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!
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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
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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, make sure valve is on "sealing," 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, sauté the veggies in a skillet in the butter, then transfer them and add all other ingredients 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 reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It 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:
Kandace
I plan on making this tonight, one of my fave soups! My question is we have 6 kids will this be enough to serve everyone or should I double the recipe? Thanks!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Sorry I didn’t get to this in time! Hope it was enough for your family- I think if you serve it with bread it could be enough but next time I would double (the leftovers are great anyway).
Haley Read
I made this recipe in my Pampered Chef Quick Cooker and it turned out great (custom setting aka high pressure and 17 mins)! I did make a couple additions to it… added two crushed garlic cloves, 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika and for the “ham” I used the bones from a left over whole hog we roasted in a caja china box for Friendsgiving 2020 this past Saturday. Because I didn’t have a smoked ham I added 4 drops of liquid hickory smoke and 6 oz of the pulled pork. The soup turned out amazing!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it, and I love your additions! Thanks for sharing.
Beth
Wow!!!!!!! This may very well be the BEST tasting Split Pea and Ham soup recipe I have ever made! I used a smoked ham bone so that may have added a little extra flavor. This recipe is so quick and simple. I will DEFINITELY be making it often during the cold WI months. Thanks for sharing!!!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you liked it!
Amanda
Perfect!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Andrea Ivey
This recipe was amazing and so simple. I haven’t had split pea soup since I was a young girl and have always been afraid to make it because I thought it would be sludgy and gross like I remembered. I served this dish to my whole family and it was a hit from the teenagers down to the eight-month-old. Well done!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you and the whole family liked it!
Florence
Delicious. Saute vegetables in bacon grease. Use one cup of dry peas with 3 cups of homemade chicken stock. Use one fresh ham hock for flavor.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it, and thanks for the tips!
Joey
Yummy! Thank you, great direction too.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks! So glad you liked it :-)
Luci Wilson
This was the best pea soup ever! I did reduce the time to 13 minutes, but everything was done just right. The carrots still held there shape and the flavors were amazing. I used somehome made stock I had froze.
Thank you for the recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Using homemade stock makes such a big difference.
Joyce Lamb
Very tasty! Remember to not add salt as the results may be too salty with the ham you use.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Great reminder, thanks, and so glad you liked it!
Jo
I made this and the family loved it. Can I freeze it?
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your family liked it! Yes, this soup freezes really well. When you defrost it, it may have thickened a bit- just add a little water until you reach the desired consistency.
Richard G.
Hello, If I double everything, do I double the time in a 8qt IP ?
Elizabeth Lindemann
You should be good with the same timing if you double the ingredients! Hope you like it.
Brooke
What if I use the broth/soup setting instead of the manual one? I love split pea soup and tis the season with cool nights.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I’ve never actually used the broth/soup setting on my Instant Pot- always just manual! If you try it I’d love to know how it comes out, and I’m sorry I can’t advise further on this. Hope you like it- it’s perfect for cool nights!
Leanne
OMG! My family loves split peas soup and I do not add any potatoes or. Arrows or celery in mine. It’s o ion, bacon, garlic,peas and broth and typically takes 2-2.5 hours.
THIS was done in under an hour and by far some of the best I’ve made. I followed my recipe and your timing..
Excellent!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad the timing worked for you!
Stacey
I am trying this today for the first time. Didn’t notice instruction about rinsing the peas. Hope this won’t ruin the end result?
Elizabeth Lindemann
It will be fine! Hope you like it :-)
BillinStL
Looks like a great recipe … but my wife is not a fan of split peas. But we both like lentils. I’m thinking they could be easily exchanged and would still be great. Any thoughts?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I think you can follow the directions exactly with lentils, changing the cooking time from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, and it would work! I’d also love to point you in the direction of my favorite lentil soup ever- there are instructions for an instant pot in the recipe notes, and you can add a ham bone or ham meat in as well if you like. https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/greek-lentil-soup-faki/ Hope that helps1
Katie
@BillinStL, I’ve substituted lentils in several recipes, and they turn out fine. Obviously, lentils taste different than peas, and do not “fall apart” like peas do, but I’m willing to bet this recipe is no different, and would be a tasty substitution. In fact, I might try it too! We love split pea soup, but the more variations of a recipe I have, the better for my meal planning.
`BRIAN
“GREAT RECIPE. EASY FOR AN AMATEUR. I DIDN’T KNOW HOW MUCH 1 POUND OF SPLIT PEAS WOULD BE SO I PUT IN 2 CUPS BUT ADDED1 EXTRA CUP OF STOCK. TURNED OUT DELICIOUS WITH ENOUGH TO FREEZE 2 PORTIONS.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad to hear you liked the recipe!
Keith Hekman
Great recipe
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad you liked it!
Carissa
Great recipe!! I didn’t have ham so I used sliced up smoked sausage instead and also added a half bulb of garlic to the veggies. We loved it!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it- love the idea of using smoked sausage and adding garlic!
Jean
I’ve made this soup numerous times. It is fantastic! It’s my into for others to try out an Instant Pot and this recipe is the best soup a) I’ve ever had (I’ve tried dozens of pea soups, and b) it’s so darned easy with the instant pot. 5 stars.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks so much, and so glad you liked it!
Heather Winkopp
I made it today. Just a few things I would do differently. First, I spent a lot of time finely chopping my veggies. I don’t like pea soup too chunky. I didn’t need to do that as the pressure cooking seemed to mush them up. I had some bacon that was almost out of date, so I used that in lieu of ham. I sauted the veggies with the chopped up bacon and lowered the amount of butter and salt. Also, I like a thick soup, so I held back one cup of broth. Glad I did. I stirred it in at the end because the soup was quite thick and the broth cooled it down a little. All in all, easy and enjoyable. I served it with a summer salad and homemade cornbread.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it and thank you for sharing your variations!
Kimberly Brown Hall
Do the beans need to be soaked prior to this?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Nope! Just rinse them off and add them directly to the pot :-)
C
We had a leftover ham bone in the freezer from Easter and this was a HUGE hit. Seriously. I don’t think my husband has ever liked something I’ve made as much as this – he raved about it.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw yay! So happy you and your husband liked it!
CK
Hi! I’d like to double the recipe (in an 8 qt Instant Pot) but I only have one ham bone.
Will that turn out okay or should I figure out how to procure another ham bone?
Elizabeth Lindemann
You can double it with only one ham bone! Hope you like it :-)
Elizabeth Lindemann
And I’ll add that you can supplement with some diced cooked ham, if you want more meat. But one ham bone itself is plenty :-)