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.
Did you know commenting and rating recipes is one of the best ways you can support your favorite food bloggers? If you made this recipe or have a question, please click the stars below to comment and Rate this Recipe and/or share photos on social media using the hashtag #bowlofdelicious or tagging @bowlofdelicious!
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:
Saundra
What is the processfor using an uncooked ham hock? Does it need to be precooked or does 15 minutes of pressure cooking do the trick? The one I am using is .7 pounds.
Elizabeth
Hm, good question! The ham hocks you buy at the store are almost always fully cooked / cured and smoked. If you’re sure yours is uncooked, I think it would probably be fine cooking for the 15 minutes of pressure cooking, especially since yours is so small. You can always try it out and check it when the time is up with a meat thermometer (or if the meat falls off the bone you know it’s done). If it isn’t cooked after the 15 minutes, you can add a little more time (if you don’t mind the split peas breaking down a little more). And if you’re worried about it, you could pre-cook it- it certainly won’t hurt! Hope that helps!
Maxly
I made this tonight and hubs and I loved it. I did have to cook it two more minutes to get the split peas all the way cooked. This could just be individual taste. I also added some fresh thyme since I had it. This will definitely be made again! Thanks.
Elizabeth
So glad you liked it! Love the idea of adding thyme, thanks for the suggestion :-)
Jennifer
Thank you so much for the recipe – also love your comment about asking for the turkey carcass etc, that is me too ? ha ha.
I was wondering – what is the serving size for the nutrition information ?
Thank you !
Jen
Elizabeth
Haha it’s WAY too good to throw away!
My best estimate would be about 1.5 cups per serving. The whole batch serves 8, and while I didn’t actually measure the amount of soup total at the end, I’m guessing it makes about 12 cups total. I’m not much of a “serving size” kind of person so keep in mind it’s just an estimate, but I hope that helps a little bit! :-)
Helen
Thank you for sharing this. I’m anxious to make it.
Elizabeth
Hope you like it!
Jill
I made this with the ninja foodi (I’m a beginner) it came out mush. I followed directions EXCEPT on the natural release…I waited, waited, waited…18min, then i released the steam. Is that how I messed it up?? Should i have waited longer? Im trying to learn from this
Elizabeth
Hmmm. It’s possible it overcooked from waiting to release the pressure, and it’s possible the ninja foodie cooks differently or faster than an Instant Pot. But also, split peas do kind of turn to mush! They break down a lot and the whole soup ends up being thick, almost like refried beans that have been mushed up. Sorry I can’t help you more!
TriciaH
And the second Instant Pot of split pea soup is gone! I do cut the recipe in half since I have a 3 quart. I always have a couple ham steaks in the freezer…hmm..I think I see another batch of soup in the near future! So nice to make it without the long cooking times to get the peas soft and mushy. After it cools, I do add a little water; otherwise, it thickens so much in the refrigerator that its hard to get out of the container. That worked perfectly. Scoop it out, heat it up and chow down. My oldest son was here for Christmas. He ate multiple bowls..said it was a five star recipe.
Kimberley
Lovely recipe! Would you please add a link at the top of your blog entries to skip to the recipe?
Elizabeth
So happy you liked the recipe! Thanks so much for the feedback to add the link at the top to skip to the recipe. I’ve been considering whether or not to add it in. In full honesty, adding the link would result in loss of a LOT of ad revenue, and since blogging/creating free recipes is my full time job, I haven’t added it yet. I’m hoping to diversity my income this coming year so I can add the skip to recipe link since I do know it’s so much better for user experience. It’s helpful to hear that it would be good to have, so thanks again! :-)
Irene
Can I use leeks instead of onion?
Elizabeth
I think that would be DELICIOUS! I’d sauté them for a little longer so they really soften and get super tender. Hope that helps!
Mona
Will the cooking time differ if I put my frozen ham bone in the Insta Pot? or do I have to defrost it first. Looking forward to try your recipe with my new Christmas gift, the Insta Pot :)
Elizabeth
Hm- I haven’t tried it frozen, but I think it would be fine! I think it will take longer for the IP to come up to pressure, so be prepared for that, but once it does I think the cooking time will be the same. Since ham is already cooked, you don’t have to worry about it being underdone. Hope you like it, and hope you enjoy your new Instant Pot!
Marissa E Petersen
You can use frozen meat, definitely. My very first recipe in my IP was frozen chicken breasts and was for chicken enchilada soup. It was the most amazing, tender, and juicy chicken that I have ever experienced. As author mentioned, it just takes longer to pressurize and cook, but it’s still fast!
