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:
KT
Thank you for this fast, easy, delicious, comforting recipe! My wife had some dental work and I was running out of “soft foods” to prepare, but she’d never had split pea soup. She LOVED this!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it and that it worked well for your wife! Hope she feels better soon!
Robin
I made this last night and OH, SO DELICIOUS! I noticed your “confession” HA! I did the very same thing. 1/2 price after Easter at Aldi. After making this, I may go back and pick up another. :)
My variations included roasting my fully cooked ham to get some crispy edges and then using the juices from the pan as part of the liquid in the soup. I always have homemade stock/bone broth in the freezer to round out the 6 cups needed. I didn’t have any celery on hand, so I doubled up on the carrots. Lastly, I cooked for a full 30 minutes plus the natural release. I don’t like crunchy peas in my soup. PERFECT!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! And I’m glad I’m not the only one that does this :-)
Sharon
Please tell the size of pot you are using at the beginning of the recipe. I cook with 8 and 10 qt IPs
Elizabeth Lindemann
The size of the Instant Pot is in the notes. But I’ll go ahead and add the size to the equipment list – good idea. Thanks!
Meg
We made this with our leftover ham from Easter. It was delicious. I used an immersion blender for just a few seconds at the end.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Kim Evans
Absolutely delicious. Used homemade chicken stock and the end of a spiral-sliced ham bone with lots of ham in the instant pot – cooked on the “Meat/Stew” setting for 20 minutes, then let it release naturally while on the “Warm” setting. So good.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it, and thanks for sharing your tips!
Kimberly
We made this exactly as described in the recipe and it turned out beautifully! The thickness is perfect. Thanks so much!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Melannie
Absolutely delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Dan
I’ve made this a couple times now. Perfect for using up leftover ham, and so tasty!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Marisa
This soup was delicious! I made it last night using left over ham and the bone from the Honey Baked ham we had for Easter. It was really easy to make and thickened up as it cooled. My family and I enjoyed every bite!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Rick
Soup was very easy to put together and extremely tasty, Thank You for your recipe !
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Lori Miller
I made this for my very first time making soup, and it tastes fantastic and it was super easy
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Angelique
This is a really great recipie! Here are the deviations (followed the rest of the recipe like a prescription). First, ham bones and attached meat were simmered for 24 hours: made the the most beautiful rich stock. Removed bones AND meat and gave to the little dogs. After 24 hrs. simmering, the meat had zero flavor left in it.2nd: Soaked organic split peas overnight (12 hrs) in purified water.
Added 2 tsp. better than bullion vegetable flavor paste.
One very level tsp. of Himalayan pink salt.
Just before serving, added cubed ham meat.
Made one batch in the pressure cooker and one in the slow cooker.
Exactly the same result: delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Love the idea of using ham stock and then adding other ham! Thanks for sharing this.
Melinda
Love this recipe. It does come out very thick but thins when reheating. I measure it out in half cup portions on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze. It’s really easy to grab a couple of frozen discs, pop them in the microwave and have delicious pea soup whenever the desire hits.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Aine Branch
This a good recipe. But I had my own issues with the consitancy. Everything turned to mush. I followed the recipe perfectly. The flavor is there but the texure
Elizabeth Lindemann
The texture may vary based on the quality or age of the split peas or different factors from different kinds or brands of pressure cookers. But also, split pea soup is just kind of mushy! Some people blend the whole thing so it’s a smooth soup- that might be a good way to solve mushiness next time by just leaning into it and pureeing the whole thing. Hope that helps!
Jodi
This recipe came out perfect. Delicious recipe
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
DellaS
I made this today and it’s fantastic! I used celery seed since I didn’t have celery, and chicken Apple Bourbon sausage instead of ham. Not gonna lie – I used canned carrots and diced potatoes as well. Reading the other comments, I used 5 cups of broth instead of six and the final consistency was perfect for me. I haven’t had split pea soup in a long time and last night happened to see someone make it on YT using a pot, but I wanted to use my Insta. I found your recipe when I looked up times.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I’m a big fan of using what you have – thanks for sharing your changes and substitutions!
Tina
So easy, and so delicious! I might cut back on the liquid next time, since I like my split pea soup a little thicker, but that’s the only change I’d make.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
lucy by th lake
simply delicious. I will never go back to the old days of cooking for hours on the stovetop. the flavor is so much better .
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Peggy
Quick, easy, and delicious. My husband loves soups and rates this one A++
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Stacy Neudorf
Was a bit dry I added 3 cups water afterward and the peas were a touch hard, some of them after. Be mindful.
Elizabeth Lindemann
It’s likely the peas were older – there’s a recipe note about this, here I’ll copy and paste it below! Another common thing that happens with this is using whole peas instead of split. Better luck next time!
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.
BK
Everyone with whom I have shared this soup loves it!! Even people who don’t like split pea soup normally seem to love this recipe… even my diabetic and incredibly picky father!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Twy
I followed the recipe strictly all way through. Although it tasted good, it was pretty watery.
My measurements were exact.
I’m surprised most people found it to be too thick or too mushy.
All my ingredients were fresh except the splint peas which were however, dried, but fresh.
I even left it in the my instant pot
An extra 15 minutes.
I was hoping it would come out thick.
What did I do wrong?
Elizabeth Lindemann
It thickens quite a bit as it cools! But it can have varied results based on freshness of dried peas, or even brand of pressure cooker or user error using the pressure cooker, etc. If it’s too thick, you can let it simmer uncovered until desired texture is reached. Hope that helps!