Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 4 carrots, diced
• 4 celery ribs, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 lbs dried split peas, rinsed
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 meaty ham bone
• 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4-5 cups water
• 1.5 cups diced ham, from ham bone

Build the Soup Base

Get a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil.

Once it’s shimmering, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for ~3-4 minutes, just until they start to soften.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the rinsed split peas, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir everything together.

Simmer the Soup

Add the bay leaf, ham bone, chicken broth, and 4 cups of water to the pot. Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer.

Cover the pot and let it cook for ~50-60 minutes.

Stir it every so often to make sure the peas aren’t sticking.

The soup is ready for the next step when it’s thickened and the peas have started to break down.

Use tongs to pull the ham bone out and set it on a cutting board. Once it’s cool enough to handle, pull off any meat and give it a rough chop.

You should have about 1.5 cups.

Add the diced ham back to the soup. Let it simmer, uncovered, for another ~5-15 minutes to thicken up a bit more.

If it gets too thick, add another cup of water. The soup will continue to thicken as it cools.

Fish out the bay leaf before you serve it.

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Split Pea and Ham Soup

A meaty ham bone is non-negotiable – it releases collagen and smoky flavor that diced ham alone can’t provide. The peas break down into this thick, creamy base while bits of pulled ham from the bone add texture.

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 2 medium onions diced
• ▢ 4 carrots diced
• ▢ 4 celery ribs diced
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1.5 lbs dried split peas rinsed
• ▢ 1 tsp dried thyme
• ▢ 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ▢ 1 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 1 meaty ham bone
• ▢ 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 4-5 cups water
• ▢ 1.5 cups diced ham from ham bone

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Sauté onions, carrots, and celery for 3-4 minutes until softened.
• Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
• Stir in split peas, thyme, salt, and pepper.
• Add bay leaf, ham bone, chicken broth, and 4 cups water.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove ham bone when peas have broken down and soup has thickened.
• Remove meat from bone, chop into pieces.
• Return meat to pot, simmer uncovered 5-15 minutes until desired thickness.
• Remove bay leaf before serving.

Notes

Add extra cup of water if soup becomes too thick. Soup will continue to thicken as it cools.