The BEST Split Pea Soup with Homemade Croutons
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Dinner
Description
Every year at Thanksgiving, my local grocery store gives away either a free turkey, free Stouffer’s Lasagna, or a discounted ham. The free turkey is usually a generic turkey breast, which might be great for a couple celebrating alone.
However, I always take the discounted ham. And shortly after Thanksgiving rolls past, I make split pea soup. Every single year. It’s become a tradition. As Thanksgiving starts to approach and we start talking about what dishes we’re going to make, it always pops in our head and we stop and go “mmmmm, split pea soup!”
I know I say this all the time, but this is a super easy dish to make. There’s very little hands on time too! Although I make this on the stovetop, it can just as easily be made in a crockpot. That way, you can pop it in the crockpot first thing in the morning and have dinner ready when you get home! Really, the only hands on time cooking is sautéing the vegetables, which takes about ten minutes.
After sautéing the veggies, add the ham, split peas, and liquids and let it simmer. I find simmering this on the stovetop takes only about an hour and a half for the split peas to fully cook, sometimes a little longer. If you live at a higher altitude, plan on it taking longer. And, just remember to pop into the kitchen occasionally to give the soup a stir.
I prefer to use a piece of ham hock with the bone still in. That way the bone can add flavor to the broth. When the soup is almost done cooking, I pull the ham out of the pot and cut off all of the meat, discarding any bone pieces. Then, I chop the ham up into bite size pieces and plop them back into the soup.
For the croutons, I actually defrosted a loaf of crusty bread, but you can use any soft baguette or bread loaf. I just discarded any particularly firm crusts and then tore the rest up into bite size pieces. I tossed the bread with olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and a couple pinches of red pepper flakes. I baked them into they were just crispy but not rock hard.
This soup makes awesome leftovers. If you want to freeze it, just let it cool first. For dishes like this, I like to let it cool and then spoon it into gallon ziplock bags. With ziplock bags, I can remove all of the air and it lasts so much longer in the freezer without getting frost burn!
And that’s it! I told you, easy peasy 🙂.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Soup
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cups carrots, cut into ¼” slices, halving any large circles
2 cups celery ribs, halved and cut into ½” pieces
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
6 large sprigs of thyme
1 lb green split peas
6 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
~3 lb ham hock, bone-in, cut into 3 large pieces
2 TBs olive oil
salt and pepper
Croutons
One baguette or crusty loaf, any firm crust removed & torn into bite size pieces
Olive Oil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
~2 tsps garlic salt
couple pinches of red pepper flakes
Instructions
Make the Soup
In a large heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot and shimmering, add the carrots and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onions and thyme. Lightly sprinkle with salt. Cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic cloves and bay leaves and cook 1 minute, or until fragrant.
Add the split peas, chicken stock, and water. Stir to combine. Slip the ham pieces into the broth. Cover and bring the broth to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about an hour and a half, or until the peas have fully cooked, stirring occasionally.
Carefully remove the ham from the pot. On a cutting board, cut the ham away from the bones and chop into bite size pieces (I use tongs to hold the ham firmly). Discard the bones and return the meat to the pot. Carefully discard the bay leaves and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Make the Croutons
When there is only about 30 minutes left for the soup, preheat the oven to 400°
On a large baking pan, spread out the bread pieces. Drizzle with olive oil until just covered but not overly saturated. Sprinkle garlic salt on top, using less if desired. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over. Sprinkle a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes and toss to thoroughly combine.
Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until just crispy.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with croutons. Eat immediately.
Enjoy!
Notes
You can make this in a slow cooker. Sauté the vegetables per the directions. Add everything to a crockpot and stir to combine. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.
Keywords: split pea soup, homemade split pea soup, split pea soup from scratch, homemade croutons, how to make split pea soup
