Soups & Stews

Serving

Split Pea Soup with Ham

Name: Split Pea Soup with Ham
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Soups & Stews
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 yellow onion, diced; 2 carrots, diced; 2 celery stalks, diced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 lb dried split peas, rinsed; 8 cups chicken broth; 1 ham bone or 2 cups diced cooked ham; 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp dried thyme; salt and black pepper, to taste

A thick, savory soup of dried split peas simmered with a ham bone and vegetables.

90 minutes

Serves 6

Dinner

31 min prep

50 min cook

Contains common allergens

celery

In the app, Listahan checks these against your household automatically.

Good to know

One-pot

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: one-pot dinners

Instructions

6 steps

1
Heat olive oil in a large pot and sauté onion, carrots, and celery until softened, about 6 minutes.
2
Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
3
Stir in split peas, chicken broth, ham bone, bay leaves, and thyme; bring to a boil.
4
Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until peas break down and soup thickens.
5
Remove ham bone, shred any meat, and return meat to the pot (or stir in diced ham).
6
Remove bay leaves, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Split Pea Soup with Ham — plated and served — Serving moment. How Split Pea Soup with Ham looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

70/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 90

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 54

Budget-friendly 84

Great leftovers 87

Pantry-friendly 39

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

165

Calories

12 g

Protein

23 g

Carbs

4 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Split pea soup sits in a long line of cold-weather, dried-legume cooking across Europe and North America, where peas could be stored through winter and simmered into a filling meal. The ham bone version reflects a practical kitchen habit: using the smoky, salty meat left on the bone to season the whole pot instead of treating it as waste.

Listahan note

This version keeps the soup sturdy and straightforward: a classic onion-carrot-celery base, enough broth for the peas to fully soften, and a ham bone for depth. The goal is a thick spoon-coating soup, not a thin broth with peas floating in it.

Technique cues

Rinse the split peas well before they go into the pot; it clears away dusty starch and makes it easier to spot any stray bits from the bag.
Stir more often as the soup thickens near the end. Split peas can settle on the bottom once they start breaking down.
Season carefully after the ham has simmered. The broth and ham may already bring plenty of salt, so the final adjustment matters more than early salting.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: While the onion, carrots, and celery soften, rinse the split peas and measure the broth, bay leaves, and thyme so the pot can be built without pausing.
Make-ahead: Cook the soup fully, chill it, and loosen it with a splash of broth or water when reheating because split peas thicken as they rest.
Leftover move: Spoon thick leftovers over toasted rye or a baked potato, then add black pepper and a little chopped parsley if you have it.
Cleanup rhythm: Rinse the pot as soon as the soup is portioned; dried split pea starch clings tightly once it cools on the sides.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

Dried split peas

Body and main starch

Purpose: They collapse as they cook, turning the broth into a naturally thick soup without cream or flour.

Handling: Rinse until the water runs mostly clear and discard any damaged peas or small debris.

Adaptation: Yellow split peas work with the same method and give a milder, slightly earthier bowl.

Ham bone or diced cooked ham

Smoky savory base

Purpose: A ham bone seasons the broth slowly and leaves tender bits of meat to stir back in.

Handling: Nestle the bone into the liquid so it is mostly submerged, then shred any attached meat after simmering.

Adaptation: Diced cooked ham is faster and cleaner to handle, though the soup will have a little less body than a bone-simmered pot.

Yellow onion, carrots, and celery

Vegetable foundation

Purpose: This trio gives the soup sweetness, aroma, and enough texture to keep it from tasting flat.

Handling: Dice them evenly so they soften at the same pace before the peas and broth are added.

Adaptation: Leek can replace part of the onion for a softer flavor, while extra carrot makes the soup slightly sweeter.

Chicken broth

Cooking liquid

Purpose: It gives the peas a savory base while the ham contributes smoke and salt during the simmer.

Handling: Bring it to a full boil before lowering the heat so the peas start cooking evenly.

Adaptation: A lighter broth gives a cleaner pea flavor; a richer broth makes the finished soup taste more stew-like.

Garlic

Aromatic lift

Purpose: Garlic fills in the gap between the sweet vegetables and the smoky ham.

Handling: Cook it for only about a minute after the vegetables soften so it perfumes the oil without browning hard.

Adaptation: A small pinch of garlic powder can stand in, but add it with the thyme so it hydrates in the broth.

Bay leaves and dried thyme

Herbal background

Purpose: They add a quiet savory note that keeps the soup from tasting only of peas and ham.

Handling: Remove the bay leaves before serving, and crush the dried thyme lightly between your fingers as it goes in.

Adaptation: A little dried marjoram can replace thyme if you want a rounder, less woodsy flavor.

Technique notes

Drop to a lazy, barely-bubbling simmer once the peas go in. A hard boil scorches the bottom of the pot before the peas fully break down.
Partially cover the pot so steam can escape while still keeping enough liquid for the peas to soften.
If the soup gets thicker than you like, loosen it gradually with hot broth or water; adding too much at once can flatten the seasoning.

Ingredient swaps

No ham bone path: Use diced cooked ham and add it near the end so it stays tender instead of drying out during the full simmer.
Lighter salt direction: Use a less salty broth and wait until the end to add salt, since the ham will season the pot as it cooks.
Smoother texture: Blend a few cups of the finished soup and stir it back in for a creamier bowl while keeping some diced vegetables and ham pieces.
Thicker stew style: Simmer uncovered for the last 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the peas tighten into a hearty scoopable texture.

Serve alongside

Buttered rye toast
Cheddar scallion biscuits
Apple-cabbage slaw
Roasted Brussels sprouts
Dry hard cider
Black tea with lemon
Amber lager

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate in a shallow sealed container so the thick soup cools evenly and portions cleanly.
Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of broth or water, stirring until the texture loosens.
Freeze in flat containers, thaw overnight, and whisk or stir firmly as it reheats to bring the peas back together.

Equipment

Large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven
Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula
Colander for rinsing split peas
Tongs for lifting the ham bone

Make this household-aware

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