Description
This Split Pea Soup Recipe is thick, creamy, and packed with veggies and split peas—humble-looking but bursting with flavor!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups finely diced onion (2 medium onions)
- 1 cup finely diced carrot (2 to 3 large carrots)
- 1 cup finely diced celery (3 to 4 stalks)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1–1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1–1/2 cups green split peas (rinsed)
- 2 small bay leaves
- 8 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
- Fresh thyme leaves (optional)
- Hearty buttered bread (for serving)
Instructions
- Sauté: In a large (5.5 quart or larger) heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil. Add onion, carrot, celery, and salt/pepper to taste. Cook until veggies are softened and onion is beginning to turn golden, 5–8 minutes.
- Season: Add garlic, Italian seasoning, cumin, thyme, red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika, and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Simmer: Add rinsed split peas, bay leaf, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 60–90 minutes, stirring occasionally so the peas don’t catch on the bottom. Cook until peas are cooked and soup is thickened to desired consistency.
- Puree: Remove and discard bay leaves. Remove 2 cups of the soup and blend until completely smooth. Return blended puree to the soup pot and mix through.
- Serve: Taste and season, adding additional salt/pepper as needed. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with hearty buttered bread, a sprinkle of pepper, and fresh thyme.
Notes
For a creamier texture, simmer longer until peas fall apart. If the soup becomes too thick, stir in additional vegetable broth. Use a heavy-bottomed pot to prevent the peas from scorching.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 190 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg