Split Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup is hearty, comforting, and healthy. It’s perfect to warm up with on a cold day. This hearty soup is made with split peas, homemade stock, ham, and vegetables. Smoked pork neck bones give this soup a special flavor that distinguishes it from any other. You can make this homemade bone stock ahead of time to save some cooking time. 

Don’t miss other comforting soups that are worth trying, like Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup, Cauliflower Cheese Soup, and the classic Baked Potato Soup.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

This is a great soup for everyone, adults, kids, and babies. It’s a very flavorful soup with a lot of health benefits. Peas are loaded with antioxidants, fiber, Vitamin-K, manganese, and they are a good sources of Omega-3 fats. Peas are great for supporting heart health, stomach health, and many other overall health benefits.

You will know all the wonderful benefits of this soup, while the family enjoys the taste. This soup has a very special taste because of the smoked pork neck bones I use to make it. I’ve tried making this soup with marrow bones, chicken bones, chicken meat, or just ham, and none of those variations taste as good as smoked pork neck bones.

Making homemade stock can take up to three hours to take that in consideration or prepare the it ahead of time. It’s very simple to make it ahead of time but note that homemade stock only lasts about a day or two in the refrigerator.

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HOW TO MAKE HAM STOCK FOR SPLIT PEA SOUP

Homemade stock takes minimal effort but it does take about 3 hours to cook.

For this soup, you will need about 1 lb of smoked pork neck bones. If smoked pork neck bones are not available, the best substitute would be ham bones with some meat still on bone that you can later add to the soup.

Fill a large soup pot with 8-10 cups of water. I always add 10 rather than 8 cups because it’s better to end up with extra stock than not enough.

Add smoked pork neck bones to the pot and 1 bay leaf. Set heat to medium-high and bring it to boil. Once water starts to boil, reduce heat to low and let it cook, partially covered, for 2.5 to 3 hours.

When stock is ready, take out the bones, and strain the stock. Let stock cool and either use it in soup, refrigerate in an air-tight container, or freeze.

Take the meat off the bone, make sure there are no little bones left anywhere in meat. Save meat for the soup and discard the bones.

HOW TO FREEZE STOCK:

After stock is cooked, it’s best to get it cooled as quickly as possible. Place the pot with stock into a larger container filled with ice and let it cool, stirring occasionally.

If you are planning on using the whole batch of stock at the same time, you can freeze it in one freezer-friendly container or zip-lock freezer bag. Stock can also be portioned into several zip-lock bags, and frozen in portions.

Make sure to label and date the freezer bag and get the air out. Seal and place in the freezer.

For more freezing tips, check out my post on freezing foods.

HOW TO MAKE SPLIT PEA SOUP

Start by rinsing dried peas and set aside.

Preheat a large pot over medium heat and add a little oil for cooking the veggies.

Add diced onion and carrots to the pot and saute for a few minutes.

Press garlic and and it to the pot. Saute until fragrant.

Add split peas and meat taken off the bones. Stir and let it saute for a couple more minutes.

Pour in about 6 cups of prepared stock but reserve the rest in case you need to make the soup thinner.

Add spices and salt to taste. Remember that smoked pork neck bones are already salty so taste to see how much salt you need to add. Mix well, and lower the temperature to medium-low. Cover but leave a crack for steam to escape.

Cook for about an hour, until the peas are completely cooked and soft. Make sure to stir occasionally. Add more stock if thinner soup is desired.

HOW TO FREEZE SPLIT PEA SOUP

Just like with stock and any other soup, it’s important to cool cooked soup quickly before freezing. Place the pot with soup into a larger container filled with ice and let it cool, stirring occasionally.

Once soup is cooled to room temperature, portion it into freezer zip-lock bags. Get the air out and seal. Label and date each bag and lay them flat on a cutting board. Place it in the freezer.

It’s easier to freeze soup in freezer bags. When frozen flat, it can be stacked easily, which saves a lot of room.

Defrost soup overnight in the refrigerator.

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Homemade Split Pea Soup

This hearty soup is made with split peas, homemade stock, ham, and vegetables. Smoked pork neck bones make this soup taste extra special.

5 from 6 votes

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: split pea soup

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes

Servings: 8 (Makes about 2.5 quarts)

Calories: 238kcal

Ingredients

Stock:

• 1 lb smoked pork neck bones
• 8-10 cups water
• 1 dry bay leaf

Split Pea Soup:

• 1 lb bag of dry split peas
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp dry parsley
• salt
• black pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Stock:

• Fill a large soup pot with 8-10 cups of water. I always add 10 rather than 8 cups because it’s better to end up with extra stock than not enough.
• Add smoked pork neck bones to the pot and 1 bay leaf. Set heat to medium-high and bring it to boil. Once water starts to boil, reduce heat to low and let it cook, partially covered, for 2.5 to 3 hours.
• When stock is ready, take out the bones out, and strain the stock. (Use it in soup, refrigerate in an air-tight container, or freeze.)

Split Pea Soup:

• Take meat off the bone, make sure there is no little bones left anywhere in meat. Save meat for the soup and discard the bones.
• Rinse dried peas and set aside.
• Preheat a large pot over medium heat and add a little oil for cooking the veggies.
• Add diced onion and carrots to the pot and saute for a few minutes.
• Press garlic and and it to the pot. Saute until fragrant.
• Add split peas and meat taken off the bones. Stir and let it saute for a couple more minutes.
• Pour in about 6 cups of prepared stock but reserve the rest in case you need to make the soup thinner.
• Add spices and salt to taste. Remember that smoked pork neck bones are already salty so taste to see how much salt you need to add. Mix well, and lower the temperature to medium-low. Cover but leave a crack for steam to escape.
• Cook for about an hour, until the peas are completely cooked and soft. Make sure to stir occasionally. Add more stock if thinner soup is desired.

Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.

Nutrition

Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 33mg | Potassium: 634mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2630IU | Vitamin C: 3.5mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2.6mg

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Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on March 2, 2011.