This is a fabulous “throw it all in the slow cooker” Pea and Ham soup. There’s no need to cook the onion separately – it “sautés” itself in the fat from the ham hock that rises to the surface. Thick, hearty soup broth infused with incredible flavour from the ham bone!
A worthy ending for your leftover Christmas ham bone, or use store bought. Make this in your slow cooker or on the stove!
Pea and Ham Soup
I’ve always said that Lentil Soup is the least sexy looking soup in the world.
But in hindsight, I think Pea and Ham Soup should take that title.
I mean, think about it. A sparkling white Corn Chowder is pretty. A Thai Tom Yum Soup is colourful and vibrant. Creamy Carrot Soup is a cheerful bright orange colour. And a fiery red Laksa looks as bold as it tastes.
But Pea Soup? It’s brown more than green. Kahki at best.
So no, it’s not glamorous.
But this ugly duckling is seriously delicious. One bite, and you won’t be able to stop!!
What goes in Pea and Ham Soup
Here’s what you need for pea and ham soup. I’ve used a store bought ham hock here because I used up all the ham bones I managed to score from friends and even mere acquaintances. Yep, when it comes to rounding up ham bones, I’m shameless!!
Make sure you use a ham bone with plenty of meat because more meat means more flavour imparted into the soup – and more shredded ham!
Green split peas – these are just dried peas that are halved (split!) which means they cook faster and there’s no need to soak overnight (such as with most types of beans for things like Southern Baked Beans). They taste quite neutral, slightly earthy, and it absorbs the flavour of whatever they’re cooked in – in this case, ham! When cooked for a long time like we do here (in order for the ham meat to be ultra tender), they become creamy and thicken the soup;
WATER, no broth – the ham bone releases so much flavour that all we need is water for the soup broth. How good is that??!!
I love how economical pea soup is when made using leftover ham bone because the broth just needs water – no stock!
The Ham Hock – ham bone
If you’re wondering what a ham hock is, it’s a ham bone. And it is literally the bone inside a leg of ham, left after carving off all the ham (ie the cold cuts sold at delis). So it is already cooked – well, smoked.
If you buy one, you’ll find it looks a lot neater than a scrappy leftover leftover ham bone from a homemade Glazed Ham. The store bought ones are cut neatly then from the looks of it, they are re-smoked to seal the surface of the pink meat part.
Where to buy ham hocks
Store bought ham hock is sometimes sold over the counter and delis, otherwise it’s vac packed and sold with ham and similar items in the refrigerator section.
Make sure it’s meaty!
While store bought are intentionally nice and meaty (to flavour the soup and for plenty of shredded ham), leftover ham bones have been known to be picked clean by Ham Monsters. So if your ham bone isn’t meaty enough, just add a hunk of ham into the soup as well – just to ensure you get enough flavour into the broth.
Do the same if your store bought ham hock weighs less than 1 kg / 2lb. 🙂
Alternative: give the broth a flavour boost with a dash of stock/bouillon powder.
Just place everything into the slow cooker then turn it on
No need to sauté onion separately beforehand. In this recipe, the onion will rise to the surface and “sauté” in the ham fat. I’ve tried it sautéing onion first, then using my method and there is no difference in flavour.
The peas will be so soft they become creamy. So blitzing is optional. What I like to do is partially puree the soup using a handheld blender stick. This way you get the best of both worlds – a smooth, creamy soup broth with soft bits of pea and veg bits!
How long to cook Pea and Ham Soup
Make sure you slow cook Pea and Ham Soup in the slow cooker for at least 8 hours, but 10 hours is even better (on low). The ham meat should literally fall off the bone and be shredded with a touch.
Easily shreddable ham is an indicator that it’s been cooked long enough to release a ton of flavour into the broth!
Are split peas good for you?
They are! They’re high in fibre and protein, can help reduce cholesterol and are low in fat. But split peas are a higher carbohydrate vegetable so watch your intake if you’re on a low carb diet.
