Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup is a super easy and delicious comforting soup made with dried split peas, vegetables, and ham. It's a great use for leftover ham and an easy weeknight soup!
I feel like split pea soup has an unfair reputation just because it isn’t the prettiest soup in the pot. Let’s face it, compared to vividly red tomato soup, bright orange butternut squash soup, and the rainbow of colors in minestrone, split pea soup doesn’t have a chance. But I’m one that happens to love my green vegetables and peas are no exception! This Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup is so full of flavor and incredibly easy to make - it deserves a spot in your winter soup rotation.
Looking for more soup with legumes? Check out my Sausage Lentil Soup.
How to Make Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
This recipe for split pea soup could seriously not be easier. It's a great dump-and-cook recipe, as all of the ingredients are literally dumped in the slow cooker and then left to cook all day long. Add the onion, carrots, celery, dried split peas (that have been rinsed), ham, bay leaf, garlic, thyme, salt, vegetable broth, and water to the slow cooker. Give it a good stir and then cook on low for 8 hours.
After 8 hours, the split peas should be super soft and they will break up a little to create a natural thickness to the soup. Serve topped with some fresh chopped parsley along with some warm bread and enjoy!
This split pea soup, though not the most eye-appealing soup, did not disappoint in taste. Along with being jam packed with veggies, it gets a ton of flavor from a surprising (to me) ingredient: a smoked turkey leg. As always, a bonus to this slow cooker recipe is how incredibly easy it is to make. I even chopped up all of the veggies a week in advance, put them in the freezer with the ham, and then when the ideal day came to make it I simply dumped it all in the crock pot, added the broth and water, and let it slowly cook all day. This soup also makes great leftovers, as the flavors get better every day!
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Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 carrots peeled and diced
- 3 stalks of celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb dried split peas
- 2 cups diced ham
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- fresh chopped parsley for topping
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1-2 cups water depending on how thick you like it
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients except the parsley to the slow cooker.
- Stir well.
- Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Once cooked, the peas will break down and naturally thicken the soup.
- Serve topped with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