Deb
It’s a rainy December day here so I’m making this with pieces of leftover Xmas ham. Thanks for the great recipe. Unfortunately I don’t own an official “Instant Pot” but I do have a brand w same settings. I use it 3-5x a week for everything from rice to pot roast.
BTW do you have any similar black eyed peas & ham bone recipes for the IP? I’m looking for a New Years recipe w greens.
Elizabeth
Ooo I hope you like it! And yes, I do! I’m actually going to make it this weekend ? https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/instant-pot-black-eyed-pea-soup-for-the-new-year/
Deedledee
Is it possible I can double the recipe with the same amount of ham or ham bone?
Thanks, Dee
Elizabeth
If you double it I would recommend doing it on your stovetop since I don’t think it will fit in the instant pot! And yes you can use as much or as little ham as you want ? hope you like it!
TriciaH
I just made this for the first time. I used the smoked ham bone left from Christmas and chunked up more ham. I have a 3 quart so I cut it in half. Oh man so so so good! We have maybe one bowl left! Something this good and this fast will become a staple.
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it! Thanks for the comment ?
Diane
Wow.
Just finished eating this delicious soup. My husband has been making this soup for over 40 years, he did not believe that I could make it so quickly and so well.
Thanks so much. Directions were well written and easy to understand, only my 3rd time using the Instantpot.
Thank you and Happy Holidays!!!
Elizabeth
So happy you and your husband liked it!! Happy holidays to you as well, and thank you for the comment :-)
Tricia
Will this recipe fit into a 3 quart Instant Pot? We are having ham for Christmas and I already bought the peas…can’t wait to try it.
Elizabeth
Hmmm I don’t think a 3 quart instant pot would quite fit everything! You could cut the ingredients in half (and still use a whole ham bone) and probably be fine, or you can do it on the stovetop or slow cooker. Hope that helps!
Bill
I like this recipe and I am making it tomorrow, but I will be adding barley pearls. This gives the soup an interesting texture. Thanks for the recipe.
Elizabeth
Ooo I love the idea of adding barley! And I just happen to have some lying around in my pantry- I’ll have to try that next time!
Kirsten Veneziano
I’m going to try this tonight, as my second recipe in my new IP. I wonder if I can substitute a smoked ham shank for the ham bone, or will it be too smokey? The shank is cut into thirds, I could try it with one third and some thick cut ham steak cubes. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Elizabeth
The ham bone I used was from a smoked ham so I think it would be fine! Hope you like it ?
Mary
Thank you,thank you! This was my first real Instant Pot recipe (after experimenting with eggs and with brown rice) and it was incredible, both flavor and texture! I did add 2 T Sherry at the end – from my previous favorite recipe. The Instant Pot has produced wonderfully enhanced texture in all of things I’ve tried.
Elizabeth
I’m so happy you liked it! What a good suggestion to add sherry- I’ll have to try that. Sometimes I add red wine or apple cider vinegar at the end- delicious, too!
Rina Miller
This turned out so well! I’ve made snert many times, but this was my first in the Instant Pot.
It was easy, delicious, and perfect, according to my Dutch palate.
Thanks!
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it!
Shannon
“You can make this for me any time. How about tomorrow?” –my picky hubby
Agreed, and it’s so easy. I love how it allows the ingredients to speak for themselves, and it’s also amenable to a Tim Gunn approach: when what you have on hand isn’t exactly what’s called for, “Make it work”.
I was short on butter so I did half and half with butter and olive oil. No ham bone handy, but in my local neighborhood smoked turkey is often used in place of the pork that my Muslim neighbors don’t eat. Two smoked turkey tails made a terrific substitute.
Add in the Instant Pot and some day-before prep work, and you have a dead simple dinner on the table before you’ve had a chance to get home and catch up with the kids’ homework. If you you’re dining on leftovers from a prior split-pea-soup meal, even sooner.
We failed at leftovers this time, and there are only TWO of us! It Was That Good. Maybe next time we’ll grow some willpower. But this recipe is so good I hope we can be forgiven at least tonight’s gluttony.
Elizabeth
Hah! I’m SO happy you and your husband liked this so much! It’s one of my all-time favorites.
Christie Allred
So easy and so tasty! I love the consistency and the flavors- the ham is key!
Elizabeth
Glad you liked it, and thanks! I agree- the ham makes it!
NAY
Delish…I am a first time instant pot user just got it. THANKYOU it was a hit for my family
Elizabeth
So happy you and your family liked it!