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Home Soups

Pea and Ham Soup

By Nagi Maehashi
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Published5 Feb '20 Updated11 May '25
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This is a fabulous “throw it all in the slow cooker” Pea and Ham soup. There’s no need to cook the onion separately – it “sautés” itself in the fat from the ham hock that rises to the surface. Thick, hearty soup broth infused with incredible flavour from the ham bone!

A worthy ending for your leftover Christmas ham bone, or use store bought. Make this in your slow cooker or on the stove!

Pea and Ham Soup in a bowl with a side of toast, ready to be eaten

Pea and Ham Soup

I’ve always said that Lentil Soup is the least sexy looking soup in the world.

But in hindsight, I think Pea and Ham Soup should take that title.

I mean, think about it. A sparkling white Corn Chowder is pretty. A Thai Tom Yum Soup is colourful and vibrant.  Creamy Carrot Soup is a cheerful bright orange colour. And a fiery red Laksa looks as bold as it tastes.

But Pea Soup? It’s brown more than green. Kahki at best.

So no, it’s not glamorous.

But this ugly duckling is seriously delicious. One bite, and you won’t be able to stop!!

Close up of ladle scooping up Pea and Ham Soup from a slow cooker.

What goes in Pea and Ham Soup

Here’s what you need for pea and ham soup. I’ve used a store bought ham hock here because I used up all the ham bones I managed to score from friends and even mere acquaintances. Yep, when it comes to rounding up ham bones, I’m shameless!!

Make sure you use a ham bone with plenty of meat because more meat means more flavour imparted into the soup – and more shredded ham!

Pea and Ham Soup ingredients
  • Green split peas – these are just dried peas that are halved (split!) which means they cook faster and there’s no need to soak overnight (such as with most types of beans for things like Southern Baked Beans). They taste quite neutral, slightly earthy, and it absorbs the flavour of whatever they’re cooked in – in this case, ham! When cooked for a long time like we do here (in order for the ham meat to be ultra tender), they become creamy and thicken the soup;

  • WATER, no broth – the ham bone releases so much flavour that all we need is water for the soup broth. How good is that??!!

I love how economical pea soup is when made using leftover ham bone because the broth just needs water – no stock!

Ham Hock and leftover Ham Bone for Ham Rice Soup

The Ham Hock – ham bone

If you’re wondering what a ham hock is, it’s a ham bone. And it is literally the bone inside a leg of ham, left after carving off all the ham (ie the cold cuts sold at delis). So it is already cooked – well, smoked.

If you buy one, you’ll find it looks a lot neater than a scrappy leftover leftover ham bone from a homemade Glazed Ham. The store bought ones are cut neatly then from the looks of it, they are re-smoked to seal the surface of the pink meat part.

Where to buy ham hocks

Store bought ham hock is sometimes sold over the counter and delis, otherwise it’s vac packed and sold with ham and similar items in the refrigerator section.

Make sure it’s meaty!

While store bought are intentionally nice and meaty (to flavour the soup and for plenty of shredded ham), leftover ham bones have been known to be picked clean by Ham Monsters. So if your ham bone isn’t meaty enough, just add a hunk of ham into the soup as well – just to ensure you get enough flavour into the broth.

Do the same if your store bought ham hock weighs less than 1 kg / 2lb. 🙂

Alternative: give the broth a flavour boost with a dash of stock/bouillon powder.

Shredded ham bone meat for Pea and Ham Soup

Just place everything into the slow cooker then turn it on

No need to sauté onion separately beforehand. In this recipe, the onion will rise to the surface and “sauté” in the ham fat. I’ve tried it sautéing onion first, then using my method and there is no difference in flavour.

How to make Pea and Ham Soup

The peas will be so soft they become creamy. So blitzing is optional. What I like to do is partially puree the soup using a handheld blender stick. This way you get the best of both worlds – a smooth, creamy soup broth with soft bits of pea and veg bits!

