Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup is a great way to make use of that leftover bone from your holiday ham. Cooking it low and slow is the best method for creating creamy, delicious split pea soup.
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Ham is a tradition in our house on Easter. This year it was this Maple Glazed Spiral Ham, yum! Over the years,  I’ve come to discover a couple of mighty fine ways to put the bone from my Easter ham to use in the days following the holiday. Baked Beans from Scratch are at the top of that list and now this soup, thanks to my sis, Marj. She has lots of good ideas and this is one of them. Love ya, sis.
I’m so drawn to the idea of making use of the entire ham, including the bone. There’s just something old-timey about it. You know that our Grandmas would have never considered throwing that beautiful, meaty ham bone in the trash so why should we?  These recipes that involve the leftovers can become as traditional in your home as the holiday meal they stem from.
It all starts with a 16 ounce bag of green split peas. Split peas have all kinds of wonderful qualities that are so fabulous that we need to talk about them for a minute before we make soup. First, they are rich in soluable fiber which, in addition to helping to keep our cholesterol and blood sugar levels in check, also helps to make us feel full and satiated for a good long time. It’s a stick to your ribs kind of food. They’re also high in protein and low in fat. And, they’re tasty to boot! Â
Give them a good rinse and pick through them to be sure there are no small pebbles or debris before you transfer them to your slow cooker. Just like dried beans, split peas require a slow, long cooking time in order to become tender enough to consume. This is why the slow cooker method is far and away the best method for preparing Split Pea Soup. The dry peas will break down and transform in front of your eyes into a beautiful, thick and creamy soup over the course of the cooking time. The longer you let them go, the creamier your soup will be. And, this my friends, is a good thing.
Transfer the rinsed and drained split peas to your slow cooker and layer on the veggies – chopped carrot, celery, onion, and minced garlic.
Bring on the herbs – chopped fresh Italian parsley and thyme. Season with one teaspoon of salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste.
Toss in a bay leaf and tuck that meaty leftover ham bone down into the mixture. You can see I didn’t work too hard to trim the meat from the bone. This meat will be a lovely addition to the finished soup.
Add about 4 to 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth.
You only need to add enough broth at this point to cover the split peas and veggies. Reserve the remaining broth to be added towards the end of the cooking time, if needed. Place the cover on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 7 to 8 hours. Now and then throughout the cooking time, give it a stir and add a little chicken broth if you feel it’s needed. If you’ll be gone for the day, just stir it well before you leave and it will be fine in your absence.
Let it cook until the peas have softened to your liking and the soup has a nice, creamy consistency. Remove and discard the bay leaf and remove the ham bone. Tear off any remaining meat and return it to the slow cooker.
This is one wholesome and delicious pot of soup! It freezes and reheats exceptionally well – see the printable recipe below for all the details.
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Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
6 to 8 servings adjust servings
Use your leftover holiday ham bone to make this creamy, satisfying, and very wholesome soup.
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce bag) green split peas, rinsed well and drained
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped small
- 2 ribs celery, chopped small
- 1/2 cup finely chopped white or yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed
- Fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 meaty ham bone
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or more, as needed), divided
Instructions
- Layer the ingredients, through the ham bone, in a slow cooker in the order listed. Add about 4 to 5 cups of chicken broth, just enough to cover ingredients. Reserve remaining chicken broth for later. Cover and cook on HIGH for 7 to 8 hours.
- Stir occasionally during cooking time. When peas are tender, remove ham bone to a cutting board. Pull off tear the ham into small pieces and return it to the slow cooker. Discard ham bone and bay leaf. Use a spoon to lightly mash some of the peas against the side of the slow cooker and stir until nice and creamy, adding more broth, if needed, to reach desired consistency. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, as needed.
- This soup freezes exceptionally well. Freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat in microwave or in a saucepan on the stove. When reheating, thin with a little water or chicken broth, if desired.
I love that you made this in the slow cooker Valerie – it looks delicious!
Looks so yummy! When I was little we had car trouble in Buellton and spent HOURS at Pea Soup Andersen’s hanging out waiting for it to get fixed. lol My sister and I have had an aversion to pea soup ever since- your recipe makes me want to change my tune 🙂 I love cooking with ham bones too!
Will this soup still taste yummy without the ham bone? Is the bone absolutely necessary to the flavor of the soup? My husband wants me to make split pea soup and this recipe looks great! It’s just not ham eating season. Thanks!
The ham bone definitely adds a depth of flavor to the soup but I know we don’t always have a spare ham bone lying around 🙂 You can usually find ham hocks at the grocery store but if you’d prefer, you can leave it out altogether and just add a good amount of diced ham. Hope this helps!
I am single and live alone, so chances of me having a hambone are slim. So I buy diced ham and use an ample amount in my soup. I freeze lots of individual portions as it is so nice to have a delicious meal already prepared! I make this recipe often and have a pot cooking right now.
Thanks for the tips, Jeanne. It does freeze very well. So glad you are enjoying the recipe 🙂
My son has an allergy to all mammal meat (beef/pork), so we don’t ever use a ham bone when making pea soup. I just use Jennie-O’s Turkey Ham and we don’t know the difference in taste.
