Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup is warm, comforting, healthy, and hearty, loaded with ham, potatoes, and carrots. And best of all, it’s easy to make since your crockpot does all of the work!
We've been pretending around here...pretending that it actually feels like fall. But we're not pretending that a busy fall schedule has descended upon us -- noooo, that's reality, folks -- so I've been relying on my crockpot, now more than ever.
And what's easier to whip up in the slow cooker than a warm, comforting, perfect-for-fall (or perfect when you're pining for fall) soup? I particularly love throwing dried beans -- or in this case, dried split peas -- in the crock pot. Say hello to a supper that's hearty (and healthy!) but not heavy...Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup!
Ingredients
The ingredients for this split pea soup recipe are simple and straightforward.
- Dried green split peas. Yellow split peas will work if you can't find green. Either way, there's no need to soak 'em.
- Ham. Diced. This recipe happens to be a GREAT way to use up leftover holiday ham! Better yet, if you still have a ham bone, simmering it right in the soup during cooking will add depth of flavor.
- Potatoes. Peeled and diced.
- Carrots. I shred my carrots, rather than dicing them, to further assist their melt-into-the-soup action.
- Garlic. Minced. I always add extra!
- Chicken broth or stock. Or feel free to sub vegetable broth. For most slow cooker recipes calling for broth, I use my old standby: Organic Better Than Bouillon chicken (or turkey, or beef, or vegetable) base. It's pretty salty, so I initially use less than called for and then adjust to taste. And seldom do I feel the need to add more salt at the end when using Better Than Bouillon.
- Bay leaf + fresh minced parsley. For flavor
- Salt + freshly ground black pepper. To taste. How much salt you need to add at the end will depend on the saltiness of both your ham and your chicken broth.
Tweaking the Recipe
Slow cooker soups like this Crockpot Split Pea Soup are infinitely customizable, so add whatever makes it appealing to your family.
It makes me happy to be able to add other vegetables to this recipe, since they end up cooking down enough to be somewhat incognito. My kids eat their veggies without a fuss and I don't have to worry about extraneous vegetable side dishes to go with dinner that night. Win, win! So increase or change up the veggies as you wish. You could toss in some celery or onions…whatever floats your boat.
Additionally, you could opt to further boost the flavor of your Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup by stirring in a teaspoon of smoked paprika or a few generous dashes of hot sauce (such as Tabasco).
If you have smoked sausage (such as kielbasa), you can dice it up and add to your soup in lieu of the ham. You may opt to brown the sausage in a skillet before adding it to the soup, if you wish.
Diced smoked turkey is another possible substitute for the ham.
And finally, I personally love to stir a splash (about ½ teaspoon) of apple cider vinegar into my own bowl of split pea soup before enjoying it!
How to Make Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
This is seriously the easiest split pea soup recipe. The only real work involves a bit of chopping. Then simply toss your ingredients into the crockpot and let them cook away all day!
- Rinse and drain a pound of dried split peas, then place in the bottom of a slow cooker along with diced ham, potatoes, carrots, and garlic.
- Pour in chicken broth.
- Add a bay leaf and fresh minced parsley.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours...or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
- Taste and add salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy!
Adjusting the Consistency
It's easy to adjust the consistency of this Crockpot Split Pea Soup to your liking.
For a thinner soup, stir in a bit of additional broth.
For a thicker soup, use an immersion blender to puree some of the soup.
Alternatively, you can remove 1 to 2 cups of the soup to a blender, puree it, and then stir it back into the slow cooker. ***Just keep in mind that hot liquids can expand when blended, so be be sure to crack the lid of the blender and cover the opening with a folded kitchen towel to prevent possible splatters and burns.***
Storing Split Pea Soup
Leftover soup can be tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.
This split pea soup recipe can also be frozen for up to three months. Transfer to freezer-safe containers or freezer-thickness plastic bags. If using bags, squeeze out any extra air, spread soup into a thin layer, and freeze flat. You can later stack frozen bags or stand them up in the freezer like books on a shelf.
I hope that this Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup is yet another recipe that you'll be able to add to your arsenal of easy, tasty, healthy meals that will please your family while fitting into your busy schedule!
More Easy Slow Cooker Soups
- German Lentil Soup with Sausage
- Ham & Bean Soup
- Chicken & White Bean Chili
- Corn & Potato Chowder with Ham
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound (16 ounces) dried green split peas, rinsed & drained
- 2 cups diced ham
- 2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 7 cups chicken broth or stock, or vegetable broth or stock
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup fresh parsley, minced (plus extra for garnish)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place dried split peas, ham, potatoes, carrots, and garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth. Stir in bay leaf and parsley. Cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours (or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours) until peas are tender and broken down.
- Taste, add salt and pepper as needed, and garnish with additional fresh parsley, if desired. Leftovers should be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Video
Notes
- You can dice your carrots if you prefer more noticeable bites of carrot, but I like shredding mine because they practically melt into the soup and my kids don't spend time trying to avoid them.
- The amount of liquid in this recipe should be more than sufficient, but any time you cook a dried bean recipe in the crock pot for the first time, you'll want to check your water/broth level every once in awhile to make sure too much hasn't been soaked up by your beans/peas. If it has, just add more water/broth and stir. Some crock pots run hotter than others.
- The salt is added at the end of the recipe after tasting, since the soup may already be salty enough without it between the ham and the chicken broth.
- Once your soup is done, you may adjust the consistency to your liking by stirring in additional broth for a thinner soup. Or use an immersion blender to puree some of the soup to thicken it.
