Make Split Pea Soup With Ham with your leftover ham bone! An easy, comforting soup recipe that is sure to be a family favorite!
And we’ve got lots more where that came from! For more leftover ham ideas try this Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli or this super comforting Ham and Noodle Soup and this delicious Dill Pickle Ham Salad!
A Leftover Ham Recipe
There’s really nothing more comforting than a pot of soup simmering away on your stove. We’re such a soup loving family, it doesn’t even have to be cold outside for us to want to whip up a pot!
Split Pea Soup With Ham is new to our soup rotation and I have to say I love it. This split pea soup has a thick, but slightly thinner base that is so perfect for slurping up and dipping bread or crackers into.
So I’ve decided that I really don’t like that completely pureed sort of like baby food consistency of split pea soup, which is really the only way I’ve had it before. I definitely prefer the more “brothier” version of this recipe, where the split peas fall apart on their own instead of being blended.
Can I Make Split Pea Soup Without A Ham Bone?
If you don’t happen to have a giant leftover ham bone, you can get a few ham hocks from the store and use that in this soup recipe too. Don’t feel like you have to cook a 15 pound ham before you get your split pea soup fix!
I like to add mostly water to start out, but a couple of cups of chicken broth really adds to the flavor of the stock when this is all done.
Make sure and get a really good chicken stock from the store, too. There’s so many watery chicken broth brands out there that really do nothing more than add a liquid to your soup.
Homemade would obviously be best but try and go for the brands that say chicken “stock” instead of chicken broth.
How To Make Split Pea Soup With Ham
Simmer the ham bone, vegetables and split peas for an hour and a half, stirring every so often. You’ll end up with the most perfect split pea soup recipe you’ve ever tasted.
When the soup is finished, remove the ham bone and take off any extra ham from the bone and add it back to the soup. Any leftover ham that you have can be chopped up and put into this Stove Top Split Pea and Ham Soup too.
The more ham the better if you ask me!
Taste the soup for seasonings to see if it needs any extra salt or pepper, more pepper is always added at our house. The ham bone does add salt to the soup while it’s cooking so do taste it first before you add any additional salt.
Can I Make Split Pea Soup In A Slow Cooker?
Looking to break out your slow cooker instead? You can make this same recipe right in your slow cooker too! Take an extra step to cook your onions and carrots first, then you can transfer them to your slow cooker.
Set it on low for 6-8 hours, remove the ham bone and add any extra ham back in the soup.
Can You Freeze Split Pea Soup?
This soup recipe freezes perfectly, so yes. Freeze away. We love recipes like this that make tons of soup so we can freeze for easy meals down the road.
Let the soup cool down to room temperature, then store in containers or freezer bags. You can freeze the soup for up to 3 months.
PIN IT!
Looking For More Soup Recipes?
Print
Split Pea Soup With Ham
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis delicious, comforting split pea soup with ham is a delicious way to transform your leftovers into another meal!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 (16 ounce) bag of split peas
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 6 cups of water
- 1 ham bone from an 8-10 pound ham, with extra ham on the bone (if you don’t) have a ham bone, get 2 large ham hocks from the butcher department and a 1 pound ham steak)
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 pound diced leftover ham (can use a 1 pound ham steak from the store if you don’t have leftover ham)
- Croutons for topping
Instructions
- Add the butter and olive oil to a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the celery, onions and carrots and cook for 5-7 minutes until softened.
- Season the vegetables with salt, pepper, cumin and thyme and then add the split peas that have been rinsed and picked through. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the water and chicken stock. Add the ham bone and the bay leaves then bring the soup to a boil.
- Turn down the heat to a simmer, partially cover the pot and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- After cooking for an hour, check to see if the peas are tender. Usually you’ll need another 15-30 minutes, but just check the consistency of the peas after the first hour.
- When the peas are tender, remove the ham bone to a board to cool. Remove any extra ham from the ham bone and add it back to the soup along with the 3/4 pound diced ham.
- Remove the bay leaves and serve the soup topped with croutons.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Fantastic recipe! In place of ham I had about 1/2 pound of pork belly (i.e. about 50% fat) plus I added a few potatoes. The result? An absolute winner, and perfect for a cold winter’s night. I’ll be making this again!
Well that sounds amazing…happy to hear that you liked it Jennie! If you could give the recipe a star rating along with your comment we’d really appreciate it!
Are you missing the addition of the cumin in the recipe?
Yes, thank you I updated that!
Amazing! Great recipe and will now be my go to. I used my Easter ham bone and left overs this round. Next round I will use the smoked ham hock I have in the freezer. Thank you for the great recipe!
You’re welcome! We’re so glad that you enjoyed it!
So, so good! We just used leftover ham from Christmas. No bone, no hocks. It was still delicious. This will be our go to split pea soup from here on out.
Best Split Pea Soup recipe so far! Heated next day broth was exactly the same as when it was made, no broth needed because of being too thick!
Fabulous recipe! I loved the spices and used our leftover hickory smoked ham from Christmas- absolutely delicious.