Split Pea Soup Recipe
Published January 17, 2020. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Put away grandma’s recipe because this homemade split pea soup loaded up with pork confit is hands down the best around.
Nothing more comforting than a classic soup like this one. It’s incredibly delicious and perfect for those cold winter days. This is a can’t-miss recipe that your whole family will absolutely love.
Why Is It Called Split Pea Soup?
Split peas are a type of field pea grown specifically for drying. They are cultivated, dried, and then split. Through the drying process, they are preserved, which allows them to sit at room temperature.
Do Split Peas Need to Be Soaked Before Cooking?
To shorten cooking times, you may soak the split peas overnight by submerging them 4” under cold water in a container. However, they will cook in under 2 hours when simmered in a soup and give off even more flavor when doing so.
Instead of Ham, Try Making Pork Confit
Ham, or even cooking with a ham hock, would definitely be the classic way to make this soup. With that being said, I want to teach you how to confit, which is an incredibly easy process of slow cooking protein in fat making it crispy, tender, and incredibly juicy.
- Add onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf to a medium-sized pot.
- Slice the pork tenderloins and season them well on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Pour olive oil into the pot, making sure the pork is submerged.
- Cook for 4 hours in the oven at 300°.
- Sear the pork on all sides in a pan over medium heat until golden brown.
- Shred the pork using 2 forks.
- I only put 1/2 of the amount of pork into the soup and ate the other half because it’s so good by itself.
Drain the oil from the pork confit, and then keep the seasoned rendered fat for up to 1 month in the refrigerator to confit other foods such as beef, lamb, or chicken.
How to Make Split Pea Soup
- Sweat the carrots, onion, garlic, and celery in a small amount of butter over medium heat in a large pot.
- Deglaze with white wine and cook until the liquid has been absorbed.
- Add the fresh peas, split peas, and chicken stock and simmer over low heat for 90 minutes.
- With 20 minutes left in the cooking process, add in the potatoes.
- Finish with salt and pepper and add shredded pork confit and serve.
Is It Healthy?
It is high in fiber and magnesium and packed with vegetables. The best way to keep it healthy is to substitute butter with a healthy oil such as avocado oil and use lean pork or ham not cured in salt or cooked in oil.
Make-Ahead and Storage
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup to a small pot and heat over low heat until the soup is hot. In addition, you can heat it in a microwave-safe bowl until hot.
How to Store: Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
How to Freeze: Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. Thaw for 1 day in the refrigerator before reheating.
Make-Ahead: Make this soup and chill it for up to 2 days before serving it. Reheat and adjust seasonings before serving.
chef notes + tips
- I only used half of the pork in the soup, but you can absolutely use all of it in there.
- If you want the soup to be runnier, you can blend it in a blender until it is smooth. Do this before adding in the pork.
- The confit fat, when done being used, is seasoned and delicious. Be sure to drain off the vegetables and herbs and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 1 month before using them again to confit other meats such as beef or chicken.
More Soup Recipes
- Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale
- Classic French Onion Soup
- New England Clam Chowder
- Zuppa Toscana Recipe
- Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup
Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this, then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below.
Video
Split Pea Soup Recipe
Ingredients
For the Pork Confit:
- 1 large chopped yellow onion
- 10 galric cloves
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 pounds pork tenderloin
- 4 cups olive oil
- sea salt and pepper to taste
For the Soup:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 peeled small diced yellow onion
- 4 peeled and medium diced carrots
- 4 stalks medium diced celery
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 3/4 cup chardonnay wine
- 2 cups peas
- 2 cups split peas
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 medium diced russet potatoes
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- optional crème fraiche for garnish
Instructions
- Pork: Preheat the oven to 300°.
- Add the onions, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf to a medium size sauce pot.
- Next, each pork tenderloin in half and season well on all sides with salt and pepper, and add it to the pot with the vegetables and herbs.
- Add in oil and make sure the pork is submerged.
- Cook in the oven for 4 hours.
