• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Simply Happy Foodie
  • Home
  • Recent Posts
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosures / Disclaimers / Copyright
    • Contact Me
    • Meet Gizmo, Our Foodie Pug
  • Cook's Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recent Posts
  • Recipes
  • My Cookbook
  • About
  • Cook’s Shop
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recent Posts
  • Recipes
  • My Cookbook
  • About
  • Cook’s Shop
×
Home » Blog Recipe Posts » Crock Pot / Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

January 19, 2023 by Sandy 40 Comments

Jump to Recipe

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with ham, or without, is a hearty, delicious soup that is pure comfort food! Make this family favorite crock pot split pea soup recipe on a cold day, or any time you are craving a bowl of rich, flavorful classic split pea soup.



 

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

I have been making this wonderful Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup recipe for more than 25 years. This is a popular family soup recipe.

This is one of those soups that you can make vegetarian or vegan, or load up on the meat! It's delicious either way.

Slow cookers are wonderful things! Cooking your meal on a low heat inside a crock allows a nice tender result, the split peas break down perfectly.

The even cooking from the thick crock ensures you will get a well cooked meal with less chance of scorching with such a long cook time.

Top view of Split Pea Soup in a slow cooker with wooden mixing spoon

This is a great meal to toss together before you leave for the day. Prepping the veggies the night before saves you time in the morning. You can just add all of the ingredients to the crockpot in the morning and set it to Low.

Do Split Peas Need to be Soaked Before Cooking?

Soaking split peas 8 hours or overnight in water shortens their cooking time. But soaking isn't necessary as split peas cook fairly quickly.

If you do soak them, you will need to reduce the amount of liquid you use in the soup.

How Long Does Crock Pot Split Pea Soup Cook?

It can cook for 8 to 10 hours no problem. Just add about ½ cup extra of chicken broth or water for the longer cook time to ensure it doesn't get too thick.

Split Pea Soup in a beige bowl next to two gold spoons in front of slow cooker

This crock pot split pea soup recipe is very budget friendly. If you have a leftover meaty ham bone, or some bacon, that will work well for the meat portion. You can also use a ham hock.

A 1-pound bag of split peas costs less than $2 in my neck of the woods, and carrots, onion, celery, and garlic are pretty inexpensive, too.

This Crockpot Split Pea Soup recipe makes about 8 to 10 servings, and with a chunk of buttered crusty bread, you have yourself a nice, economical meal!

For Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

If you want to keep it a vegetarian split pea soup, you can omit the meat, of course, and add a little liquid smoke to get that nice smoky hint of flavor.

blue banner with the words you might also like
Classic Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Slow Cooker Creamy Sausage Gnocchi Soup
Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana

Split Pea Soup in a beige bowl next to two golden spoons

I also have a pressure cooker Split Pea Soup version: Instant Pot Split Pea Soup

pink button with the words follow Simply Happy Foodie on Pinterest

4.94 from 16 votes
Split Pea Soup in a slow cooker
Print
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
8 hrs
Total Time
8 hrs 15 mins
 

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with ham, or without, is a hearty, delicious soup that is pure comfort food! Make this crock pot split pea soup recipe on a chilly day, or any time you crave a bowl of rich, flavorful split pea soup.

Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: crock pot split pea soup recipe
Servings: 8 - 10
Calories: 312 kcal
Author: Sandy Clifton
Ingredients
  • 1 lb Green Split Peas, rinsed and sorted (unsoaked)
  • Meaty Ham Bone (or meat of your choice. See Below)
  • 1 Onion, diced
  • 3 ribs Celery, diced
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • ¼ teaspoon Thyme Leaves, dried (or 3 sprigs fresh)
  • 3 Carrots, chopped
  • 4 cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
  • ¼ teaspoon Pepper
  • 6 cups Low Sodium Chicken or Vegetable Broth (or water)
  • 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (Optional) for vegetarian version
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, add last, after cooking, if needed (or ¼ tsp table salt)
Use any of these for your meat (or a combination of them)
  • 6 slices Bacon, uncooked, chopped
  • 2 small Ham Hocks (Not very meaty, but add a nice smoky flavor and richness)
  • 2 - 3 cups Diced Leftover Ham
  • 1 Leftover Ham Bone (I like to use this with the diced ham)
Instructions
  1. After rinsing and sorting the split peas, add them to a 6-quart crock pot.

