a mixture
- 2 bay leaves
- kosher salt and black pepper (see notes)
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Turn pressure cooker to the "sauté" setting. Melt butter (3 tablespoons) and sauté onion, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add the split peas, chicken stock (6 cups), ham bone (or hock or 6 oz. diced cooked ham), and the 2 bay leaves. Turn off the "sauté" function.
- Cover pressure cooker and set to manual, high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release for 10-15 minutes. Then, quick release the pressure valve.
- If you used a ham bone or hock: remove the it from the soup and remove the ham meat that’s still attached to it. Add the ham meat back into the soup.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary (see notes). Serve immediately, or store in your refrigerator for up to 1 week or freezer in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Notes
- A note about salt: if you use salty chicken broth, you may not need to add any salt at all since ham is also usually very salty.
- The peas may take longer to cook depending on their age – the older dried legumes are, the longer they take to cook. This can vary based on brand, how long they’ve sat on grocery store shelves, or how long they’ve been in your pantry.
- If you want to use a frozen ham bone, you shouldn’t need to adjust the cooking time, since ham bones are technically already cooked, you’re just reheating it! Keep in mind though, the colder your ingredients are, the longer it will take to come to pressure.
- For a vegetarian version, omit the ham, use more salt and pepper, and make sure to use vegetable stock or water instead of chicken. For a vegan version, use olive oil instead of butter.
- If you don’t eat pork, you can substitute the ham bone for a smoked turkey leg.
- To make this in your slow cooker, add all ingredients (omitting the butter) to slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, or until split peas are cooked to desired tenderness.
- To make this on your stovetop, sauté veggies as instructed in a large pot. After adding the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for approximately one hour (or until split peas are cooked to desired tenderness).
- Ham usually comes cured/smoked, which means it’s cooked and ready to eat. However, sometimes stores sell “fresh ham,” which means it’s uncooked. Do NOT use fresh ham for this recipe- use already cooked, smoked, and/or cured ham.
- This soup will likely thicken once it cools and is refrigerated, especially if you use a ham bone to make it because of the gelatin. Thin out with water and adjust seasonings as necessary.
- I made this recipe in my 6 qt. Instant pot. It should work the same in an 8 qt., but you may need to cut the ingredients in half for a 3 qt. mini. You should also be able to double the batch in an 8 quart pressure cooker.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Judi Lund
This is the best recipe for split pea soup i have ever r er made. I love split pea soup but it always seemed i had to blend to get it smooth. This i simply stirred, removed bay leaves n served. Great
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Lois
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. Very easy to make. It was very thick but that’s ok because I like my soups on the thick side. I will never eat canned split pea soup again!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Sally
So easy to make.
I did not have any chicken broth, so I had to use mushroom or beef broth.
Did not know how it would turn out!
It was okay.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad to know it comes out good with different broth!
Brad
This recipe is perfect just the way it is written. I enjoy spice, so I add a tsp of cayenne pepper and extra black tellicherry pepper to mine. Delicious.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Love the idea of spicing it up. So glad you liked it!
Tori
Thinking I might want to add potatoes to this recipe to make it be just a tad heartier. Any recommendation for how much to add and if this will change cooking time? Thank you! Making tomorrow!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Great idea! I actually just did a vegetarian split pea soup with potatoes that came out great. I recommend dicing the potatoes into 1/4-1/2″ pieces (depending on how big you want them to be when you’re eating the soup). Gold, white, or red potatoes are great because you don’t have to peel them, and they will hold their shape better than russets. I recommend cooking for the same amount of time, but adding 2 cups more broth with about 2 cups diced potatoes (about 2 medium sized potatoes). Hope that helps, and here’s the vegetarian recipe for reference if you need it: https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/split-pea-soup/
Monica R Leite
I’d suggest 12oz of potato if you want to add it. It won’t necessarily make it “healthier” although it will make it have more of a hearty stew like consistency.
