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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
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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
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I am looking for an awesome pea soup recipe and this looks like it. However I do not own a pressure cooker and would like to make this recipe on my stove top. Could you please advise the revisions to this recipe in order for me to do so, if it can be done? Thank you.
sauté until onions start to turn translucent. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low heat. Cook partially covered (with the lid ajar) for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally, and watching the water level so it doesn’t get too thick. It is done when the split peas are very soft. Enjoy!
Hi Sandy. Thank you so much for the info. One last question, does cooking on the stove automatically make the soup thicker and therefore I should use 6 cups of broth so soup isn’t way too thick? Or should I decrease both to 5 cups to make thicker soup.
I always start with the lease amount so I can add if needed. If it were to come out too thin, it would be harder to get it back to a nice consistency. Just keep an eye on it.
Hi Sandy. Thank you so much for the info. I cannot wait to try this recipe. If it gets too thick I can just add more broth? I will start out with 5 cups.
Yes, just add more broth, or a little water. It will get thicker as it cools, once it is done.
Made this soup with leftover Easter ham and was delish. Had two rinds from gruyère cheese that we used yesterday so I threw those in for added flavor and just fished them out with the ham hock and bay leaves. Also, used an immersion blender to make it creamy and hide those veggies from the kiddos – who gobbled it up!!!
Sounds awesome, Julia! Cheese rinds are so underrated! I’m happy that you liked this soup, and thank you for leaving a review!
Made this today with a ham steak. Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely the best split pea soup I have ever eaten. It will definitely be made often. Thank you for your instant pot recipes.
That’s awesome, Lee! I’m so happy to read this! Thank you for leaving a review!
Made this yesterday and much to my chagrin, I was out of thyme. Okay, there’s a pun. Lol. I used marjoram instead. While other recipes called for blending after an hour and a half of cook time or more, I did the required 18 minutes and since I was really busy at that moment, let it sit for 30 minutes after it has turned off. Pressure still want quite down, but it didn’t matter. Was the best split pea soup I’ve ever had and sometime else in the house said that they hated split pea soup tried a small bowl… Then went back for more. Was planning on other stuff for dinner, as well, but with the ham cooked in it, this turned out to be the only course. Great recipe!
Hi Gil, I prefer to have thyme on my hands (I also love puns!). I’m so glad you liked the soup, as well the former split pea soup hater in your house! These old family favorites have the classic flavors that will always stand the test of (oh no) thyme (yes, I did). Thanks for your review!
This recipe is almost exactly like the one I’ve been using for 50 years that was handed down by my mother who got it from her mother. Talk about tried ‘n true! One thing I do differently to get that ham flavor for those friends who are vegetarian, is put whole cloves in. For a small pot with 1 lb of peas, I would put in about 5-7 and for 2 lbs, 12-14. My friends love it and I have passed this to them and to my daughters and with hope to my growing granddaughter. Looking forward to seeing some of your other soups!
Hi Moira, the best recipes are those that have been handed down. My Nana’s Beef Barley Vegetable Soup is another one. I think of her every time I make it, as I’m sure you remember your mom and grandma when you cook their recipes. I love the cloves idea, and am going to try it! Thank you so much for writing a review. I really love reading them!
What size instant pot do you use?? I have a mini (3QT).. Will this recipe fit or do I need to halve it?
Thanks
Hi Saige, I use a 6 qt for this recipe. You may not need to halve it. Try with 1/3 less, I think that will fit. If you do, and notice there is enough room, then you’ll know you can use the entire recipe.
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I may never again make pea soup on the stove top. I didn’t have ham hocks, a ham bone, or liquid smoke. I did have home-made chicken broth made from BBQed bones so it had a nice smokey flavour. A link to your recipe has been shared with a Facebook group “Instant Pot Recipes Only”. Now I’m off to import your recipe into my cookbook software. Thanks again.
Hi Helen, I’m glad you found me on Facebook, and so happy this recipe worked for you! Thank you for the nice review!
I am in Canada. I made this recipe last night in my Power Pressure Cooker XL. I used a ham steak cut up as I didn’t have a ham bone or hock. It was fantastic!! So quick and delicious. Thank you for this recipe. I will definitely make this again.
Hi Jill, Ham steak is a great way to flavor the soup and get those nice chunks of meat! I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for your review!
This recipe is fantastic! I’m from Australia and used 450grams for the split peas and a Ham hock. This is the nicest pea and ham soup I have ever had. I highly recommend trying this recipe, I will definitely make it again.
Hi Leanne, thank you for your review! I’m glad you liked it, and took the time to write a review! It’s so cool to have someone from Australia making my recipe!