Adapted from Whole Foods Market.
Post originally published on September 13, 2013, and updated on October 11, 2022.
Christine
Hello Samantha!
Just wanted to let you know that I tried this pea soup recipe a couple of days ago and it is wonderful! My fiancee, who generally hates peas, loved it and even went back for seconds. : ) I have your German lentils with sausage in my crackpot now and can't wait to taste them. Have a great day and thanks for sharing these awesome and simple recipes!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
It makes me so happy to hear that, Christine! Certain members of my family are leery of peas as well but they like this soup. 🙂 Hope the Lentil Soup was a hit as well (we just had it last night, too!), and I'm glad that you're enjoying the recipes I share. Have a great rest of the week!
Sandra
This soup was absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Samantha at Five Heart Home
You're very welcome, Sandra...I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Have a great week. 🙂
Lauren
I don't know that I've ever had split pea soup before, but your pictures make it look pretty amazing. I'm going to have to make this for my family this fall.
Jennifer
Delish!
Wendy Hodges
So I have all this leftover Easter ham and it's still chilly here in the Northwest - have everything prepped and ready to go for tomorrow so it will cook while I'm at work. Can't wait!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
It's a great way to use up extra Easter ham, Wendy! I hope you enjoyed it...and I hope your weather warms up soon! 🙂
Sandi
Hi! This looks amazing! I was wondering if it would work to put a ham bone in it? I have a very meaty bone in the freezer from Christmas dinner....
Thanks, Sandi
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Hi Sandi! You could definitely put a ham bone in it! Then when the soup is done, you could pull out the bone and pull off any remaining meat to put back in the soup (or if there's not, you could proceed with the diced ham at the beginning of the cook time as the recipe originally calls for). I would just advise using low-sodium chicken broth (and don't add any additional salt unless it's needed at the end) to make sure things don't get too salty. Thanks for the question...enjoy! 🙂
Sarah
Hi! I am new to your blog - I made this soup the other night and it was DELICIOUS! I will be making the crockpot meatballs, for meatball subs - tomorrow.
Thanks for a great and very easy recipe!!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
I am so happy to hear this, Sarah! I hope you love the meatball subs as much as you enjoyed the soup. And stay tuned for more easy recipes...those are my forte right now with three young children! 😉
Andrya
Made this soup yesterday and it was fantastic! Made it exactly [diced my carrots instead of shred] and it was perfect for the cold rainy day we were having! Definite keeper!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
I'm very happy to hear that, Andrya! It's definitely a great soup for a rainy day. Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know that you enjoyed it! Hope you have a great week... 🙂
Kimberly
Samantha,
There is something so "Fall" about split pea soup. This recipe looks great! I have a recipe that I've been using for a few years but it gets really, really thick as leftovers and I've never tried to troubleshoot. This recipe looks a little different, so I'm guessing it's probably the one to go with. Now I'm craving it. Better add it to the upcoming meal plan. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thanks, Kimberly! I hope you enjoy this soup. In my experience, the consistency doesn't seem to change as leftovers...hope it works out for you as well! Have a great weekend!
Amy
Soup season is my very favorite, but split pea soup is my absolute favorite thing about my favorite season 🙂 I loved that this recipe is made in the slow cooker. It was so great to come home from work with dinner already cooked!
angela
just wanted to pop in to let you know we had this soup yesterday........fantastic! we also have made your sausage/apple kabobs a couple times now and love it! keep sharing 🙂 blessings~~angela
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thank you so much for coming back and leaving such a thoughtful comment, Angela! It makes my day to hear that people are enjoying the recipes I share here, and I'm so happy to have you as a regular reader. Hope you're having a great week! 🙂
Shannon
This looks great! I love using my slow cooker for dinners during the busy week. I can't wait to try this:)
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thanks, Shannon! I, for one, would be lost without my slow cooker. 🙂 Hope you enjoy this recipe when you try it...I appreciate you stopping by!
Daniela
I love this soup! one of my favorites
Sharon
So delicious looking! This is just in time for the cool days that are approaching. I've never had split-pea soup but this definitely looks like something I should try.
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thanks so much, Sharon! We think it's pretty yummy...I hope you enjoy it, too, if you end up trying it!
Zainab @ Blahnik Baker
Thankfully it is actually feeling like fall here in Upstate NY and I can't wait to dust off the crock pot. This soup looks so delicious and will be a great comfort soup.
Krista @ joyfulhealthyeats
This looks awesome, Split Pea is one of my favorite comfort soups. In fact, when I was sick I use to ask for that instead of chicken noodle. 🙂 Totally gonna try making this, especially because it is as easy as throwing it into the crock pot! 🙂
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thanks, Krista! Hopefully you can enjoy this soup while you're well instead of sick! And it's so easy to make...I love recipes where the only effort involved is throwing ingredients into the crock pot. Hope your week is off to a great start... 🙂
Maria
What a delicious looking soup! Split pea soup is one of my favorites, and your version looks wonderful! Today is the first really cold day here in Maryland, and I'm in the mood for some good soup now! This looks great!!!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thanks, Maria! Having this soup on a cold day sounds WONDERFUL. It's a chilly 84° in Texas at the moment, so maybe I should make some soup right away before it's back up to 97° this afternoon! Ugh. Enjoy your soup and your fall temperatures! 🙂
Jodee Weiland
Looks so delicious...can't wait to try this!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thanks so much, Jodee...I hope you enjoy it! Happy Friday!