Close up of spoon scooping up Pea and Ham Soup

How long to cook Pea and Ham Soup

Make sure you slow cook Pea and Ham Soup in the slow cooker for at least 8 hours, but 10 hours is even better (on low). The ham meat should literally fall off the bone and be shredded with a touch.

Easily shreddable ham is an indicator that it’s been cooked long enough to release a ton of flavour into the broth!

Are split peas good for you?

They are! They’re high in fibre and protein, can help reduce cholesterol and are low in fat. But split peas are a higher carbohydrate vegetable so watch your intake if you’re on a low carb diet.

Close up dunking bread into pea and ham soup

What to serve with Pea and Ham Soup

A hunk of warm crusty bread (preferably slathered in butter) is literally made for dunking into this thick soup.

In fact, forget spoons. Imagine eating the whole thing using bread as your feeding tool of choice?? 🙌🏻 For homemade, try this quick no yeast Irish Soda Bread or yeast free Sandwich bread. If you’ve got the time, make this crusty Artisan Bread – pretty sure it’s now officially the world’s easiest yeast bread! (It’s no knead, very foolproof).

OR – if you want to go all out, upgrade to Garlic Bread or CHEESY Garlic Bread!

Things to dunk into soup

Close up of crispy crust of world's easiest yeast bread
World’s Easiest Yeast Bread recipe – Artisan, NO KNEAD crusty bread
Better than Pizza Hut! For a truly religious Garlic Bread experience, skip the artisan bread and use a basic French stick. And no skimping on butter! recipetineats.com
Better-Than-Dominos Garlic Bread
Cheese stretch picking up piece of Quick Cheesy Garlic Bread
Quick Cheesy Garlic Bread
Close up of slice of Irish Soda Bread (no yeast bread)
World’s best No Yeast Bread – Irish Soda Bread
Close up photo of a stack of Savoury Cheese Muffins
Savoury Cheese Muffins
Close up of sandwich bread without yeast
Sandwich Bread WITHOUT yeast
These No Knead Dinner Rolls are like magic! Astonishingly easy, no stand mixer, just mix the ingredients in a bowl! recipetineats.com
Soft No Knead Dinner Rolls

If you’d like to add a side salad, try it with a Cucumber Salad for lovely contrasting crisp freshness, or for something different (and totally fabulous), a French Carrot Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing! – Nagi x

PS Some recipes dress up Pea and Ham soup by adding spinach or frozen peas at the end to make the soup colour greener. I choose to celebrate the unattractiveness and focus on flavour, flavour, flavour!


Watch how to make it

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Close up of spoon scooping up Pea and Ham Soup

Pea and Ham Soup (slow cooker or stove)

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 10 hours hrs
Mains, Soup
Western
4.99 from 132 votes
Servings6 – 8
Tap or hover to scale
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Recipe video above. This is a fabulous "throw it all in the slow cooker" soup. There's no need to cook the onion separately – it "sautés" itself in the fat from the ham that rises to the surface. Thick, hearty soup broth infused with incredible flavour from the ham! Use leftover ham bone, or purchase a ham hock.

Ingredients

  • 500g / 1lb dried split peas (Note 1)
  • 1.2-1.5kg / 2.4-3lb ham hock (aka ham bone), bacon hock or MEATY leftover ham bone (Note 2)
  • 1/4 tsp salt (start with less, adjust later)
  • 3/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 2 bay leaves , dried or fresh
  • 1 onion , finely chopped
  • 1 carrot , peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 celery sticks , finely chopped
  • 8 cups (2 litres/qts) water

Garnishes / serving:

  • Parsley , finely chopped
  • Crusty bread for dunking!
Prevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

