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:
Jenn
Unbelievably delicious, hearty, healthy soup. I put my veggies into my food processor and chopped them so quickly, the rest was pretty much dumped together. Wow! I am having a difficult time letting it cool because I just want to eat it all now. Thank you for a keeper of a recipe.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Char
Perfect for using leftover ham hock from Easter dinner! So fast and absolutely delicious.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
LG
Delicious!
Can this recipe be doubled in a 6 qt InstantPot? It would be great to cook once and have some leftover to freeze.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I don’t think this would fit if you doubled it in a 6 qt. You can adjust the servings in the recipe card to increase it to 12 servings, which would be 1.5 batches, and that might fit! I haven’t tried this yet myself, though. So glad you liked it!
Sue
Easy, fast and delicious! First time making split pea soup with ham in an Instant Pot and flavor was just as good as when I simmer it for hours.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Pam
I’ll be making this recipe over and over again! So easy to prepare in the Instant Pot and ina very short time, the soup is smelling of deliciousness and ready to eat. Sadly, it’s 34 degrees here in Wisconsin on April 18th but the split pea soup is keeping us warm!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Sophia
Does this really only take sauté, cook time 10-15 minutes and let it naturally release? I am so used to cooking mine in a crockpot for 3-4 hours.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yup! Keep in mind: it takes a while for the instant pot to come up to pressure. But once it does, that timing you set will start and that’s all it takes! Love pressure cookers for this reason!
Karen White
So funny, I am making this today, since its 35 degrees here in Michigan! I love this soup, it is so yummy, and easy!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Mountain lady
Excellent recipe and always a pleaser. I share with my neighbors who appreciate home cooked food. Serve with some baguette and butter. Bon appetite!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jessica Cramer
BEST split pea recipe ever! Literally perfect taste- followed directions exactly. Used a hambone and the flavor was incredible!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Kat
Best split pea and ham soup ever. I am really impressed. This is a keeper.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Pam
I’ve made this a couple times. I’m not a big meat eater so I substitute. Some diced & fried bacon in place of ham. It also has a wonderful flavor.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Sarah M.
I’m so glad I looked at this comment! Thank you for this! I personally don’t care much for ham either. But I love me some bacon! Lol I should’ve read through the comments before posting. I’m going to try and give this a go tomorrow but with whole green peas. I’m presoaking them overnight. I’ll have to let everyone know how it turns out!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hope it worked well for you with whole peas!
Astrid
Made this many times without meat. Simple recipe. Totally delicious.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Paul G White
I made this Instant Pot recipe but used an 8-oz package of cubed ham for the meat. It came out great and my wife absolutely love it! I also love split pea with ham with some crumbled cooked bacon sprinkled on top as a garnish. The ham and bacon combination are absolutely delicious. If you have vegans in your family, just make it without adding meat and each person can add whatever they want right before enjoying a piping hot bowl!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Great idea to make it vegan and offer meat as an add on later!
Nancy C Yturralde
I made this instapot recipe as instructed using a ham hock. It is a healthy meal, super yummy, delightfully easy, and fast. I will be adding this to my recipe file.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Mary
I’d never had or made split pea soup before. I used 6oz of an 8oz ham steak and should have just added all of it. The soup is delicious and so easy to make! Definitely a keeper.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Mary
I just made this today and we all enjoyed it! I was just wondering though why the split peas became mushy. Are they supposed to turn out that way?
Elizabeth Lindemann
The split peas may cook faster (or slower) depending on how fresh they are or the brand, etc. I think they got a little mushy from overcooking. You can try a few minutes less next time! But split peas will always fall apart and be a little mushy. It’s hard to get them to hold their shape. Some people just use an immersion blender to puree split pea soup so it’s smooth – that might be a solution for the texture if it happens again. Hope that helps!
Kathleen Shaw
What recipe? How much water, carrots, salt, pepper?
Elizabeth Lindemann
The recipe card is at the bottom of the post. You can scroll down to find it or use the “jump to recipe” link at the top of the post. Hope that helps!
Grace
Delicious! I’ve made this several times in my instant pot and we love it!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Sandie
I’ve made the soup a few times using ham hocks also smoked turkey leg. It’s just fantastic. However it’s a good amount of soup for two people. I’m going to cut it to 2/3, keeping my fingers crossed it’s as good.
😌🌱
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I think it will be just fine with making a smaller portion :-)
K Chandler
I followed the recipe as written and it was easy, fast, and delicious. Thank you! We had a spiral ham at a holiday meal and froze the leftovers in meal size packages. I threw one in this soup. Such good flavor!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Joe
What about uncooked smoked turkey? Can I throw it in raw or do I need to cook it before adding?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hm. If it’s smoked, that means it’s cooked! So you should be fine. If you are unsure, you can try cutting the meat off the bone and into chunks so it’s all in smaller pieces to ensure it gets cooked all the way through (throw all the pieces and the bone into the soup). Hope that helps!
Rho
DElicious! Copied- actually wrote- the directions quickly this morning before running out to work and Hubby made an awesome dinner!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Ann Marie
My first time using the insta pot. Soup turned out great.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Aubrey Smith
This is verrrrry tasty. I love how wholesome the ingredients and that it is easy enough for a busy working momma. It makes enough leftovers that I easily get 2 meals for a family of 4 healthy eaters. I am now doubling the celery and carrots for more chunky veggie goodness. I also add a dash of liquid smoke which is fabulous.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!