We love Split Pea Soup and it’s so easy to make in the Crockpot!
This healthy, heartwarming soup is great for dinner but it freezes and reheats well for meals all week long.
A Creamy Hearty Soup
- Kids young and old alike love the creamy, velvety texture of split pea soup, it’s the ultimate comfort food!
- If you have a leftover hambone, it can be added to the soup and it will flavor the broth.
- Any split peas will work but I do love to use Hurst’s HamPeas because it has an extra flavor packet which is great in this recipe.
- This hearty soup is a great meal alongside 30 Minute Dinner Rolls and a fresh salad.
- Crockpots are the ultimate set-it-and-forget-it way to make delicious recipes with little to no prep or clean-up!
Ingredients
SPLIT PEAS: Split green peas give this soup its signature color, texture, and flavor, plus they are high in fiber and protein. You can find them next to the dried beans in your grocery store.
Yellow split peas will work (AKA Canadian Pea Soup), as well as a combination of split peas and lentils. Be sure they are rinsed from small pieces of debris before using.
VEGETABLES: Onions, carrots, and celery are the traditional ingredients for split pea soup, but diced potatoes, sweet potatoes, even frozen veggies like green peas, spinach, cauliflower, or broccoli can be added to the soup. Purée cooked veggies for a thicker soup.
MEAT: Add a leftover hambone, ham hock, or cubes of ham, even smoked turkey can be added.
How to Make Crockpot Split Pea Soup
This Crockpot recipe is as easy as 1, 2, 3:
- Rinse & drain split peas.
- Place in a Crockpot along with the remaining ingredients.
- Cook on high or low (per the recipe below) until thickened and creamy.
Tips
- If cooking for 4 hours on high in the Crockpot, soak peas overnight in clean water. Drain & rinse before using.
- For a different cooking method, try making Instant Pot Split Pea Soup or this stovetop version.
- No need to soak the green peas if they are slow cooking for more than 4 hours!
- For best results, keep the bone or ham hock in until the soup is finished.
- Thin split pea soup by stirring in extra chicken broth, and to thicken it allow it to cook with the lid off for about 1 hour.
Leftovers
Leftover split pea soup tastes better the next day! Keep it in a covered container in the refrigerator and it will last for about 5 days. Freeze green pea split soup in individual quart-sized bags or in gallon-sized bags with the date labeled on the outside. Frozen split pea soup will last about 3 months in the freezer.
Warming Soup Recipes
- Italian Sausage Soup – spicy goodness
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup – comfort in a bowl
- Creamy Potato Bacon Soup – rich & satisfying
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup – vegetarian fave
- Creamy Tortellini Soup – velvety broth
Did you love this Crockpot Split Pea Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20 ounces dried split peas green or yellow, *see note
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water *see note
- 1 meaty ham bone or 2 cups leftover ham
- 3 ribs celery diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Rinse peas and drain well.
- Combine all ingredients except parsley in a 6qt slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours* or on low 8 hours.
- Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- If cooking for 4 hours on high in the Crockpot, soak peas overnight in clean water. Drain & rinse before using.
- I use Hurst HamPeas Split Peas in this recipe which comes in a 20 oz package. If using a different brand, check the package size. If it contains only 16 oz (1 pound), do not add the additional 2 cups of water.
- Reduce the liquid slightly for a thicker soup.
- No need to soak the green peas if they are slow cooking for more than 4 hours!
- For best results, keep the bone or ham hock in until the soup is finished.
- The peas will break down and naturally thicken the soup.
- Thin split pea soup by stirring in extra chicken broth, and to thicken it allow it to cook with the lid off for about 1 hour.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Main Course, Slow Cooker, Soup
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Do I need to change the liquid if I’m going to add a Diced potato?
No need to change the liquid. Enjoy Angela!
Cooked for 8 hours on low and it was not cooked! Very disappointing to not have dinner ready for my husband. The carrots and onions were still raw, did not look like the photos at all. Used an InstaPot, so now I am trying to save it by turning on the pressure cooker…we will see!
Oh no! I can’t say for sure what happened because carrots and onions certainly shouldn’t be raw after cooking for 8 hours in the slow cooker. Thanks for trying it J.
Hi, I did not soak my peas because I was cooking them on low for 8 hours. The peas were still a little hard? Any ideas? Thank you, Lorraine Allen
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that, Lorraine. If your split peas were older they can take longer to soften, some slow cookers also run a bit cooler which can increase the time required. If your water is quite hard, that can affect it as well. To “fix” the soup right now, you could turn it on high for an hour or so to soften the peas, or simmer on the stovetop until softened. I hope that helps!
I bought the peas on Sunday, not that that means anything. I cooked them on low for an hour and a half and also cooked them on high for an hour, the peas are about the same. I think I’m going to try using an immersion blender next. Thank you for all your help!
Hi, Can you use the same proportions of ingredients and make it on top of the stove in a pot?
Hi Tracy, for a stovetop recipe I recommend this split pea soup recipe.
if im cooking on low for 8 hrs or so, do I still soak the peas overnight?
No need to soak if cooking on low for 8 hours. Enjoy Amy!
Soup was flavorful and filling. Loved this recipe and the fact that you can use the crockpot. Cooked on low, didn’t have to worry about it burning. Easy cleanup with the liner.
Delicious and easy, this is my go to recipe for split pea. The clean up is a breeze with a crock pot liner.
Delicious! Saving this one. Thank you!
Why would you put “soak overnight” in the footnote?! That should be first in the recipe.
Hi CMR, we have a star beside the ingredient referring you to look at the footnote. And then again another star on the cooking step. You can also cook the recipe on low for 8 hours if you don’t want to soak the split peas. I hope this helps!
Easy and delicious.
Making this tomorrow- when do I add the parsley? Is that just for topping when plated?
The parsley is stirred in in step 4.
4. Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Yummy and so easy to prepare! I’ve made this recipe before and just started a new batch this morning. Thanks!
Had a lot of leftover Thanksgiving turkey and put it in this soup. I used lentils as well as split green peas. Also threw in some peeled baby turnips from my CSA box and a ham bone for flavor. Obvs a very forgiving soup that can handle tweaking!
Perfect recipe. I have been making this as written for years now and it comes out perfect and it’s so easy! I keep my holiday ham/turkey bones with great anticipation of making this recipe.
This recipe is AWESOME. I make it every fall and without fail…turns out yummy. I do not add celery but I do add a couple diced potatoes. This is as easy as it looks. Definitely recommend!
Fabulous! Did my “chopping” in my food processor, making this even easier!!! Tossed everything in the crockpot on low and it was ready in 4 hours (my crockpot tends to run hot). And boy, did the house smell good :) A keeper for the winter!