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:
PATRICK O'CONNOR
Wow. Delicious! As a Canadian of French-Irish heritage, I wanted only authentic French Canadian Pea Soup, and this recipe knocked it out of the park. We ate it for dinner with salad and corn meal biscuits from our neighbour. Next time we’ll add the beer.
Thank you for the recipe, and thanks to all those who commented. It helps on the trust level.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I’m so happy you liked the recipe! Thank you very much for leaving a comment and review, as well as anyone else who has- it certainly does help build trust, and it’s one of the best (and free!) ways to support online recipe creators :-) Your dinner sounds amazing… I think I’ll make this soup this week, too!
Maggie
This was SO GOOD!! Just made it, my husband and I had 2 helpings! I put it on simmer for a few minutes while removing the meat from the bone and it did thicken up quite a bit. I served it with crusty garlic bread. Definitely a winner in our house, I will make it again!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Amy
This soup was awesome! I used a ham bone from a smoked ham and that smoky flavor in the soup was incredibly tasty! This was my first time using my Instant pot too! So happy how it turned out! Thank you – a fast, easy tasty recipe!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you liked it!
Toni
This was quite good; the flavor was delicious. My only criticism, which isn’t really criticism, more opinion, is that I like my soup a good bit thicker. I reduced the liquid, but not enough. Next time, I’ll know to add less. Thanks for the recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad you liked it! I’ve found that the thickness varies depending on a number of factors and some readers say it’s too thin and some too thick- I think it depends on the age and brand of split peas, how much salt is in all the ingredients, and brand of pressure cooker. Some troubleshooting tips- you can always press “sauté” on the instant pot after it’s done cooking to simmer it for a while and reduce some of the liquid (you might want a splatter screen or other ajar cover on top though!), and it may thicken as it cools down, too :-) Hope it turns out 100% perfect next time!
Petra
Made it tonight and after living in Holland for 10 years where this type of soup is a staple my husband declared it the best he’s ever had! THANK YOU!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw yay, this makes me so happy! So glad you and your husband liked it!
physt
Yikes!!! If you like pea soup you’re gonna LOVE this recipe! I dont know how it could get any better!! I made it with left over smoked ham.! Otherwise, I followed the recipe to the tee. If all you recipes are this good your going to need to change your name to TWObowlsofdelicious.com! Thanks. Megabites back to ya! Stay safe and wash your hands.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh yay! This is such a nice comment and I love the new blog name haha!
Kirsten
Easy to follow, turned out great! Only changes I made: I soaked the peas beforehand so I probably could have reduced the fluid. I added a few cubed potatoes after I puréed it I added some frozen sweet peas to float around in it.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it, and thanks for the tips for soaking the peas beforehand!
Andria 🌼
It was pretty easy for a 19 year old making this meal for the first time. I used 8 cups of chicken broth, 2 pounds of split peas, and lots of ham. Everything else was the same except we did not have any fresh veggies, so we used a frozen bag of mixed veggies and put them in after everything in the instant pot was done. It was delicious and we have plenty left over.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Christine
This was so easy to make and was absolutely delicious. My husband and daughters won’t usually eat pea soup but they tried it and all agreed it was really good.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your family liked it!
Kat
Do you think you could use frozen peas instead of split peas?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oo that’s a great question. Split peas are dried, and take a long time to cook. Frozen peas are fresh and take almost no time to cook. I’ve never tried this before, but if all you have is frozen peas, I wouldn’t let that stop you! Here’s what I’d do. I would reduce the amount of chicken stock to 3 cups. Follow all the directions, adding the ham bone and veggies and stuff, and cook in the pressure cooker for 12 minutes on high manual. Quick release the pressure. Then, open the pressure cooker and add 2 lbs. frozen peas (32 oz., or two standard bags). The residual heat of the soup should cook them up in a few minutes, but you can always press “saute” if you need to. If you only have one bag of peas, I’d reduce the broth to only 1.5 cups. Hope that helps and if you try it I’d love to know how it comes out! I used this recipe as a reference: https://cookthestory.com/pea-soup-ham/
physt
I agree with Elizabeth. Never tried it but would bet you need to adjust the time and the liquid.
Stephanie Fisher
This is my new go-to split pea recipe! The Instant Pot means it is done fast, rather than a day-long project.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Denise Percell
My Husband and I were so impressed how easy this recipe was ,,, how completely quick it was to complete and we both agreed it Is the BEST SPLIT PEA SOUP that we have ever had ….. Delicious
Elizabeth Lindemann
SO happy you and your husband liked it!
Michelle
The absolute best soup. I would give this 100 stars. Thank you.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw thanks so much! Glad you liked it :-)
Summer Yule
I make this whenever I have a leftover ham bone and it always turns out perfectly!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you like it!
PapatheGreatest
Made this today. It came out delicious! It was a little too thick. I’ll add an extra 1/2 cup broth next time. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! A lot of readers get varied results with it being too thick or thin- I think it has to do with brand of pressure cooker, age and brand of split peas, etc. Luckily, it’s such an easy solution as you figured out to add a little more broth- you can also just throw in some water in a pinch, if you don’t have extra broth!
Evan
I normally don’t leave comments but this is an amazing recipe, I decided to splurge and bought a pack of rainbow carrots, the purple is a nice contrast against the soups natural colour. I also smoked the bones and a little bit of meat for 4 hours before I used them. The flavour it lends is sublime!!
And my secret ingredient was a couple pinches of black garlic powder!!
Thank you so much for the recipe
Elizabeth Lindemann
You. Smoked. The. HAM. BONE?! Dang, what a great idea! And the black garlic powder! Love these adjustments, thanks for sharing, and so glad you liked the recipe!
Evan
Last time I made this a picky eater in the house *cough* girlfriend *cough* didn’t like the smoke or the ham taste so I challenged myself to make one that even a chicken nugget girl would love, and I did! I doubled up the carrot, replaced the Celery with Fennel (a gambit which paid off and lent a nice taste to it) and added some Worcestershire and my home made chili vinegar to the broth and a nice amount of Italian seasoning and it works! She loves it. Your recipe is the perfect base to experiment with!! Just one question, if I switched over from peas to red lentils do you think I should need to lower the cook time?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Replacing the celery with fennel! Risky move for a picky eater, but I LOVE that idea. So glad you (and she) liked it! Red lentils need much less time to cook, so you may want to do this soup in two phases if you use them- first, pressure cook for 5 minutes or so to make sure the veggies and ham bone are all infused together and cooked, and then add the red lentils (rinse them first) and cook for 2 minutes. If you chop up the veggies really finely or sauté them for longer you might not even need to do the first phase. Here’s a really handy chart for almost all the cooking times in an instant pot organized by ingredient- it might be helpful for you! https://instantpot.com/instantpot-cooking-time
Elizabeth
Delicious. My 10 year old son licked the bowl! Will be making again.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw yay! So happy you and your kiddo liked it!
SW
It was a happy day after Easter for me so I finally have ham bone I’ve been waiting for. This soup turned out SO wonderful. My entire family loved it including 3 young children. Thank you, Elizabeth for sharing the easy to follow recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your family liked it!
Joseph Black-Langford
This was my first time using the Instant Pot using the Split Pea Soup w/ Ham recipe. I added potatoes, herbs and spices. It was simple, delicious and fast. Kudos for a great recipe! TY!😋
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thank you! So glad you liked it :-)
Leslie
Made this today since I have an Easter hambone to use. I didn’t have celery but I otherwise followed the recipe. It’s amazing! I’ll definitely make it again.
Elizabeth Lindemann
SO glad you liked it!