Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
After the release of my debut cookbook, Supper with Love, I’ve been leaning more on comforting bowls of soup like this Vegetarian Split Pea Soup. It’s funny because in recent years, I said if I ever wrote a second cookbook, that I would include the recipe for this delicious and flavorful soup in it, but I digress.
Like many of you, my first introduction to split pea soup was the kind that was made by Campbell’s, that I had as a child. Split pea soup it is often made with either ham or bacon or both. However, with my veg-heavy version, I simply let the vegetables take the lead and the results are so good! Now, this soup comes together rather easily and I did a short clip on YouTube on how to make it. So, if you’d like to have a look, click here.
Similar to my cookbook, you can freestyle this soup and make it your own in many different ways.
Here’s a few ways to freestyle this recipe:
- Use water instead of vegetable broth
- Stir in a dollop sour cream or plain yogurt
- Stir in some kale, spinach, or another heartier leafy green near the end
- Or if you’re looking for more of a smoky flavor, add a few dashes of liquid smoke
- Stir in the zest of a lemon and some lemon juice for a some brightness
Here are some other additions and ideas to consider:
- Serve it with crostini’s, warm flatbread or naan, cornbread, croutons (I like to use the herby croutons from my cookbook on page 133), or a big chunk of artisan bread
- Drizzle it with a little olive oil and shower it with fresh herbs, such as parsley or cilantro
- Shower on a good serving of freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Temper some spices like black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, or thinly sliced garlic
- Serve with a spoonful of your favorite cooked grain
Looking for other great soup ideas? Give these delicious recipes a try!
- Butternut Squash and Lentil Stew
- Vegetarian Zuppa Toscana
- Broccoli Cheddar and Potato Soup
- Smoky Sweet Potato and Tahini Stew
Join me on my social channels and please don’t forget to take pictures and tag me #supperwithmichelle and @supperwithmichelle, if you make any of my recipes! I absolutely love to see all of your creations. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, YouTube, or Pinterest! As always, I love when you share your reviews in the comments below, and if you have any fun substitutions or additions, let me know how it worked out below too!
Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope that you enjoy my Vegetarian Split Pea Soup. The full printable recipe is below. Enjoy!
Get the Recipe: Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
For the soup:
- A good drizzle of olive oil, plus more for the top
- 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 medium celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 medium russet potato, diced small
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 8 cups vegetable broth, you can use a combination of water and broth if you prefer
- 1 pound green split peas, rinsed
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper, to taste
Equipment
- Large Pot or Dutch Oven
Instructions
Make the soup:
- Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add in the carrots, celery, potato, onion and sauté until slightly softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, smoked paprika, garlic powder, coriander, cumin, turmeric and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the vegetable broth, green split peas, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and simmer (stirring occasionally) until the split peas and vegetables are really tender and have broken down quite a bit, about 45 to 60 minutes. Now, fish out the bay leaf and compost or discard it. Taste and add more salt, if needed. (Optionally, if you'd like a less chunkier soup, take an immersion blender and blend it a few times to get the consistency you desire.) Keep in mind that the soup will soak up some of the broth as it cools. So, add a little water or broth when reheating any leftovers.
- Ladle the soup into your favorite bowls and garnish and serve however you'd like (referring to what I said in the head notes). Enjoy!
This was my first time ever making or eating split pea soup, and it was fantastic!! We enjoyed it with croutons and parmesan, and it was a hit with the entire family. Added perk: veggie soups are so budget- friendly!
Hi Hilary! Oh wonderful!! So happy you and the entire family enjoyed it!! Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
Hi there! Just found your website and wanted to let you know just how much I’m enjoying your soup recipes. I’m a huge fan of soup and like to try new recipes several times per month. Thank you!
Hi Ron! Oh wonderful! That makes me so happy. So glad that you’re enjoying them. And if you love soup, I highly recommend checking out my cookbook, Supper with Love because there’s 26 soup recipes in there. 🙂
truly distinctive and tasty split pea soup. I’m staying with my daughter and was browsing the pantry looking for lentils when i came across a package of split peas. Since they are vegan i needed to search the web for soup not based on ham! I came across this recipe and was a little daunted by some of the ingredients but to my surprise my daughter had ground turmeric AND ground coriander LOL. So i made it precisely as written and the result was fabulous. My daughters partner had just had serious dental work that morning and the soup proved to be Just the right thing. This got raves all around. The spices made the soup a different color that what i typically associate with pea soup but the flavor was sooo much better! think hints of Indian food. Cant wait to get home and make this for my wife 🙂
Hi Paul! Oh wonderful!! So happy that you and your family enjoyed it!!! 🙂
Wonderful soup, with subtle seasonings that you would never guess are in there. I had my husband test taste to see if I needed to add more salt etc and he said right away this is wonderful and he would like more right away, this was after dinner too! (I was making it ahead for tomorrow.) Thank you. Nice finding a vegetarian version that is so flavorful on its own that you don’t think it is missing a thing.
That’s so awesome Frances! So happy that you and your husband enjoyed it! And thanks for also taking time to leave a review! That means so much! 🙂
Fantastic flavor! It is the best split pea soup I have ever tasted. Will try your other recipes.
Hi Rose! Oh wonderful! So happy that you enjoyed it! It’s truly a favorite of mine. 🙂
Very tasty and easy to make
Hi Tessa! So happy that you enjoyed it! Thanks for giving the recipe a try and for leaving a review!