  2. Add your choice of meat, if using (such as a leftover ham bone, ham hock, etc.)

  3. Add the onion, celery, bay leaves, thyme, carrots, garlic, and pepper.

  4. Pour in the broth and stir (Add liquid smoke, if using, for vegetarian method).

  5. Place the lid on the crock pot.

  6. Cook on Low for 8-9 hours, or until the peas are soft and creamy.

  7. When the cooking time has finished, remove the bay leaves and the ham bone or ham hocks, if you used them.

  8. Stir the soup well, and taste. Add the salt as desired.

  9. Serve hot. The soup will thicken quite a bit when it cools, that is normal. It will thin out again when reheated.

Recipe Notes

If you want a Vegetarian or Vegan soup, omit the meat, use vegetable broth, and try some liquid smoke to give the soup a nice smoky hint of flavor.

 

Calories are approximate as this will vary greatly by the type of meat, or no meat, you choose to use.

Resources to Make Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup recipe

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.

More Crock Pot / Slow Cooker

  • Steak Bites over mashed potatoes on plate with corn.
    Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Steak Bites
  • Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip in black crock with sliced baguette slices around it.
    Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip
  • Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup in crockpot
    Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
  • Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie in crock with ladle & biscuits
    Best Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

Sharing is caring!

23647 shares
  • Tweet
  • Share

My Instant Pot Cookbook is Here!

Instant Pot Cookbook Cover

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Bonnie

    February 21, 2023 at 8:15 am

    This recipe looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it. If I only have some leftover ham how much liquid smoke should I add. ( I have no ham bone to give it that extra flavor)

    Reply
    • Sandy

      February 21, 2023 at 11:46 pm

      I would start with 1 teaspoon. You can add more after it cooks if you want a stronger flavor.

      Reply
  2. Lynn

    September 22, 2022 at 10:24 am

    What size (ounces) package of split peas do you use?

    Reply
    • Sandy

      January 19, 2023 at 10:28 am

      One pound (16 oz)

      Reply
  3. Stan Quick

    April 21, 2022 at 11:00 pm

    Leftover ham from Easter so made this recipe complete with bone. No added salt as ham provided enough. I also used the liquid smoke. This will be my go to recipe. Great results.

    Reply
    • Judy

      November 01, 2022 at 12:04 pm

      Just found this recipe couple of months ago. Made it the middle of October, and bought ingredients to make it again this weekend. Does that tell you how much I like it?? Awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
      • John

        January 18, 2023 at 4:38 pm

        Very good.

      • Sandy

        January 19, 2023 at 9:11 am

        So glad you liked it!

  4. Rhonda

    February 05, 2022 at 7:49 am

    Do you add your veggie and uncook bacon? At the beginning.

    Reply
    • Sandy

      January 19, 2023 at 10:27 am

      Yes, uncooked and at the beginning.

      Reply
  5. Scott

    December 24, 2021 at 5:38 pm

    I love split pea soup and make it when it gets cold (I live in Hawaii so cold is somewhat relative). If your soup is thin you might remove some of the water that forms on top or (what I do) use some corn starch to thicken. Both work well to thicken this and other soups

    Reply
  6. Kathy Williams

    October 17, 2021 at 2:37 pm

    This is definitely a keeper.... LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. Flavor is amazing!

    Reply
  7. Loren

    October 12, 2021 at 12:36 pm

    Can potatoes be added as well? When would you add them?

    Reply
    • Sandy

      February 21, 2023 at 11:48 pm

      Yes, it depends on how large you cut them and how soft you want them. I would just add them at the start and see how they turn out. I haven't done this personally, but it sounds good.

      Reply
« Older Comments
Newer Comments »

Primary Sidebar

Hi there! I’m Sandy - foodie with a passion for cooking and sharing my tasty recipes. My hubby Paul, our Pug Gizmo, and I live in Washington.

Sandy wearing a black shirt and a red apron

More about me →

Reader Favorite Recipes

  • Easy Slow Cooker Meatloaf on a white plate garnished with parsley
    Easy Slow Cooker Meatloaf
  • Air Fryer Rib Eye Steak
    Air Fryer Rib Eye Steak
  • Slow Cooker Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
    Slow Cooker Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
  • Short Ribs over mashed potatoes on a black plate next to a bunch of fresh parsley
    Instant Pot Short Ribs

More favorites

Footer

↑ back to top

Copyrighted Content
This website and its contents are the copyright of Simply Happy Foodie LLC – © 2016-2025.  All rights reserved.

Disclaimers

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

About

  • About
  • Contact
  • Meet Gizmo, Our Foodie Pug

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup in a bowl in front of crock
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup in a crock