  • Place peas in slow cooker, push ham in. Scatter all ingredients around the ham bone, then pour over water.
  • Slow cook 8 to 10 hours on LOW or 6 hours on HIGH. (Or 2.5 hours on low on stove, 1 h – 1 hr 20 min pressure cooker/Instant Pot on HIGH)
  • Remove ham bone, shred ham meat. Discard bone and fatty skin.
  • Remove bay leaves. Use a stick blender to blitz 2 or 3 times – thickens soup but doesn’t make it completely smooth (my preference, you can blend completely if you want).
  • Return ham into slow cooker, stir. Taste and add more salt if needed (soup gets lots of salt from ham).
  • Serve garnished with parsley. Serve with crusty bread for dunking – make a quick Irish Soda Bread, Garlic Bread or upgrade to Cheesy Garlic Bread!

Recipe Notes:

1. Split peas are dried peas which split in half during drying process. Smaller size means no soaking required. Doesn’t taste like peas! It’s quite a neutral flavour, a bit earthy, very much dominated by the savoury flavour imparted by the ham. 
Sold in packets should be clean ie picked through, and are fine to use without rinsing. But if I bought them at the markets out of sacks, then I would rinse.
2. Ham bone – bacon and ham hocks can be purchased, over some deli counters or vac packed. They are great because they’re intended for this purpose so they’re super meaty and full of smokey flavour.
If using LEFTOVER HAM BONE then make sure there’s a decent amount of ham on it still because that’s key to the flavour in this soup.
If you can’t find a hock at least 1kg/2lb OR if you leftover ham bone is really naked, then buy a chunk of ham, chop it into ~5cm/2″ pieces and throw that in with the bone (to impart flavour into soup and for shredding later).
If your soup is lacking in flavour due to the small size of your ham bone and you don’t have extra ham, add in a sprinkle of chicken stock powder (chicken bouillon) to give it a flavour boost (I do this when I open a ham bone given to me by friends only find it’s completely naked and devoid of meat!!).
3. Storage – freezes 100% perfectly! I would freeze for 3 months to err on the side of caution, but I’m sure even longer is fine. Fridge for 4 to 5 days.
4. Nutrition per serving. This is for a hearty sized bowl that will keep you full!

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 2cupsCalories: 509cal (25%)Carbohydrates: 54g (18%)Protein: 39g (78%)Fat: 16g (25%)Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)Cholesterol: 70mg (23%)Sodium: 296mg (13%)Potassium: 1114mg (32%)Fiber: 22g (92%)Sugar: 8g (9%)Vitamin A: 1823IU (36%)Vitamin C: 4mg (5%)Calcium: 78mg (8%)Iron: 5mg (28%)
Keywords: ham bone recipe, ham hock, Pea and ham soup, slow cooker soup, split pea soup
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

More ways with leftover Ham Bone!

Here are other recipes I’ve shared made using ham hocks. They make an amazing way to flavour broth!

Close up of spoon dipping into bowl of Slow Cooker Ham Bone Soup with Beans
Creamy Ham Bone Soup with Beans
Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup (Congee) being ladled out of a white pot, fresh off the stove
Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup – Congee (3 ingredients!!)

And more chunky, hearty soups

Close up of a freshly made pot of Celeriac Soup
Celeriac Soup
Bowl of Minestrone Soup ready to be eaten
Minestrone Soup
Close up photo of Vegetable Beef Soup with tender, slow cooked beef
Vegetable Beef Soup (Fall apart beef!)
Close up of creamy tomato White Bean Soup in a bowl
Creamy Tomato Bean Soup
Big pot of Beef and Lentil Soup made with ground beef / beef mince, fresh off the stove
Beef & Lentil Soup
Fish Chowder Soup in a bowl, ready to be eaten
Fish Chowder Soup
Why settle for a bland Lentil Soup when you make a standout one? Just a hint of spices and finishing it off with lemon zest makes all the difference! www.recipetineats.com
Lentil Soup (seriously amazing!)
A chickpea soup exploding with flavour! Tastes like Chicken Shawarma in soup form with lamb, quick to make, nutritious and filling. recipetineats.com
Lamb Shawarma Chickpea Soup
Soups

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

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374 Comments

  1. Ty says

    February 20, 2021 at 9:44 am

    5 stars
    Amazing! Again, I can not go wrong with Anything on this website! Thank you Nagi!