Mary
I replaced the chicken broth with beef broth and dissolved two teaspoons of double espresso powder in the broth. I added about 1 1/2 – 2 C diced smoked ham instead of the bone. The soup was fantastic! Nice, hearty, perfect pea soup and it is super easy! Love my instant pot!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks for sharing your suggestions- sounds delicious with the espresso powder! Glad you liked it :-)
Kathleen Bailey
LOVED it! Made it with my (cough)Quick Cooker and it came out deeevine!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks! So glad you liked it!
Patricia Keleher
How foolish I was to receive the Instant Pot two years ago and then leave it on top of my refrigerator after trying one meal. I am not a super cook but after following your directions, this was the best pea soup I have ever eaten in my life. I am making another pot has I write this email.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I don’t use my instant pot as much as I should either, and when I do I always wonder why I don’t use it more often! SO happy you liked this soup :-)
Carol Holesha
We made this after Christmas. It was fabulous! My granddaughter and I made it together. She normally doesn’t like to try new things, but this was a huge hit. We froze half and finished the rest this week.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you and your granddaughter liked it!
Aloysius
Hello Elizabeth,
I really love pulses, I eat them because the are so delicious with a lot of nutritional values. This is going to be my meal this weekend.
Thanks for sharing.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I love them too, for the same reasons and the fact that they’re so cheap! Hope you like it :-)
Aloysius Ochiamu
Yes I do.
Thanks for sharing here so others can actually enjoy it.
Mary Albert
Just made this for dinner tonight! Had to give it a taste, it’s delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Marci
This was delicious. I have tried making homemade split pea soup before, but other recipes have always been bland. My entire family had seconds, which is a sign that they liked it. Thank you.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your family liked it!
Judy
Delicious!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks! Glad you liked it :-)
Lili
This was one of the best “hearty” soups I’ve ever had. My husband (God rest his soul) used to go on about split pea soup and I always sneered saying it sounded gross. I never let him cook it. I’m literally eating my words now.
To all those out there who say they don’t like the taste of peas…. TRY THIS. I’ve literally been looking for excuses to purchase another bone-in spiral cut ham just to make it. I broke down yesterday when I saw a 1/4 cut spiral ham on sale. DONE DEAL. Making it again now. Can’t wait!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw, so happy you liked it! Thanks so much for the comment :-) also- look for bone-in ham shanks at your grocery store! Mine sells them in packs of four for like $4 (!!) so it’s SO cheap. I take them out of the package, freeze them individually in plastic bags, then use one straight from the freezer when I want to make this. Otherwise, I’d be up to my ears in ham haha!
Shannon
This was really good! The butter adds such a nice flavour. If anyone questions if this ends up thick, despite not having any potatoes, it does! My mom usually makes the split pea soup recipe that’s on the bag of peas she buys, and it has potatoes, so she was a little sceptical about the lack of them in here. She was impressed with how thick thus ended up. For sure need to add water when reheating.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!! Isn’t it amazing how much it thickens?
Dira McClintock
Souperb, so satisfying, easy to make and affordable. Winner winner, pea soup dinner.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jill S.
I have made split pea soup many times, but this is the best. Hearty, creamy, perfectly seasoned. I used smoked ham hocks.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yay! So glad you liked it :-)
Roy
Awesome I have cooked with this recipe several times and love it. I use smoked ham hocks and everyone who has ate it say it’s the best. Thanks for sharing
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Cindi
I used chopped bacon and it was great!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you liked it!
Jan
Absolutely loved it especially on this cold winters evening……..so easy!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Jackie
I made it twice, just as the recipe read. Not too thick, not to thin……….JUST RIGHT! Excellent and easy. (Oh, I sautéed the veggies and dry peas in some saved bacon grease first, bad girl! )😉 Thanks for sharing your good recipe! It was my first experience using my new Insta pot too.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it, and GREAT CALL with the bacon grease!
Vossen
Excellent.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad you liked it!