I’m taking a break today from the bacon extravaganza and using ham instead. Haha. Though I will be having quite a few more posts with bacon later. Ham is the Jan to Bacon’s Marsha. Don’t you think? Or was that too weird of an analogy? I’ll stop.
This IS about split pea soup. The split peas can work well on their own, without all the ham stealing the show. So use the ham if you want, but it’s optional. I know some people think it’s a sacrilege to put ham into something as good and virtuous as split pea soup. This is a crock pot recipe which means it’s easy. Put all your ingredients in, turn it on, and that’s it. You’re welcome.
Split Pea Soup in a crock pot
Ingredients:
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2 cups dry split peas
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1 1/2 cups cooked ham, cubed**
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1 cup chopped onion
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1 cup chopped celery with leaves
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1/4 tsp. pepper
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2 cups broth (I used chicken broth)
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3 cups water
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salt to taste (after it is cooked)
**If omitting the ham, please use 4 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup of water.
Directions:
1) Layer ingredients in a crock pot starting from the top of the list, down. Do not mix.
2) Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 4-6 hours. Serve with bread or crackers.
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Did I ever tell you I hate peas? I HATE them. Taste buds work in funny ways. To me, some foods taste like pure rotting flesh while they taste great to others. And peas taste sour and rotting to me. I don’t know why. I hope my taste buds will corroborate with me one day.
But split pea soup is its own separate entity. Cooking them slowly gets rid of all the horrible things I associate with pea flavor. Maybe the peas break down and, I dunno, it tastes a whole lot better as soup than, well, anything else I’ve tried with peas.
So give split pea soup a chance, if you hate peas as well.
And who hates ham? NO ONE HERE I HOPE.
But, if you are vegetarian, please omit this part. The soup will still taste great though. And you can always have chopped ham as an optional topping for all the meat eaters.
The celery and onions will disappear as they cook into the soup. It does give the soup more flavor though. I tried making split pea without celery or onions once…wasn’t as good.
As I stated in the instructions, if you omit the ham, please use 4 cups of broth + 1 cup water.
If you do use ham, please use 2 cups of broth + 3 cups water.
Do not mix! The peas need to be towards the bottom and not floating around everywhere in order to cook properly.
When soup is done cooking, taste and add any additional salt needed. Some hams and chicken broth have more salt than others.
And there you have it. To make this easy for a work day, prepare ingredients the night before. Turn crock pot on before work, get home, and dinner is done.
looks delicious and easy! Thanks for the great recipe!
This is one of my favorite soups. We usually make it when we have leftovers from a whole ham and use the bone to make ham stock. If you ever have leftovers from a whole ham try it, it gives it a delicious flavor!
I wish the weather was cooler here already, I miss making soups…
You’re welcome Peggy!
Chiara – The ham was from leftovers, actually! My mom gave us the meat, and some pineapples she baked it with, but no bone unfortunately. Great flavor though!
I have never actually tried split pea soup… Looks tasty, though. I will definitely give a try once the weather is a bit cooler!
Haha…funny that a couple of you mentioned the weather. It got down to the 70s and I wanted a warm hearty bowl of soup already. :P
I love peas. I’ll pretty much eat soup for lunch every day because it’s easy to eat it as I work in front of the computer.
Very good. I’ve cooked hundreds of pots of split peas
Here are some tricks
1- add salt at the end
2- try adding tablespoon or three of nutritional yeast esp if vegetarian
3- add some kind of cooking oil if vegetarian
4- try garlic and cayenne
5- try adding some frozen peas at the end for a light touch
6- soak the peas at least six hours. Makes cooking easier
7- make sure to serve this hot in the winter…a real warmer upper
8- I like it with some diced raw onion on top
9- Soy sauce adds flavor…if you use it put less salt in the pot
Dan – Thanks for taking the time and effort on all the great tips! It looks like you did cook this hundreds of times :)
I love soups but I dont like pork. Can I substitute the ham for turkey sausage? Any other suggestions instead of ham??? THANK YOU !
Eniris – The ham is just an option, you can opt meat out entirely if you wished. Turkey sausage would be good, though I’d recommend you cook it separately then add it into the soup as you serve it.
Victory! At last I have found a site that answers my questions. Thank you from a very grateful heart. Dorothy Wildman.
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Green peas and split peas are totally different. Split peas are actually legumes, like beans. Although they are green, they taste nothing like fresh green peas. I like them both, my husband however is not a fan of split peas. More for me!
How many servings does this recipe yield? I’m thinking of doubling the recipe as I’m serving 8 people.