What to serve with Pea and Ham Soup
A hunk of warm crusty bread (preferably slathered in butter) is literally made for dunking into this thick soup.
In fact, forget spoons. Imagine eating the whole thing using bread as your feeding tool of choice?? 🙌🏻 For homemade, try this quick no yeast Irish Soda Bread or yeast free Sandwich bread. If you’ve got the time, make this crusty Artisan Bread – pretty sure it’s now officially the world’s easiest yeast bread! (It’s no knead, very foolproof).
OR – if you want to go all out, upgrade to Garlic Bread or CHEESY Garlic Bread!
Things to dunk into soup
If you’d like to add a side salad, try it with a Cucumber Salad for lovely contrasting crisp freshness, or for something different (and totally fabulous), a French Carrot Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing! – Nagi x
PS Some recipes dress up Pea and Ham soup by adding spinach or frozen peas at the end to make the soup colour greener. I choose to celebrate the unattractiveness and focus on flavour, flavour, flavour!
Watch how to make it
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Pea and Ham Soup (slow cooker or stove)
Ingredients
- 500g / 1lb dried split peas (Note 1)
- 1.2-1.5kg / 2.4-3lb ham hock (aka ham bone), bacon hock or MEATY leftover ham bone (Note 2)
- 1/4 tsp salt (start with less, adjust later)
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 bay leaves , dried or fresh
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 1 carrot , peeled and finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks , finely chopped
- 8 cups (2 litres/qts) water
Garnishes / serving:
- Parsley , finely chopped
- Crusty bread for dunking!
Instructions
- Place peas in slow cooker, push ham in. Scatter all ingredients around the ham bone, then pour over water.
- Slow cook 8 to 10 hours on LOW or 6 hours on HIGH. (Or 2.5 hours on low on stove, 1 h – 1 hr 20 min pressure cooker/Instant Pot on HIGH)
- Remove ham bone, shred ham meat. Discard bone and fatty skin.
- Remove bay leaves. Use a stick blender to blitz 2 or 3 times – thickens soup but doesn’t make it completely smooth (my preference, you can blend completely if you want).
- Return ham into slow cooker, stir. Taste and add more salt if needed (soup gets lots of salt from ham).
- Serve garnished with parsley. Serve with crusty bread for dunking – make a quick Irish Soda Bread, Garlic Bread or upgrade to Cheesy Garlic Bread!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More ways with leftover Ham Bone!
Here are other recipes I’ve shared made using ham hocks. They make an amazing way to flavour broth!
And more chunky, hearty soups
Life of Dozer
This is what he does on cleaning days – he gets sick of trailing me up and down the stairs as I whizz back and forth between floors with brooms and mops and vacuum cleaners so he eventually just plonks himself down halfway on the landing.
Don’t you love how relaxed he looks while I’m hot, sweaty and exhausted from manic cleaning??🙄
I tried this with my ham bone from Nagi’s brown sugar glazed ham recipe, followed the recipe. DELICIOUS! Thank you, Nagi and team. Another A+!
This is truly one of the best soups I’ve done. So easy just taste magnificent. The one thing I do right at the end is once I serve it I drizzle a little bit of Worcestershire sauce on top. It’s a game changer.
I love the flavor of smoked ham hocks. If using a leftover (not smoked) ham bone add 1/2 tsp liquid smoke (hickory here in the USA).
For this size recipe I also add 1 tbl dried crushed rosemary and 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper. One of my favorite cold weather soups (over 30 years making it…)! For a somewhat exotic (quite yummy) variant use 1 tbl slightly bashed whole cumin seed (mortar and pestle), 1 tbl hot curry powder (Keen’s or Deep) and 1 tbl Old Bay seasoning (skip the aforementioned rosemary and cayenne). Old Bay is seasoning mix I usually use for seafood chowder- don’t know an Aussie equivalent- look it up on Amazon.com.
