Instant Pot Split Pea (or Bean or Lentil) Soup
Ready in 50 minutes
Serves 8 people
307 calories
Ingredients
● 3 tablespoons butter
● 1 onion diced
● 2 ribs celery diced
● 2 carrots diced
● 1 ham bone a smoked ham hock or ham steak with/without bone
● 1 lb. dry split peas (or beans or lentils) sorted through and rinsed
● 6 cups low sodium chicken or veggie stock
● 2 bay leaves
● salt and black pepper (see notes)
● chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional
● Any Niblack herb/salt-free seasoning blend works great in this!
(Lumber-Jill, Herbes-De-Provence)
Preparation
1. Turn pressure cooker to the “sauté” setting. Melt butter (3 tablespoons) and sauté onion, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes, until softened.
2. Add the split peas, chicken stock (6 cups), ham bone (or hock or 6 oz. diced cooked ham), and the 2 bay leaves. Turn off the “sauté” function.
3. Cover pressure cooker and set to manual, for 15 minutes.
4. Allow the pressure to naturally release for 10-15 minutes. Then, quick release the pressure valve.
5. If you used a ham bone or hock: remove the it from the soup and remove the ham meat that’s still attached to it. Add the ham meat back into the soup.
6. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and any herbs/seasoning if desired (see notes). Serve immediately, or store in your refrigerator for up to 1 week or freezer in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Tips
● A note about salt: if you use salty chicken broth, you may not need to add any salt at all since ham is also usually very salty.
● The peas may take longer to cook depending on their age – the older dried legumes are, the longer they take to cook. This can vary based on brand, how long they’ve sat on grocery store shelves, or how long they’ve been in your pantry.
● If you want to use a frozen ham bone, you shouldn’t need to adjust the cooking time, since ham bones are technically already cooked, you’re just reheating it! Keep in mind though, the colder your ingredients are, the longer it will take to come to pressure.
● For a vegetarian version, omit the ham, use more salt and pepper, and make sure to use vegetable stock or water instead of chicken. For a vegan version, use olive oil instead of butter.
● If you don’t eat pork, you can substitute the ham bone for a smoked turkey leg.
● To make this in your slow cooker, add all ingredients (omitting the butter) to slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, or until split peas are cooked to desired tenderness.
● To make this on your stovetop, sauté veggies as instructed in a large pot. After adding the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for approximately one hour (or until split peas are cooked to desired tenderness).
● Ham usually comes cured/smoked, which means it’s cooked and ready to eat. However, sometimes stores sell “fresh ham,” which means it’s uncooked. Do NOT use fresh ham for this recipe- use already cooked, smoked, and/or cured ham.
● This soup will likely thicken once it cools and is refrigerated, especially if you use a ham bone to make it because of the gelatin. Thin out with water and adjust seasonings as necessary.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 307kcal |
Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 7g |
Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 16mg |
Sodium: 315mg | Potassium: 814mg |
Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 2765IU |
Vitamin C: 3.3mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron:
3mg
[original recipe, made many times, from “Bowl of Delicious”}
