This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Instant Pot Split Pea Soup is a good recipe to use for leftover ham! Quick cooking and easy to make, this flavorful pressure cooker split pea soup is one of my most popular recipes. It’s really delicious!
Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
Turning on the Way-Back Machine, I can recall eating Split Pea Soup when I was still in a high chair! It has always been a favorite soup recipe of mine. This recipe is inspired by my Mom.
Use Leftover Ham
If you cooked a bone-in ham you can use the meaty ham bone to flavor this soup.
If you don’t have a bone, just use the ham meat, cubed. It will still add the flavor you want.
You can also use ham hocks. Best if not frozen.
A Faster Split Pea Soup
When I make Split Pea Soup on the stove, it takes 2 to 3 hours, though it tastes awesome!
I wanted to have a quicker cooking split pea soup, so I adapted my recipe for the Instant Pot®.
Pressure cookers are great for just this kind of recipe, as the flavors are extracted from the ingredients and make the broth taste delicious!
Pressure cookers speed up the process and cook the soup in way less time than on the stove.
Instant Pot Split Pea Soup only takes about an hour, with the sautéing and natural release, so that’s a big time saver! The peas come out nice and soft, and the flavor is very good!
If you want a Vegetarian or Vegan pressure cooker split pea soup, omit the butter (for vegan), use vegetable broth, and try some liquid smoke to give the soup a nice smoky hint of flavor.
Instant Pot Potato Soup
Instant Pot Potato Ham Soup
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)
Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup
Pin This Recipe
If you make this yummy pressure cooker split pea soup recipe, let me know! Please leave a comment with a star rating below. I’d love to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Onion, diced
- 3 Stalks of Celery, diced
- 2 Bay Leaves
- ¼ tsp Thyme Leaves, dried
- 3 Carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- 6 cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth low sodium (use only 5 cups for a thick soup, 7 cups for a thinner soup)
- 1 lb Green Split Peas, rinsed and sorted (unsoaked)
- 1 tsp Liquid Smoke (Optional) for vegetarian version
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt (add last, after cooking, if needed) (1/4 tsp table salt)
Use any of these for your meat (or a combination of them)
- 6 slices Bacon (Optional) chopped
- 2 small Ham Hocks (Optional) Not very meaty, but add a nice smoky flavor and richness.
- 1 Leftover Ham Bone (Optional) I like to use this with the diced ham
- 2 - 3 cups Diced Leftover Ham (Optional)
Instructions
- Turn the pressure cooker on to the Sauté function. Let it warm up and add the olive oil and butter.
- Add the onion, celery, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to turn translucent.
- Add the carrots, garlic, bacon or ham, if using, and pepper. Cook for a minute.
- Add the broth and ham bone or ham hocks, if using (Add liquid smoke, if using, for vegetarian method). Let come to a simmer.
- Stir in the split peas.
- Place the lid on the pot and lock it in place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Cancel the sauté function and Choose Pressure Cook/Manual, and use the + or - or dial to choose 18 minutes. High pressure. It will take a few minutes for the pot to come to pressure.
- When the cooking time has finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 15 minutes to naturally release some of the pressure. Then turn the steam release knob to Venting to quick release the remaining pressure.
- When the pin in the lid drops down, carefully open the lid, facing away from you. Remove the bay leaves and the bone or ham hocks, if you used them.
- Taste and add the salt as desired.
- Serve hot. The soup will thicken quite a bit when it cools, that is normal.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Split Pea Soup recipe and more
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Excellent! I always used a slow cooker or stovetop method but the Instant Pot is the answer. I grate my carrots so they just blend in with the soup and you don’t even know they’re there. The split peas were cooked to creamy consistency. By the way I weighed 1# of split peas and then measured it and it comes to exactly 2 measured cups. The flavor is fantastic!
i’m making your split pea with a ham hock right now … smells great so far.
saw your video above of insta ground meat .. and i love that you’re crumbling it up with the pampered chef’s mix’n chop! i’ve been a consultant for 20 years .. love it! can’t wait for the soup to be done. 🙂
LOl! Tammy, I am a PC fan for sure! I was so excited because my sister just gave me her PC mandolin that she never uses! I have so many great PC products! Send me your info and I’ll use you for my next order – sandy @ simplyhappyfoodie.com (remove the spaces).
This is a great recipe. I make it without ham and use a hickory smoked powder instead of liquid smoke because that’s what I buy. It’s so good. It’s definitely one of my repeat recipes. So easy. Such simple ingredients.
That’s so great! I must find this powder!!!
Hi,
I made this last year without any meat, but this time around I made it with the bacon slices. It might be my pregnancy brain, but was I supposed to cook the bacon slices prior? Because I definitely did not haha. I might be picking bacon slices out of the soup now ..oops.
Thanks,
Ariel
You can do it either way. I like to cook the bacon, then sauté the onion in the bacon fat.
Definitely a keeper. We grew up with split pea and ham soup. I cut up a ham steak for my ham. My second attempt at the instant pot, and I am hooked!
That’s great, Jean! I’m happy to know that you liked it!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it many times and it’s always awesome! I always use lots of bacon and the liquid smoke. I don’t use the bay leaves, but I do increase the dried thyme leaves to a full teaspoon. I’ve made this once with 7 cups stock to make it a bit thinner, but I’ve decided I prefer the 6 cups stock it calls for. It’s definitely a favorite! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Jana! I’m happy to know you like this recipe!
I made this a couple times and it was delicious. So I was very sad to see that on page 3 of the Instant Pot manual, under “important safeguards,” it lists split peas and other foods that can clog the pressure release device, and says “These foods should not be used in a pressure cooker.” Thought I should mention it, although it is a big bummer!! 🙁
They are being cautious for their liability. Some foods are what we call “foaming foods” in the pressure cooker. The only thing you need to be careful of is not overfilling the pot, and following the recipe instructions for natural release time and technique.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. This is my fifth time making this soup – definitly a family favorite! I get my ham bones from the Honeybaked ham store which is close to my house.
Hi Cindy, thank you for telling me! I’m super happy that you enjoy this recipe so much! Great tip about the ham bones! Thank you!
Thank you, Sandy, for the great recipe for the instant pot! We loved it! I used ‘no salt added’ broth, but with the ham it was fine. I also added dumplings at the end, cooking them with the saute function. 1 <3 my instant pot. I will check out your Pinterest boards for more inspiration… Thank you. 🙂
That’s great, Dawn! Dumplings are such a great idea!
This soup is just delicious! Thank you for this excellent recipe and clear instructions! It’s a keeper!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!