Honey Baked Ham sells ham bones. They are great for recipes like this one.
I didn’t know that! That’s a great tip. Thanks, Thais!
Are you sure this is to be cooked on High? I just made a double batch using ham shank bones, and it was actually overcooked at 4 hours on High. I think it would be better to cook it for 7-8 hours on Low. Taste is good, but texture is not soupy, but more like mashed potatoes. I should have checked it more frequently.
Hi James. Slow cookers can vary but with mine, I needed to cook it on high for that length of time in order to soften the very tough dry split peas. Your slow cooker could very well be different. The texture is a very easy issue to solve. The recipes states to check it throughout the cooking time and add additional broth to reach the desired consistency. You could even add the broth after the fact to thin it and get the soupier consistency you’re after.
I have this in the crockpot right now – it’s at hour 6 on high and it’s DELICIOUS! I can’t wait for this to be done. Making some 7up biscuits and/or cinnamon rolls to go with it!
It all sounds delicious, Kris. Enjoy!
Saved this to Pinterest on Nov 15, 2015 and, after ham last night, i saved the bone and it is all in the slow cooker as we speak. Can’t wait to taste it. The house smells great and my whole family is a fan of split pea soup! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Fantastic! I hope that you enjoy the soup 🙂
My boyfriend & I made this yesterday for dinner and it was AMAZING. It was so simple (we prepped it all the night before) and so affordable. I didn’t have a ham bone, so I bought a ham hock and that worked perfectly. I also cooked it on LOW for 8 hours. The boyfriend’s slow cooker doesn’t do the high setting for 8 hours so we had no choice. I was at work all day, so couldn’t check on it, but it couldn’t have turned out better. Really great recipe! Will definitely make again and again!
Fantastic! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. The leftovers will reheat really well. Just add a bit of chicken broth to thin it if necessary. Thanks so much for the feedback!
I made this yesterday and can’t wait to have it for dinner tonight. It was so easy and tastes great! I think the ham bone is the big key to an awesome split pea soup. It adds so much extra flavor to the soup. I doubled the recipe so that there will be plenty leftover to share are freeze. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
You are absolutely right, Rebecca. A good, meaty ham bone takes it to the next level. I’m so happy to hear it turned out well for you! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Started this soup at about 10am yesterday and figured on high for 7 hours it would be done at 5pm. At about 2 it looked about done so I turned it on low and when my husband got home at 4 he said it tasted awful because it burnt. I would definitely change your suggestion on cooking time to 4 hours in high or 7 hours on low
I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you. Every slow cooker is different so I think the key to any recipe is to know your equipment and make adjustments accordingly. It is unusual to hear that something has been burned in a slow cooker but I would definitely only use the LOW setting if that was the case.
Absolutely delicious! I shared it, with a link to your website, on my own blog. I hope that is okay.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Claire 🙂 Thanks for linking back.
I was curious about the cooking time as well, so I did a bit of research with other slow cooker recipes. I will be turning it down to low here after it cooking for about two hours on high. I have mine on a timer so I will cook it for another five on low and hopefully that will be enough. One tip I found curious, however, was to NOT add salt as it can toughen the peas and the ham is salty enough. I wish I would have come across that tip before throwing this together, as I almost left it out just by my own instinct. Perhaps that’s why you have to cook yours so long on high? I will let you know how mine turns out, but I am really nervous about that salt. I did cut it down to about a half a teaspoon. It did also say to add a diced potato for absorbing the salt; however I don’t have one. Fingers crossed!
Hello Paula. I can’t imagine that the addition of salt would have such a huge impact on the cooking time. You’ll find all kinds of tips and different methods around and it’s good to do your research and adapt your recipes accordingly. This is what worked for me with my slow cooker but every appliance can vary and results can differ. I’m sure it will turn out wonderfully. Enjoy! 🙂
Have you made this recipes on the stove?
Hi Gina. No, I have not but I’m sure there are a lot of recipes out there for a stovetop method.
Hi Valerie!
I’ve never had split pea soup, but have always wanted to (it always smells so goooood). My hesitation is that I am a picky eater with texture issues, so I’ve never had the guts to just try it!
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe, especially since I have a nice, meaty HoneyBaked ham bone left over from Christmas, but I’m wondering … if I have an aversion to gritty textures like beans and potatoes, should I cook this more or less? (Or is it even possible to avoid that sort of texture with this kind of soup?) Should I pop this into the blender at the end, before adding the ham back in, to cream the grit away?
I’d appreciate any insight–thanks!
Hi Bree. I like it really creamy too. That’s why I cook the heck out of those split peas! I recommend letting it cook for the recommended amount of time to ensure they soften to your liking – just watch it and adjust your slow cooker heat accordingly. I’ve never tried blending the soup but it really shouldn’t be necessary if it is cooked long enough. Although, you could always do that if you feel it is necessary. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it!
Ohmygoodnessgracious, for my first foray into the world of split pea soup, I am really happy with how this turned out! I cooked the beejeebers out of those peas, and I ended up adding extra broth, for a total of 10 cups, so mine is probably much thinner than “real” split pea soup, but considering that I was more interested in the flavor than the texture, it is spot. on.