Could I use yellow split peas here? Would I make any changes? Thanks
My daughter in law makes this soup and it is without doubt the best soup I have ever tasted. I’m going to give it a go
Thank you Nagi!! We love the simplicity of this recipe that results in the most flavoursome pea and ham soup. Followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect. Have made it twice, once on low for 10 hours and once on high for 6 hours, both had the same delicious flavour.
I have made this soup for many years, albeit adjusted for my family’s taste preferences. Mr. Hubby can’t stand the taste of onion, which he could taste in Nagi’s original recipe. Sigh.
Here are my adjustments:
– Caramelize the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in sauté pan with pinch of salt and ¼ tsp cayenne; deglaze with white wine. Add to crock pot along with bay leaves.
– Chicken stock instead of water
– Add peas after 4 hours cooking on high. Skip the stick blender.
– Towards the end of cooking add splash of apple cider vinegar and dash of soy sauce. Finish with a few drops of Worcestershire before serving.
Bon Appetit!
PS: I use smoked ham shanks that come pre-packaged in US grocery stores (at least in my area).
Sorry Nagi, your recipes are normally awesome but this pea soup is the most unfortunate brown pea soup I have ever seen! For a bright green pea and ham soup with a hint of mint use this recipe:
• knob of butter
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 medium potato peeled and diced
• 1 litre ham stock (home-made)
• 500g frozen petit pois
• 300g thickly sliced ham trimmed of any fat and diced
Heat a knob of butter in a saucepan and when lightly foaming gently cook 1 chopped onion until softened, but not coloured.
step 2
Tip in 1 peeled and diced medium potato and stir to coat in butter, then pour over 1l ham or pork stock. Simmer until softened.
Step 3
Tip in 500g frozen petit pois, 1 x tbs mint sauce and bring back to the boil. Cook for a couple of mins. Season with salt pepper if required
Step 4
Remove from the heat and blend until smooth. Stir in 300g diced ham, serve.
Did you read the start? Ugly duckling it is but tastes incredible. This proper pea and ham soup. Not pea soup with chopped ham.
Sorry for dumb question! Do you put a raw ham hock in the slow cooker? Or is it cooked to start with?
10 hours cooking would mean raw ham hock needed for recipe. Though who cooks peas for 10 hours apart from Nagi is any ones guess 🙂
I HAVE COOKED YOUR CARROT CAKE WAS ABSOLUTELY LOVELY AND MOIST
Just want to clarify the amount of water to add. Recipe says 8 cups/2 litre but on the video when you add the water it looks more and covers the ham hock. I am cooking now and looks like the same size cooker but water is a lot less.
Lovely soup but don’t make the mistake I made by leaving the ham hock in the liquid too long. Ended up with bits of bone in the soup.
I HAD to make Pea and Ham Soup over 30 years ago because newly married husband wanted it – I HATED IT SO IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE NO FROM ME!
30 odd years later and of course I love my Nagi – HOLY CRAP… this is EPIC!
Made this. Delicious! And so easy. My mother used to make pea and ham soup and it was so nostalgic.She always used to serve it with homemake crispy croutons so might serve it like that when I make it agin today.
Should we use yellow or green split peas? Are they interchangeable? Thanks!
Your recipes never disappoint! And anything I ever want to cook is found on your website.. I have your first wonderful book and intend to get the second. Thanks Nagi xx
Yum I just made this without the onions and garlic, and instead added nutmeg and wholegrain mustard.
Another amazing recipe. Had a frozen ham bone from Christmas. Meat fell off the bone and the soup was delicious with no changes.
Only change I made was substitute the water for veggie stock, beautiful.
HELP!!
Had been cooking on low in the slow cooker for two hours, when my younger brother unplugged the cord accidentally. We didn’t realise for two hours.
If we cook it on high for three hours will that cook it properly or should we switch across to the stove.