This Instant Pot Split Pea Soup can be made the traditional way with a leftover ham bone or made vegan for everyone to enjoy.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – use any neutral cooking oil such as avocado or canola oil.
- Leftover turkey, ham or chicken bone – you can leave this out for a vegan option.
- Yellow onion – white onion or shallots would be the best substitutes.
- Celery stalks – double up on the carrots if you don’t have any celery.
- Carrots – swap out for more celery or use parsnips instead.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Thyme – oregano is the best substitute for thyme.
- Bay leaves – use oregano or thyme instead.
- Paprika – cayenne is the best substitute for paprika, although it has more of a kick.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Split peas – use either green or yellow split peas.
- Chicken broth – swap out for vegetable broth if you’re going for a vegan soup.
Garnishes
- Sautéed ham or bacon – turkey bacon would be an even healthier option.
- Scallions – green onion can be used instead.
How to make split pea soup in the Instant Pot
- Prep your ingredients.
- Add everything to the Instant Pot in order.
- Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Blend half the soup.
- Assemble your garnishes.
- Serve and enjoy!
What type of bone to use
If you have leftover bones from a holiday meal, put them to good use in this Instant Pot split pea soup. You will also find soup bones for sale at the butcher counter. These are the bones that are removed while preparing other cuts of meat for sale. If you aren’t buying a huge piece of meat, this is a great way to pick up some bones.
Large bones store lots of nutrients and minerals that will end up in your broth as you cook it. Small meaty bones add amazing depth of flavour to your soup, while knuckle and neck bones have lots of collagen to give the broth body. Using a variety of bones in your soup makes for the best broth.
You can use the bone from any type of meat and the broth will pick up the flavour of the meat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for this recipe! Since you’re using the pressure cooker to make this soup, there’s no soaking required. Just add the split peas in with the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.
Yes! This split pea soup is super healthy and nutritious thanks to all the veggies. If you’re using a meat bone, you’re also getting the added nutrients and minerals from the bone. Each serving has 286 calories per serving, so it’s a low-calorie meal option too.
I find that the best way to thicken this soup is by blending half of it with an immersion blender – that way you get the perfect combination of chunkiness and creaminess. It’s so good!
Meat is a natural garnish for this soup since it is infused with the flavour from cooking it with the bones. However, if you are making it vegan or would like a variety of toppings for everyone at the table, you can serve this soup with naan, a side salad, crusty bread or roasted broccoli.
Storing and reheating
Split pea soup will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, making it a great recipe for meal prep. In just 30 minutes, you can have a full dinner or several lunches prepared.
To reheat a single bowl, warm it up in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. If you prepared the soup ahead of time for a large meal, you can reheat it on the stovetop until it is warmed through.
Can you freeze split pea soup?
This is a great soup to freeze! Just remove the bone, allow it to cool completely and store it in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months.
You can thaw it in the refrigerator overnight or warm it up from frozen in a pot on the stovetop. You can also reheat individual portions from frozen in the microwave for 6-7 minutes, stirring halfway through.
More Instant Pot soup recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this soup into leftovers.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowlsup to 3 months.
Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 leftover turkey, chicken or ham bone (optional)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 2 cups green or yellow split peas
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
For garnish
- sauteed ham or bacon
- scallions
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to Instant Pot in the order in which they are listed except for garnishes, using vegetable broth and leaving out the ham bone if making the soup vegan.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 5 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- While soup is cooking in the Instant Pot, cook and prepare ham/bacon and chop scallions if using as toppings.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Remove ham bone if you addded it, and bay leaves. Blend about half the soup with an immersion blender, leaving the other half chunky. Garnish with toppings of choice, then serve and enjoy!