    Reply
    • Ty says

      February 21, 2021 at 3:17 pm

      5 stars
      Update! Day 2!
      It’s day 2 and the soup now has a Smokey complex flavour dimension. Why is soup always better on day 2?
      This is incredible! This soup just keeps on giving!
      Also I cooked 2 loaves of your easy crusty bread, I’ve been told this is far better than any store bought bread. Only 3 ingredients!

      Also I put 3 drops of Tabasco into my bowl of soup and it has a great flavour.
      Thank you Nagi!

      Reply
  2. Maple says

    February 11, 2021 at 1:50 am

    Hi! If I’m using a smoked ham hock, should I still slow cook this recipe for 8-10 hours?

    Reply
  3. Shane Scanlon says

    January 6, 2021 at 9:15 pm

    Liked this recipe very much, but next time only 1 Bay leaf for mine. Threw a dollop of light sour cream at my bowl, very noice.

    Reply
  4. Claire says

    January 4, 2021 at 3:24 pm

    5 stars
    So easy and just delicious, used Xmas leftover ham, will now become a regular meal for us, haven’t pulled out the slow cooker in a long time, it will now stay out for future use. Always love the recipes from Nagi. Thanks

    Reply
  5. Kate says

    January 3, 2021 at 10:45 pm

    5 stars
    Just made pea and ham soup for the first time, it went well and tastes great. I used 400gm green split peas and 100gm red lentils. I didn’t add any salt and didn’t blitz. Thank you, I was tripping down memory lane whilst eating as my Grandma would always make this after Christmas. xxx

    Reply
  6. Victoria A Khera says

    December 31, 2020 at 2:50 pm

    5 stars
    This was awesome. I had leftover honey-baked ham and did the stove top version and it was delicious. I did not even put salt as the ham was salty enough. Also did not need to blitz. After 2.5 hours in simmer, peas turned out mushy enough and when you reheat the next day, the soup comes out thicker.

    Reply
  7. Sally says

    December 31, 2020 at 8:45 am

    Hello, I am not a cook but trying, is a ham hock bought ready cooked as the supermarkets don’t seem to sell them , or can I buy a raw one at the butcher, do I need to soak and precook and then cook for 10 hours the recipe looks great please can someone help me, thanks.

    Reply
    • Gordon says

      February 5, 2021 at 12:56 am

      I wasn’t sure about this at first either, but I bought a pre-packed ham hough from the supermarket that was already smoked. All I had to do was was rinse and lightly scrub it before putting the whole thing into the slow cooker pot with the rest of the ingredients. As the recipe then says, at the end of the slow cooking you lift it out, remove the bone, and take off the rubbery\tough fatty skin from outside to get at the flaky ham inside.

      Reply
      • Sally says

        February 22, 2021 at 3:32 am

        Thanks very much

        Reply
  8. Bec says

    December 7, 2020 at 10:13 pm

    5 stars
    So yummy!! First time making pea and ham soup and it was so easy in the slow cooker. I didn’t add any salt and it was salty enough from the ham.
    Every recipe I make from your website is delicious!!

    Reply
  9. Conrad says

    November 30, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    Another spot-on recipe, Nagi. My lad was off school today and craving pea and ham soup, so I used your recipe and it worked beautifully. My ham hock was bigger than what you’d suggested, so I didn’t add any salt at all and I found it was seasoned perfectly.

    Reply
  10. Sarah Beynon says

    November 13, 2020 at 8:11 pm

    Not cooked as yet but wondering whether I could use yellow split peas rather than green as I already have these.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 14, 2020 at 12:07 pm

      Yes that’s fine Sarah – the soup will just be a different colour 🙂 N x

      Reply
  11. Sondra says

    November 12, 2020 at 7:34 am

    I have never had split peas but I have high hope, as your recipes always turn out great. If I have boneless ham, can I just use better than bouillon that is ham flavored?

