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!
Crockpot Split Pea Soup
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 stalks celery diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon 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
- 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.
- If cooking for 4 hours on high in the Crockpot, soak peas overnight in clean water. Drain & rinse before using.
- 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
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Loved the recipe – much like the split pea spume I’ve been making for about 50 years. The only real difference is that I add about a scant teaspoon of dill weed and/or a scant teaspoon of caraway seeds. I, however, cannot have seeds but I found through Amazon powdered caraway it works fine. I found this recipe in the 60’s, probably by someone of Germanic heritage. Yum.
Those additions both sound delightful Patricia, thank you for sharing!
I made this exact thing as a dump n go in my Instant Pot this evening. Everyone simply loved it!!! It came out very creamy and tasty.
So happy you enjoyed it, Penny!
So delicious and easy to make
So happy you enjoyed it, Gina!
Hi Holly!! It sounds like a great recipe. I’m going to try it later this week. I was wondering if you substitute lentils for the split peas-does the soup still turn out creamy?
Hi Mark, we haven’t tried this recipe with lentils but they should work well in this recipe. We will love to hear how it turns out for you!
I used a small crockpot (4 quart) and had the same issue with it being really watery still after 8 hours on low. To fix this I added another half pound of dry peas and cooked on warm all night, I switched to low in the morning with the lid off and it came to the perfect consistency after a couple more hours. I think just using the 5 cups of broth (and not the extra 2 cups of water) would have been fine, or 1.5x-2x the peas like I did would be good. Overall taste is really yummy and would make again with these adjustments.
GLad you enjoyed it, Caitlin. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Hi! If I make this without the ham, do you recommend adding any other ingreds or changing the ones you have? The only thing I have is some chorizo.
Thanks in advance.
Hey Alice, I think Chorizo would be a delicious substitution but you can also just leave the ham if you prefer.
The peas didn’t cook completely. I followed the directions to cook at a low temp for 8 hours and skip the step of soaking the peas overnight. I used a 4-quart Cuisinart slow cooker and added all the liquid called for in the recipe. Not sure what went wrong.
Oh no, that is disappointing, Stephanie. We have never had that issue with this recipe. We do make it in a 6qt crockpot though, which could affect the cooking time. If your crockpot is too full you may require additional cooking time to fully cook the soup. Hope that helps!
I can’t find the Hurst’s HamPeas in my local stores. What additional spices do you recommend using to substitute the Hurst flavor packet?
You can substitute bouillion in any flavor.
Just pop a bouillon cube in, or dissolve in a cup of water first?
Hi Stephanie, just add it to the crockpot with the remaining ingredients or you can let it dissolve in the water listed in the recipe before adding it to the crockpot. Hope that helps!
Soup came out excellent!
Excellent soup. Not much leftover after having some for dinner. Giving some to my mom and then we had 2 servings leftover. Easy to make and very flavorful. Looking forward to making it again
How much is “one serving”? And how does the nutrition change if one is making a vegetarian version, i.e NOT adding ham?
Hi Sarah, a serving is about a cup and a half. The nutrition information does include the ham so it will change if you omit it.
I will try your recipes as I get them
Holly these 5 stars are for you… The soup wasn’t bad either.
Best soup ever! One of them at least. So good. Thanks for recipe. I used to buy Campbell’s but they quit making it, so nowadays I make it from scratch. This has been favorite so far. And I used a ham hock this time. It probably helped too. So easy
So glad you loved it Jason, a ham hock would is amazing in this soup!
This soup is delicious! I followed the recipe as is and it turned out awesome. I soaked the peas over night because I have had issues with peas not softening enough. Will definitely make again!
So happy you enjoyed this recipe, Gloria!
I used my crock pot. I followed the recipe and mine is very watery. Not at all like split pea soup. I have no idea why. I cooked on low for 8 hours. I guess I can take 1/2 out and puree the rest and see if that helps unless anyone else has a better idea.
Oh no Julie, that’s disappointing! Did you use 1 full pound of split peas? Are the peas really soft because as they break down, they thicken the soup. If they aren’t really soft, you could try simmering on the stove a bit to soften further. If they are really soft, you could try mashing (or blending) some of them to thicken. I hope that helps.
The best pea soup ever. I love it and very easy.
Hi Holly! I am cooking this recipe in crockpot now. I may have missed something, but you noted the best split peas are Hurst’s HamPeas, which I am using… I see your notation that their flavor packet is good in this recipe, but I wasn’t sure whether you meant to use flavor packet instead of the dry spices that you call for, or in addition to? Thanks so much! PS: I tried your crockpot navy bean recipe (also using Hurt’s HamBeans) and it was wonderful!
I use both the seasonings and the flavor packet in my soup Sue! Enjoy.
Absolutely delicious and easy – will make again. Loved the flavour. Followed the recipe except I didn’t have ham so added cut up sausage. Will make it with ham next time. Thank you for sharing this recipe .
You’re welcome! It’s a family favorite too!
Replacing the ham bone with beef marrow bones. Also I added chopped bacon and scallion at the end. Finally I pureed a sweet potato and put that in. The total recipe combined yours my additions came out awesome
Can I use lentils instead of split peas? That’s all I have in my pantry at the moment.
Hi Jennifer, Lentils should work well in this recipe. Enjoy!