- Remove from the oven and add each pork tenderloin to a large frying pan over medium-high heat until golden brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Shred the pork using 2 forks. Note: Strain the confit fat and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 1 month for other confit recipes.
- Soup: With about 2 hours left in the cooking process of the pork confit, add the butter to a large pot over medium heat along with the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, and sweat for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are slightly rendered.
- Add in the peas, split peas, and chicken stock and simmer over low heat for about 90 minutes or until the peas have broken down and the soup is thick.
- With about 20 minutes left in the cooking process, add the potatoes to the soup and cook until tender.
- Finish by seasoning with salt and pepper and add the shredded pork. Note: I only used half of the amount of shredded pork confit but you can absolutely use it all. It is delicious to eat by itself or serve as its own meal.
- Pour some into a bowl and add on optional crème Fraiche garnish and serve.
Thank you for your pea soup recipe. I am making mine today. I see you use split peas and peas. Can I use frozen peas?
Thanks
yes
This looks amazing. The addition of regular peas is genius… never thought of doing that. And the pork tenderloin–next level. Thanks.
Thanks for trying it!
When you call for a sprig of thyme or rosemary, how big of a piece do you consider it to be a sprig?
a sprig is a sprig? It’s the little woody part with the leaves of the herb on it.
Very satisfying, Many Thanks!
My pleasure!
turned out amazing, definitely a new twist on my old favorite. my first experience with confit, wondering though what to make with leftover oil?
Thanks for giving it a shot!! You can use it to cook anything in. Chicken, beef, pork, duck. Same process. Or use it as cooking oil. Very flavorful.
The flavor is delicious. I didn’t do the port confit (just did a pulled pork in my crock pot). The only problem I had was that the split peas never softened up, even though I soaked them for 12 hours beforehand. I should have remembered that at 7,000 feet elevation, I always have to pressure cook beans and it seems I should have done the same for the split peas. But everything else was great!
Hi Billy, This version looks so delicious I want to try it out, especially with the last of my fresh Rosemary and Thyme. Do you think using a small center cut pork roast, cut into smaller pieces as you do with the tenderloin will do ok? I assume yes but thought to check with you. Thanks and be well! -Peter
I think that would work well. Or you could wait until after Thanksgiving and just use leftover ham!
Sorry Billy, after seeing your video I was eager to try it so went ahead and used the pork roast. It came out great and is a delicious alternative to ham. I went too light on salting the pork for the confit so at the end added more with some pepper and more chardonnay. I kept the confit so my next adventure will be what to use it for. Seems a shame to toss all the onions and garlic too. I wonder if my dad would have made some version of gribbiness or added them to his morning home fries. I look forward to trying some of your other recipes Billy. Thanks again and love the video.
Most awesome split pea soup ever! Thanks Billy. Straight to the point, easy to follow videos. Totally enjoy your enthusiasm.
Sounds Wonderful, will have to try. Thank you !
I am interested in the clear square containers with the measurements on them. I’ve never seen them in stores. Can you give me a link as to where to get them?
square? I think I only have round ones, do you mean those?
Tell me more about Confit? Is this a technique commonly used in cooking meats? Does this infuse a deeper flavor? I’m intrigued, but the use of that much oil needs to justify the process.
The flavor is incredible. Perfectly crisp on the outside and super tender in the middle and there isn’t a more flavorful way to cook out there. The fat that it is cooked in will last up to a month in the fridge. I would encourage you to use it in all of your cooking. Whether you are frying an egg, a piece of chicken or even wanting to do another confit, it is so flavorful and so delicious.
this is such an awesome soup
This is seriously the best! So tasty and delicious! Loved learning how to make confit and this soup!
Oh my goodness, split pea has been my favourite since childhood but you went ahead and made it extra special by adding pork confit, Billy! Wow so much flavour!
This recipe is perfect for the cold weather and it’s healthy too! I’m excited to give this a try. Thank you for this!