Split Pea and Ham Soup Recipe – A Delicious Leftover Ham Recipe

If you are looking for a delicious recipe to use leftover ham from your holiday celebration, do yourself a favor and make this healthy Split Pea and Ham Soup recipe. Even for those who don’t like traditional cooked peas, you are going to love this creamy soup that is full of amazing flavor.

I have to admit, I am not a lover of plain, cooked peas. In fact, I haven’t had a side dish of peas in nearly 10 years.

So when I was searching for ways to use an abundance of leftover ham after I hosted a large Easter celebration I was a little skeptical about making this soup.

However, after my first bite, I was honestly shocked. It was a delicious, creamy soup that had excellent flavor and chunks of ham scattered throughout. Best of all, it didn’t taste like peas at all!

Ever since then, I have used my leftover ham and ham bone from Easter and Christmas to make this soup. And it freezes well so you can enjoy it now and at a later time!

What Are Split Peas?

Split peas are field peas that are dried after harvesting. Once dried, the outer skin of the pea is removed and the pea is split in half along the natural seam, creating two symmetrical halves.

The peas are usually green or yellow, with green split peas being more commonly available in the United States. Green split peas tend to have a slightly sweeter flavor, while yellow split peas (commonly found in Canada) have a milder taste.

They don’t require presoaking so they are commonly used in soups and stews that don’t require a low and slow cooking process. However, if cooked for a long period of time the peas will become creamy which is why they are ideal when making soup.

Leftover Ham Options When Making Split Pea Soup

Although you could purchase a ham hock and/or precooked ham to make this split pea soup, most often it is made with leftover ham from a holiday dinner. In fact, I most often make this delicious soup recipe using the leftover ham right after Christmas and Easter.

Once I finish carving our Honey Baked Ham I will save both the bone and leftover meat. If I am going to make the soup right away I will store them in the refrigerator.

Although if I don’t have time to make the soup within the next few days, I will dice the meat and then freeze it for later use. I also put the ham bone in an air-tight container and place it in the freezer.

Then when it comes time to make the soup I will add both the frozen ham bone and meat right into the pot. That’s right, there is no need to thaw the meat.

However if you made a boneless ham and find yourself with leftover meat but no bone, you can still make split pea and ham soup. Simply add a little extra diced ham to the soup to make up for the bits of ham that will fall off the bone as it simmers.

You can even make this soup without any meat at all! For my vegetarian and vegan friends omit the ham altogether and replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock.

Split Pea and Ham Soup Recipe

*Complete recipe instructions including specific measurements, cook temperatures and times are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to keep reading for helpful tips and tricks when making this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1⁄4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound dried split peas, rinsed and sorted
• 1 leftover ham bone
• 1 bay leaf
• 3⁄4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 cups water
• 1 1⁄2 cups diced cooked ham

INSTRUCTIONS

Before getting started making your Split Pea and Ham soup, you must first rinse, sort, and drain the bag of split peas. Do this by opening the bag and placing the peas in a colander.

Then run cold water over the peas while you mix them with your hand. Be sure to pick out any peas that look bad and any dirt or small stones that may have been harvested along with the peas.

Let the peas drain while you dice the onion, carrots and celery. Now that all the ingredients are prepared, it is time to get the soup cooking!

In a large pot over medium heat, add the unsalted butter. Once the butter melts add diced onions, carrot and celery to the pot.

Then season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. It is important to remember that both the ham bone and the diced ham are naturally salty.

Therefore, be cautious on how much salt you add at the beginning of the cooking process. Remember, you can always add more salt once the split pea and ham soup is served, you just can’t take it out if you add too much.

Continue to saute the vegetables until tender, which will take approximately 6-7 minutes.

Once the veggies are slightly softened, add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute, or just until the garlic becomes fragrant.

Deglaze the Bottom of the Pot

Next, add the chicken stock and using a wooden spatula deglaze the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits.

Then stir in the rinsed and drained split peas, ham bone, bay leaf, and the dried thyme. Stir the mixture and then add water and stir again.

Increase the heat to medium-high to bring the soup to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the peas begin to break down the soup will thicken and will require more stirring.

Continue to simmer until desired consistency is reached, adding more water as needed. Add the diced ham to the split pea soup during the last 10 minutes of cooking to heat through.

*If you are using frozen ham add it after the soup has been simmering for 30 minutes.

When you are ready to serve, remove the ham bone and bay leaf and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. I also add a little crushed red pepper flakes and a few dashes of hot sauce to make the soup slightly spicy.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

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