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:
Sara
Easy and Delicious!!! Thank you!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Patricia
Had to turn off heat early as I could smell it burning ! What did I do wrong ? It was burning to the bottom of my pressure cooker ! Salvaged some which was delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hm, I’m not sure what went wrong! I’ve heard that some of the newer IP models burn more easily, or if you were using another brand of pressure cooker, that might be the culprit. Maybe add another 1/2-1 cup of liquid next time? Very strange, I hope it doesn’t happen again, and glad you were able to salvage some!
Frank
In order to burn I would assume that the person put the split Pea in before the water and didn’t stir, which may have caused the peas to stick to the bottom of the pot.
Elizabeth Lindemann
That’s a GREAT point. Thanks for bringing this up!
Dani
Can I use a frozen bag of mirepoix instead?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Sure! That’s a great way to save time. Just add it in when you would normally add the veggies- it might need a little more time sautéing to thaw out and soften.
Felicia
That usually happens to me when I don’t use enough liquid. Maybe try adding a bit more chicken stock?
Donna
Perfect! I used a ham hock. When it was done cooking I took out the ham hock and bay leaves and then put in some diced ham.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Janelle
This soup was excellent!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Karen
What would u do to add cubed potatoes to the recipe
Elizabeth Lindemann
I would just add about 1/2″ cubes in right with the split peas- should be fine in terms of cooking time!
Sue
I’ve made this a few times. Love it! So easy and quick in an instant pot.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Clay Ahle
Split pea is my absolute favorite soup. Have had it lots of way and usually use an old fashioned pressure cooker, even though it recommended not to cook split pea in it, unless you’re very careful with the levels and use very clean split peas to keep foaming down. What I wanted to comment about though, is to ask you if you have ever tried a bit of whole cumin seed in it? If you haven’t and like cumin, it’s awesome.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh wow, I have not tried whole cumin seed in it, but that sounds amazing! Definitely trying that next time. Thanks for the tip!
Patrick D Teske
Added a few of my favorite extra seasoning. Turned out great.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Eliza
Wow. Just… wow. I’ve made a lot of split pea/ham soups in my time and this blew away them all. I’ve replaced those recipes with this one.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yay! So glad you liked it :-)
Ash
Delicious! I used better than bouillon ham base but otherwise followed the recipe to a T (no ham bone but did use the cubed ham chunks). It’s as good as my mom’s in way less time, and way more fool proof!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you liked it and thank you for sharing your modifications!
Reuben
Amazing recipe. Ridiculously easy to make but has the perfect texture and flavor. Paired so great with a grilled cheese sandwich. Will make often.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thank you! So glad you liked it :-)
Sarah
Absolutely delicious and easy to make! We used cubed deli ham and some extra carrots because they’re delicious and we had a bunch! Being from California, we love Andersen’s Pea soup and they offer sides of cheese, croutons and crumbled up bacon to add on top, so we added those to our bowls and wow! Tasted way better than the restaurant! We will be making this again very soon! Thanks so much!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oooo I love the toppings you used! So glad you liked it!
Tom S
Awesome taste – easy to put together. Thank you #bowlofdelicious
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thank you! So glad you liked it.
Rosena
Made this today and it was absolutely delicious. Will definitely be making it again.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thank you! So glad you liked it.
Kari
I started using kielbasa instead of a ham.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh I LOVEEE this idea. Thanks for sharing!
Deanne
Sooo good! I added potatoes.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it- love the idea of adding potatoes!
Sue
Wonderful. I love my instant pot.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I love mine too.
Lisa Smith
This was delicious. I am not a fan of split peas so when my husband suggested it, I hesitated. We had a cold rainy day…unusual for California in May…so I attacked. Super easy and delicious. delicious!! We had too many carrots and stalks of celery so in they went. A dollop of sherry in at serving time and we are happy campers!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you liked it! Love the idea of adding sherry in the end.
Alicia
My husband said it was best pea soup he ever had !
Thanks for posting this recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your husband liked it!
Nina H Angell
Instructions were so easy to follow! The soup was thick and creamy with the 6 cups of chicken broth and absolutely delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Melissa
This recipe deserves more than 5 stars! I found this a couple of months ago and my husband and extended family ask for it almost weekly. I usually end up making at 3 batches to deliver to various family members. Even my prickly toddler licks her bowl. And that is saying a lot!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw yay! So happy this recipe has been so good for you and your family!
Ann G.
I have never had a real success at making split pea soup. Till this recipe. My family could not get enough of it. It’s going to be on my make often list.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh yay! So happy you had success with this recipe :-)
Julie Snyder
Perfect! Like my childhood in a bowl. Haven’t made this in years, and first time in an Instapot. I had quite a bit of Easter ham left and threw what I had in (at least a pound!) and it is yummy! Added extra carrots too as they are a hit with my family. Awesome go-to recipe.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you and your family liked it!
Steve
Just made this — turned out great – so much easier than I thought it would be
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!