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:
Dwayne T
Best recipe I have found for ham and pea soup using an Instapot. 20 minute cook and supper is on. Home made biscuits and fresh butter made it awsome. Cant wait to try it with wild game.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yum, what a delicious meal! So glad you liked it!
Sue
Love this soup! Have made it many times, just like the recipe. Sometimes without celery, if I don’t have it around.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Stephanie Canzone
So easy to make and was delicious! Bit hit in our house.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Brian
Made this today and it was a hit! Really easy and really tasty … thanks for sharing this recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Karen
Excellent recipient and easy didn’t have seasonings but still came out great! Does thicken so and some water when reheating unless it’s all gone
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Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Greg
I’ve made this a number of times. Small groups and large. The only thing I don’t like is that there’s never any leftovers. Great for a cold rainy day.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Suzette
It was pretty good, but needed a lot of seasoning to bring it up. Good base recipe though. I added garlic, basil, savory, half sharp paprika and onion powder at the end to bring it up to scratch flavorwise (in addition to regular salt and pepper.) Also, I usually put potatoes in my split pea soup but I’m trying to lose weight so I added cauliflower chopped small instead. It worked perfectly as a substitute
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I love it simple, but it’s also probably going to need more seasoning if the ham isn’t very salty or smoky – that adds a ton of flavor to the soup. Thanks for sharing your suggestions for additions – great idea with the cauliflower!
LeBraun
I am not a fan of peas … but this soup is soooooo good!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
MICHELLE REYNOSO
I stopped at Honeybaked and picked up a ham bone just for this. Perfect for a rainy California day
Elizabeth Lindemann
Great idea! So glad you liked it.
Sandi
I made this tonight! FABULOUS! I tweaked it just a little, I added one smashed clove of garlic ( my family LOVES garlic) just at the end of the onion/celery/carrots where sauteing. I also added a tablespoon of fresh thyme and 1/2 tablespoon of fresh oregano to the pot when the stock and peas went in. OMG it was the BEST soup my kid and I have had!!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Alexandra
I made this using a little olive oil as the first time I made it with butter which upset my stomach.
I also substituted a teaspoon of liquid smoke instead of meat as I didn’t have any and it was still super hearty and filling and tasted great.
This is one that you make once or twice and then it become ingrained to memory!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Blanca
If I could give this 100 stars I would. This has been the BEST Split Pea Soup I’ve ever had, my husband loved it. Seriously, this is the only way I’ll make Split Pea Soup going forward. It was so easy and quick. Thank you!! We really loved it!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Arlene
Thank you sooo much it was excellent. Making it again today. Yum.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Helen
I love this recipe! It is so easy, so delicious, healthy, warming, and comforting!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Judy
Absolutely delicious. So easy, too Thank you
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
chris
timing seemed a bit long – peas were a but slushy taste was good and needs salt before serving
Elizabeth Lindemann
I find that if salt is added before the peas cook, they keep their shape better. I actually soak other dried beans in salted water for this reason! Whenever I make this soup, I find the salt from the ham and chicken broth is usually enough for me. If you are using a low sodium chicken broth, or less salty ham or omitting the ham, you may need to salt the soup before cooking. That might help with the texture of the peas – and you can always take the cooking time down a notch as well.
Signey
Just made this!! Delish, although I’ll cut back the garlic next time & I love garlic, but just feel it takes away from the delicious delicate taste of the peas. It is a keeper though 👍
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! To be clear, this recipe does not have garlic in it (though some people have commented that they added it). I actually love it without garlic for this reason- I find it distracting!
Sarah Hammon
There isn’t any garlic in the recipe!!
Harold Avellaneda
I just made it! Simple and very delicious. Definitely I’ll be making it many more times!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Caitlin
Great!! Made it and added a little bit of thyme and it was perfect
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Nick
Excellent soup! I added extra water and some potatoes. I served it with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice over each bowl–along with the parsley.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I love adding lemon juice (or vinegar!) to soups like this – the acid adds a little something-something. Thanks for this tip!
Arlene
Will be making this again, so delicious thank you, even without the bone! Husband had second and said that’s a keeper. :-)
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your husband liked it!
Momof2
I’ve made this recipe no less than 10 times and it is amazing every time. My picky teens absolutely love it too!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your kiddos liked it!
Feeding It
This is so good and easy to make! Thank you for the simple recipe!👏👏👏
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad you liked it!
David Jorden
So easy to make.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Kate
Loved this recipe, had to do the measurement conversions as am in Australia – but impressed both my partner and MIL!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad this recipe worked well for you!
Brenda
I’ve been wanting an Instapot and finally today bought one while at the same time gathered all the ingredients for this recipe. I have been craving split pea soup and came across this recipe. It came out really delicious and I can’t wait too try more of your recipes.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!