I followed your recipe, with just a few modifications, mostly because I didn’t have a crock-pot big enough for all the over-abundance of ham I had, so I had two going–a bigger one with the ham bone and 6 cups of broth, and a smaller one with ham leftovers and 4 cups of broth; I doubled the onion, carrot, garlic, and herbs, and split it between the two crock-pots, but I didn’t double the split peas (because I just wasn’t that brave … further reason why mine is so much thinner); and I added white corn, just because I love corn in soups and I had it on hand. And then I served it in a sourdough bread bowl 🙂 Delicious!
Thanks for the recipe, and all the pointers!
How innovative!
I made the crock pot split pea” soup with ham. I cooked for 5 hrs. It was absolutely delish. Thank you.
I have made split pea soup on the stove top but I love to be able to throw things in the slow cooker. I cooked your recipe per instructions in my slow cooker and it turned out great. As you suggested, I checked it during cooking and did add a little more chicken broth towards the end which I often have to do when I cook this soup on the stove too.
Excellent, Missy! It’s always good to keep a close eye on a recipe like this on the first go-around. I’m glad it worked out so well for you 🙂
Hello! Can i use frozen peas for this recipe?! Im looking forward to trying!
Hi Jamie. This recipe and cooking method would only work with dried split peas. You might want to try doing a Google search for pea soup using frozen peas.
Hi Valerie. I just wanted to let you know about a problem with this page (and probably others). I was reading the recipe on my tablet (which is basically my recipe book!), but could not make your sign up for newsletter pop up go away. I’m sure it’s not intentional, but someone could fix that, I’m sure 🙂
Thanks!
Pamm
I’m so sorry this happened, Pamm. There should be a small x in the corner that you can click to close that box. I’ve sent an email to my mobile site developers so they can be sure everything is set properly, just in case. If this happens again, please let me know. Thanks so much!
I had the same issue with a Walmart pop-up. It would not let me leave, so had to start my comment over. ?
There should be no popups on my site at all on either desktop or mobile. Please let me know if you see this again so I can investigate! Thanks, Tammie.
I’ve been saving this recipe for a few months and just decided to buy a ham hock to try this out. But i had never read the comments until now and am nervous about the cooking time. Could you maybe list what kind of slow cooker you used for the split peas? That might help me in case we are using the same one. Thanks!
Hi Scarlett. The recipe was tested in an older model Rival Crock-Pot. As you can see from the varied comments, the recommended cooking time worked perfectly for some and was off for others which just goes to prove that each slow cooker can be different. If you are concerned, do as I’ve indicated in the recipe notes and check it after several hours. If it appears to be cooking faster than you’d like you can reduce the temp to LOW at that point. Please let me know how it worked out for you 🙂
Valerie, In the 38 years that I have been cooking for my family, this is by far the best pea soup I’ve ever made. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
That is a huge compliment, Jan. Thank you so much and I’m thrilled to hear that it worked out so well for you 🙂
This recipe that you make is a real Dutch tradition. We eat this every winter, for generations long. But instead of the sellery, we use celeria and leek.
I think leek would be delicious in this! Thanks Johanna 🙂
This is in the pot! I didn’t quite have 8 hours to cook, so I put peas and spices in the pot, turned it on high to heat up. Heated broth to boiling separately and threw in veggies, poured all over peas in crockpot. I figure that will shorten the cooking time some. You need alot of broth, as mine is almost gone (soaked in to the peas) after 1 1/2 hours of cooking. It is going to need much more than 6 cups, so be prepared!
UPDATE! The soup is delish and will be a favorite! I would cut the salt down next time. Also, adding the HOT broth (see previous comment) cut the time in half. I could have easily cooked it on low setting. Thanks for the great recipe!
Yay! So glad it worked out and thanks for the tip!
I make it with whole yellow peas. Fabulous
i used a hambone from a ham a friend had smoked when I made this recipe. The soup was so good even my husband, who isn’t a fan of pea soup, loved it.
Fantastic! I’m so glad it worked out for you, Mary 🙂
I must say, this is the BEST pea soup I’ve ever made! I think I added too much broth in the beginning, so I cooked more peas separately and added them at the end. I also made homemade croutons and threw them on top of the bowls when serving. My family loved it!!
I’m so glad to hear this, Heather. I always crave split pea soup as Easter gets close. Looking forward to cooking up a batch with my leftover ham! Thanks so much for your lovely comment 🙂
Hi, Valerie!
I love, love, LOVE split pea and ham soup so I had to try out your recipe. I’m happy to report that it came out EXCELLENT in the slow cooker! This is definitely going to be a repeat dish now that the weather is cooling off.
Would you mind if I included this recipe in my latest article on Autumn slow cooker meals? Full credit to you and your website, of course.
Thanks! 🙂
Hi, Amanda 🙂 I’m glad you love the recipe. I’m happy for you to share an image with a link back to this site for the full recipe. The full recipe should never be copied in it’s entirety to avoid copyright infringement. Thanks so much!