Ham, split peas and an assortment of delicious carrots, peas and celery are the perfect combo in this hearty, comforting and traditional soup. A truly savory soup will satisfy and fill you up. This is a great dinner option for leftover ham or a ham bone to give it a full flavorful broth, or both!
When it comes to holidays and food, I am ALL about scoring ham bones and turkey bones and chicken bones when the feast is over. This year I made a succulent ham in the slow cooker for Thanksgiving and I was freakishly excited to get home and start making something delicious with the remains. I hate to brag but I kinda-sorta nailed it big time on the first try. I didn’t even know I liked Ham Bone Split Pea Soup! And it has suddenly risen to the top of my Favorite Comfort Foods list, in one fell swoop.
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO MAKE THIS SOUP?
There are a couple different routes you can go with this soup. You can let all of the ingredients (see recipe card below for full recipe!) simmer with a ham bone OR you can skip it and just add chopped ham to the simmering soup. Both ways are delicious, but if you do have a ham bone please, please use it. It adds an extra POW of flavor that is unparalleled. When the soup is done, strip any remaining meat from the bone and add it to the soup. Discard the bone.
DIRECTION TO MAKING A BATCH OF HAM BONE SPLIT PEA SOUP
Using your dutch oven to make a hearty soup is a no brainer with just a couple steps!
In a Dutch oven or heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add carrots, onions, leeks, celery, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until veggies are soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Add the ham bone (if using), split peas, bay leaves, chicken stock (or chicken broth), cups of water and ham. Set to medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour (stirring occasionally), or until peas are soft and broken.
Remove the ham bone and pick ham remnants from it and add to the pan. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Serve immediately and top with croutons, if desired.
**Smoked ham hocks can be used in place of a ham bone for delivering equally delicious flavor in your soup.
WHAT SOUP CAN I MAKE WITH A HAM BONE?
Aside from this Ham Bone Split Pea Soup, I have another favorite ham bone soup! This Crockpot Leftover Ham Bone Soup is very similar to this Ham Bone Split Pea Soup recipe, minus the split peas. It is packed with veggies, ham and most importantly FLAVOR. This Loaded Potato Soup is also a keeper!
FREEZING LEFTOVER HAM BONE SPLIT PEA SOUP
If you enjoy this and I think you will, then make an extra batch so you can freeze it! It’ll be good for 2-3 months and perfect to pull out for dinner some cool night.
DO SPLIT PEAS NEED TO BE SOAKED BEFORE COOKING?
Split peas dissolve pretty quickly in the ham broth, so it is not necessary to soak them before cooking. If you wish to shorten cooking time to 30-40 minutes (as opposed to 1 hour), soaking will help. Otherwise, just rinse and dump! They are so great at thickening up a soup and giving it a great texture, you’ll love each bite.
SPLIT PEA VS SWEET PEAS
Split peas and sweet peas are from the same plant, just processed differently. The split pea is peeled and dried. Peas have great benefits to adding to your soups and one-pan meals. Full of rich minerals, split peas are also rich in Vitamin K and Magnesium, great for heart and bone health. They also are high in fiber.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who gets excited about cooking with ham bones and the like!
Please tell me I’m not the only one who gets excited about cooking with ham bones and the like.
Thank you so much for being here, friends. I appreciate you all so much. Hoping you all have a great ending to this chilly November! Will December be even colder?
PAIR ONE OF THESE DELICIOUS RECIPES WITH YOUR SOUP!
Leftover Lunch Meat Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Instant Pot Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 small leeks, sliced or 1 medium, white and light green parts only
- 3 stalks celery sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- Leftover ham bone optional
- 16 oz. bag dried split peas, rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken broth or stock
- 2 cups water
- 1-2 cups chopped cooked ham
- Croutons for topping, optional
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or heavy saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, leeks, celery, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until veggies are soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the ham bone (if using), split peas, bay leaves, chicken broth (or stock), water and ham. Set to medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour (stirring occasionally), or until peas are soft and broken.
- Remove the ham bone and pick ham remnants from it and add to pan. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Serve immediately and top with croutons, if desired.
I am making split pea and ham soup this morning on a snowy morning and it smells delicious. Yes, you must use ham bone when making this soup. I personally love lots of carrots in mine. It is by far my favorite soup!
It sounds delish especially on a snowy day. I’m so glad you liked it with extra carrots too! Thanks for sharing!