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 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:
Karen
This is cooking in the instant pot right now, and smells so amazing, I can’t wait to try it! Used the bone from our Easter ham. I know it’s going to be good!!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Anne
This is the best split pea soup I’ve ever had. Delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Elizabeth
Made this today, had it for lunch. Hubby and I both liked it!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Holly
The best split pea soup I’ve ever had!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Melissa
This was delicious! Now I’m actually hoping for a snowstorm they are calling for this weekend, so I can cozy up to the leftover soup. I put a hamhock in my instant pot, pulled the ham off and cooled the stock. The next day I used the ham stock after skimming the fat off, then added homemade chicken stock for the rest of the liquid. Thank you 🙏🏻!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Linda Sparrow
Delicious. Nothing makes soup better than the Instant Pot. I added a little garlic powder and some fresh thyme and used a smoke ham hock. I used 6.5 cups of chicken broth. Perfect!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Lauren
Very good!
Lauren
I forgot to mentioned, I used an immersion blender to puree it all (mostly it pureed the carrots) after I removed the ham bone and then added the ham back after I pureed it.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Debi
Excellent!!! No more Progresso Split Pea for me. I used 6 cups of ham flavored broth instead of ham and I have just found my new best friend! I bought a jar of Ham flavored soup base from Amazon and it’ll make 91 cups of broth for under $10.00.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Mary Rusr
Best pea soup I have ever made! Very easy
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Terri Watson
I loved it. Plain and simple. My boyfriend said this is a keeper. I found fresh whole dry peas at a farmers market. I live in Mexico partime and they have the best farmer’s market with low prices. I had to recook the split peas for another 20mins. The broth was so good. Just added a left over ham bone. ❤
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Billie losciale
We live in Mexico also, and in our small village I was so surprised to get split peas….but had the hambone in the freezer left over from Christmas, so it is in the instant pot now….I just use chicken broth, and going to make cornbread to go with it…..one of my husband’s favorites…
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hope you like it!
Len F.
Quick, easy and delicious. Used cubed ham (1 LB), 2 Qt broth (1 chicken 1 veg.), 1.5 Lb split peas, 4 multi-color carrots, 3 bay leaves.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Mary
Really easy to make and everyone loved it. I’m not a pea soup fan but this is delicious! Made some mini croissants to go with it. My 97 year old mother-in-law said I need to make this soup every week. Thank you for this tasty recipe.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Julian
Great!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Marilyn
I’ve been making split pea soup for years and lately I’ve been having difficulty getting all the peas to cook well. There’s always a few that never seem to get nice and soft. I’ve tried different brands of peas, different sources, bulk, but I haven’t been fully satisfied with the results. This is definitely is my answer. My usual recipe has some thyme in it, so I added a generous teaspoon of dried thyme, but other than that I stuck to the recipe. I don’t like my soup really thick and this was a bit too thick for our taste so I added some hot water at the end; next time I’ll use more chicken stock. The only problem: I always use a smoked turkey leg and it didn’t fit in my 6 quart Instant Pot. I managed to shove it in diagonally but most of the leg bone was not in the soup. Next time I’m going to ask the butcher to cut it in half.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad this worked well for you!
Jeanine
I have to say, this is the best tasting split pea soup I have ever made! Actually, it’s my second time cooking this. The first time, I misread my scale and used way more peas than the recipe called for but it was still so good, I had to try again with proper attention. It was a success exactly as written, easy and so very yummy. Thank you for this now favorite recipe! I’m looking forward to try more delicious recipes from your page.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Mary Jean Cardinale
Hello, I made this @BowlofDelicious soup recipe using my older pressure cooker. I soaked the peas for 3 hours before I made the soup. I then followed your recipe and pressure cooked it on med. For 20 minutes. The problem I had was that the peas never became really soft. The soup taste is great but the texture of the peas are grainy or sandy feeling. By that I mean the peas were decomposed but not really smooth to the tongue. It’s like the peas didn’t cook enough. What do you think I did wrong? BTW I live just north of Denver, which is a mile high. Wonder if that could have complicated things? Thanks
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hi! It’s likely your peas were older in age – the longer dried legumes sit on the shelf the harder they become. This can happen depending on the brand, sell by date, or even storage conditions if more air is getting to the peas. Perhaps the altitude complicated things, a quick google search confirmed that beans and legumes do need longer to cook at a high altitude! One other thing – do make sure you’re using split, not whole, dried peas. Hope that helps – if you try again, I would make sure you use a fresh bag of split peas with a little longer time!
Valerie
Only had my instant pot for a week, your recipe was about the 4th one I tried..I’ve made curry and dal makhani..
The pea and ham soup was superb. Easy cheap and tasty. Its so moreish. I just love it .Thank you.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jessica
So good! I made it for the second time yesterday and it came out perfect both times. I ate leftovers for lunch and dinner today! Will probably freeze the rest in individual portions for easy lunches. I cheated a little on the prep and used a frozen mirepoix mix.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Greg
Really Really good and super easy to make. I will dice my carrots a bit larger next time, which will be soon !
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Mark
My first split pea soup and it was wonderful.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!