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:
Meghan
Turned out amazing and so easy
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Charlotte
Quick, easy, and delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
melanie
just made this in my 3Qt Instapot; divided /2 using no s/p and it is so tasty and creamy I’m shocked how fast and easy to pull together. I set at HPressure Cook for 8 minutes, slow release for 10.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Steve S
Delicious but I add Yukon potatoes diced and it also added maybe about four small ones.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Lou Ann Gilbert
My soon to turn 75 years old husband said”keep that recipe!”. He has loved split pea soup since he was a toddler and loved this recipe. It was so quick and easy. Thanks!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your husband liked it! (and happy almost birthday to him!)
Patty O'Club
I’ve been cooking for over 50 years – this is the best split pea with ham soup I’ve ever made. My family loved it! Thanks for the instant pot version–I’ll never go back.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Rae
I added some extra liquid per my consistency preferences, but the flavor was really good and so easy to make!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Elizabeth Hoske
Easy and tasty
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Annie M
so Delicious!! and Easy – the best kind of recipe. I used our leftover hambone from Christmas – I will definitely add this one to the Hit parade! Thank you!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Diana Gehring
This is going to become my absolute favorite go to recipe going forward. It was super simple to prep and make with just a handful of ingredients, but you never would have guessed that judging by the flavor! It was exquisite… trust me, soup doesn’t get more wholesome than this. The best part was, my husband loved it. He even asked when I was going to make it again.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your husband liked it!
C Miller
Excellent! Very easy and delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Shari
Delicious. Love having a great soup and in 15 -30 minutes. Love it
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Sandra L.
This was wonderfully delicious! And Easy. Took me longer to make it in my Instant Pot but my very large ham bone from a 12 pound ham was cold from the fridge, so it added build up time. I had 4 cups of no msg chicken stock, so that plus 2 cups of water was wonderful.
Recommend: ham mostly falls off the bone but still needs shredding or cutting into bite size pieces, so if you wear food safe gloves it’s faster, easier, and my fingers didn’t burn handling hot meat. I did add garlic and Italian blend herbs, but that’s just the way I cook. Truly so delicious my husband told me I should make it once a month all winter ( or more often if I wanted).
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Terri
My husband and I loved this recipe! We used a Costco spiral ham bone. So flavorful and just the right consistency with no need to blend it. No salt was added. It’s a keeper-thank you for sharing!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Emma
This recipe was so simple to make and the taste was amazing! I’m going keto for a few months at the beginning of the year , so am cleaning out my cupboards of all the high carb foods. This was such a a tasty meal. Thank you❤️
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Lee
This is the absolute best Split Pea Soup :-)
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Debbera Baldwin
This was AMAZING!!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Kathryn Dickinson
Comes out delicious every time! And easy!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Cheryl
Thank you for the great easy recipe! A family member wanted my ham hock at our holiday celebration, so I just used fresh made turkey stock & cubed ham. Delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I’ve had some readers use a smoked turkey leg instead of ham, if you want another option for the future. It’s also great with smoked sausage!
Meg
Can I use a crock pot instead of an instant pot? Are there any adaptions needing to be made?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yes, you can use a slow cooker for this. There’s a recipe note – here I’ll copy it below!
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.
Janet CB
First time making split pea soup w/o my 1977 pressure cooker… Delicious recipe with insta pot! Better than pressure cooker! Pefect..used a smoked ham hock!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Sam
Great recipe. I went to honey baked ham and bought a “ham bone”. They mark them around $15 but they ALWAYS ring them up for $3.99. I put the frozen ham bone in a warm pot of water to thaw out so I could cut about 4.5 lbs of meat off. While that was happening, I put a whole head of garlic in the air fryer for 20 minutes for perfect roasted garlic.
I also added 1 big tablespoons of Better Than Bouillon veg base to my “ham water”. Instead of sautéed with butter, I used a little bacon grease and a little Berkshire pork lard(why not). Tossed in the split pea, “ham water”, ham bone and roasted garlic. Served it up with a dollop of creme fresh and some homemade croutons.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing all of this!
Jeff Holden
First time I have made a split pea and ham in an instant pot, let alone in anyway. My dad used to make it when I was younger in a slow cooker. This turned out well, fantastic on these cold December nights.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!