    Reply
  12. Renita House says

    October 27, 2020 at 3:07 am

    I don’t eat ham, can I use smoked turkey legs instead?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 27, 2020 at 10:16 am

      Yes 100% Renita! N x

      Reply
  13. Kim Focas says

    September 26, 2020 at 10:54 am

    Hi Nagi, Thanks for another great recipe idea, its turned very cold this weekend in melbourne. I dont have a slow cooker or a crock pot or insta pot (no room in my small kitchen). If i wanted to cook this on the stove how long do you suggest? would I use a cast iron pot or just a normal one that can withstand a long cook time??

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 26, 2020 at 1:32 pm

      Hi Kim – all the stove directions are noted there in the recipe instructions, step 2. I would use a cast iron pot 🙂 N x

      Reply
      • Mark says

        November 23, 2020 at 3:49 am

        Hi Nagi, can I make this with frozen peas? Just realised I bought split lentils rather than split peas 🙁

        Reply
  14. Becky says

    September 19, 2020 at 1:47 pm

    5 stars
    I am planning on making this today with the left over gammon that I cooked yesterday. These are the pea’s that i have picked up. Do I need to soak these seperately or is everything ok to go in the slow cooker together?

    Reply
    • Becky says

      September 19, 2020 at 1:48 pm

      It isn’t letting me add a picture. It is the batchelors quick soak dried peas that I have

      Reply
  15. Jess says

    September 3, 2020 at 3:54 pm

    5 stars
    I made this with dried lentils instead of split peas, using the pressure cooker, and it was awesome. The cooking annihilated the lentils so I didn’t even need the blender to make it creamy. Love how easy it was! And the whole family finished their bowls 🙌 definitely sticking this on the rotation – thanks Nagi!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      October 27, 2020 at 3:25 am

      How long did you cook it in the IP?

      Reply
      • Jess says

        October 27, 2020 at 7:43 am

        About an hour, and then leave it to pressure release by itself.

        Reply
        • Amy says

          October 27, 2020 at 9:43 am

          Thank you!! I can’t wait to make this!!

          Reply
  16. Leisa Brady says

    August 21, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    Every Saturday my nana would make pea and ham soup for all the family. We would take it home in a billy can and have before going to football. Made your recipe and Thankyou so yummy exactly like nans and it brought back all the memories. I miss her and my mum and I had a cry when eating it and remembering all the good times. That’s what foods all about. Again thanks have tried so many of your recipes and all have been incredible.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 17, 2020 at 3:24 pm

      Oh Leisa! This brought tears to my eyes reading this. It warms my heart to hear that it brought back such great memories but was so sad to hear she is no longer with us. Sending you big hugs – N xx

      Reply
  17. Ali Nugent says

    August 19, 2020 at 11:24 am

    5 stars
    Ohh lordy this is so good. And so easy.
    Thank you for another amazing recipe!

    Reply
  18. Kylie says

    August 17, 2020 at 5:09 pm

    5 stars
    This is lovely thank you Nagi
    Keeps away those nasty sodium rich soup satchets I use to buy!

    My shopping list for this week has five of your meals on it for this week haha
    You are my go to 🤜🏻🤛🏻
    Thank you so much for making the cooking side of things easier In my home xx hugs to Dozer xx

    Reply
  19. Marlene says

    August 14, 2020 at 7:55 pm

    I have made different versions of this over the years but this one is the best! And everyone else agrees, it is the only way I will make now, Thankyou

    Reply
  20. Michele says

    August 13, 2020 at 3:15 pm

    I’ve made this 3 times now. SO easy, everything in the slow cooker & presto!! Beautiful pea & ham soup xx

    Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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