Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
on Jan 04, 2021, Updated Jan 30, 2025
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A bowl of this (ridiculously inexpensive and satisfying) green split pea soup on a cold night is the best kind of comfort food around.
This vegetarian split pea soup recipe is comfort food at its homiest. The texture is soothing, the flavor is mellow, and it’s so easy to make. You’ll want a pot of this simmering on the stove once a week — it’s great for those busy weeknights when people are coming and going at different times! I like serving this veggie soup with some super easy garlic bread. And if you skip the Parmesan at the end (totally optional), it’s actually a vegan split pea soup. Plus, you can make it in the slow cooker if that’s more convenient — see the variation!
It’s also a nice vegetarian and vegan-friendly soup to think about during the holidays (and also see this big old list of vegan Thanksgiving recipes!).
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Onion, celery, carrots, and garlic – These aromatics are sautéed and form the flavorful base of the soup. I like using yellow onion in this soup. You can also use shallots or leeks instead of the onions.
- Thyme – Adds a nice herbal note.
- Vegetable broth – I like to use less sodium to control the amount of salt in the soup, but you can use what you have. If you have the option to use homemade vegetable broth or stock, go for it. Your soup will be amazing!
- Dried green split peas – The hero ingredient! And so ridiculously cheap. This whole soup will cost about 5 bucks to make!
- Grated Parmesan – For sprinkling at the end if you like, but skip it if you don’t have it. Also, skip it if you want the soup to be vegan.
Variations
The simplicity of this soup just speaks to me, but there are a lot of ways to play with this recipe!
- Make it extra creamy: This is no doubt a thick and hearty soup. If you want a slightly creamier consistency, you can put a cup or two into a blender or a food processor and pulse so it crushes and blends together a bit, then stir that back into the pot. Or, if you have an immersion blender, just place it in the pot at the end and let it run until you have the consistency you like.
- Additions: Sure, you could add some cayenne pepper or hot sauce. Yes, you could add some corn or diced winter squash, either uncooked with the other vegetables or cooked towards the end. Maybe toss in a cup or two of cooked rice or grains at the end.
- For meat-eaters: If you aren’t looking for a vegetarian split pea soup, you can add some ham to this (and also use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth). Add chopped cooked ham for the last 1/2 hour of simmering. Or, if you prefer, add a ham hock or another smoked or cured piece of ham when you add the split peas. If you are a vegetarian, pretend I didn’t even mention this.
- Slow Cooker Vegetarian Split Pea Soup: Couldn’t be easier! Dump all of the ingredients into your slow cooker, seal, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
How to Make Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
- Sauté the aromatics: Sauté the onions, celery, carrots, thyme, and garlic in some olive oil in a soup pot.
- Simmer: Add the broth to the pot. Add the bay leaf and the split peas, then bring it all to a simmer together. You will need to simmer the soup for about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Check the split peas to make sure they are completely tender.
- Serve: Serve hot and sprinkle with Parmesan (optional; vegan Parmesan is also an option).
FAQs
Split peas are a fairly soft, small legume, so they cook more quickly than other beans. You do not need to soak split peas before cooking. However, if you want to shorten the cooking time and can plan ahead, soaking split peas in water to cover for several hours can speed up the cooking time. If split peas are soaked for 24 hours, the cooking time will be reduced by about half to about 45 minutes.
I recommend cooking the split peas from dried for 1 1/2 hours. One great way to reduce the cooking time is by soaking them (see above).
Yes, it is totally possible to make split pea soup without meat! The meat doesn’t even require a substitute because the soup is naturally delicious with just the vegetables. Leaving out any meat products allows the split peas and seasonings to really shine!
Storage and Reheating
If you make your split pea soup a day ahead and refrigerate it, you will see that it will thicken up considerably. When it’s reheated, it will loosen up again but still be thicker than when you first made it. If this is what you were looking for, great. If it’s too thick, just add some more broth or even water.
You can reheat the soup over low heat in a pot or in the microwave.
Vegetarian split pea soup will last for about 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. It can also be frozen for up to 6 months. Make sure to leave some space in the soup container when you seal it up, as the soup will expand a bit when it freezes.
What to Serve With Split Pea Soup
More Winter Soup Recipes
- Cauliflower Cheese Soup
- Mushroom Barley Soup
- Lentil Tomato Soup
- Leftover Turkey Split Pea Soup
- Minestrone Soup
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Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 2 cups peeled and chopped carrots
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 10 cups less sodium vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups dried split green peas
- Grated Parmesan (to serve; optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, thyme, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.
- Add the broth to the pot along with the bay leaf and split peas, and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat so the soup stays at a simmer and cook for about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours, until the split peas are very tender and starting to fall apart.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve in bowls, sprinkled with Parmesan if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
REALLY flavorful for such simple ingredients! I simmered the soup with some Parmesan rinds, rather than serving with Parmesan. I was skeptical that 10 cups of broth would make the soup watery, but it was the oe4fect amount. Will make this one again and again.
I ASSUME SODIUM AMOUNT IS A MISPRINT?
Hi Karen, Yes, it seems like the nutrition calculator we use was over stating that sodium amount by a lot. It’s fixed now. Thank you for pointing that out!
Yummy, I saw someone subbed oregano for marjoram. I ran out of marjoram, used oregano, it was so yummy. My husband loves split pea soup. I’ve tried many recipes and they were all okay. This recipe is the best! My husband wants me to make this one now all the time. Thanks so much for the wonderful satisfying, delicious recipe.
A few of these reviews mention marjoram which is not mentioned in the recipe. All I see is thyme. Also there is a picture of a bay leaf in the soup which is also not present in the recipe…please advise.
I’m not sure why people are mentioning marjoram as the main herb, though it would certainly be a good option! The bay leaf is in there now, apologies for leaving that out of the ingredient list!
This is amazing, I make it regularly. Amazing, simple recipe. Thank you!
Has.anyone.ever.made.split.pea.soup.withOUT.onions.or.garlic…I.can’t.eat.them…
I.can.eat.leek.GREENS.only.
Thanks…
(Sorry.for.the.”.’s?…My.spacebar.isn’t.working.and.new.laptop.has.not.arrived.
Try it with a bunch of sauteed leek greens! It will have a nice mild onion-y flavor. Make sure to cook the leek greens very thoroughly so they get soft.
Delish!!!!! I subbed oregano for the marjoram and enjoying this yummy winter soup!
Delicious! I give it a5!
ummmm…..YUUUUM!