Hearty Vegan Split Pea Soup

by | Jan 10, 2014 | Soups

Hearty Vegan Split Pea Soup was a regular at my house when I was a child. I absolutely loved it and still do to this day. Green Split Peas, that is. Although lately I have been making more yellow split peas and those are awesome too. However, the yellow split peas can be hard to find. I have only been able to find them in the bulk section at Whole Foods. But I digress. More about yellow split peas in another post.

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We were eating this hearty vegan split pea soup so many years ago and didn’t even know it was vegan. It was a pretty regular Friday night meal as it had no meat in it. Traditionally, it is made with ham. I think it’s just as good without the ham. My mother would cook linguine pasta with it. It would become thick and well….hearty! As my dad would say, it sticks to the ribs.

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If you decide to have the pasta with it, cook it in a separate pot of boiling water. When done, add it to the soup. It will become very thick, but just add a little water to thin.

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Sometimes I make it with pasta and sometimes I merely enjoy the soup with a salad. However you decide to have it, it’s a very simple and easy dish to prepare. Except for the cooking time, it doesn’t take long at all to put it together.

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TIP: This soup freezes well, too. You might have to thin with a slight bit of water after it thaws and stir well.

Health Notes

1. Split peas are a vital source of nutrients, great for heart health.

2. They include dietary fiber, potassium, and folate.

3. Split peas have a similar nutritional profile to black beans. Very Healthy!

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Hearty Vegan Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

  • 8 cups water
  • 2 cups dried split peas, rinsed and checked for any stones or unsavory characters
  • 1 sweet onion
  • 1/2 bag of baby carrots
  • Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  • Fill a Dutch Oven or heavy pot with 8 cups of water. Pour in 2 cups of dried split peas. Turn the heat to high and let come to a boil. Once it starts to boil, turn down to simmer and skim the top of all white foam. Turn to simmer at this point
  • Let cook until peas begin to soften, are tender and soup is beginning to thicken
  • Let simmer for an hour or more, then add the onions, carrots, sea salt and pepper. Continue cooking on simmer until onions and carrots are done about another hour or thereabouts. The soup will thicken as it sits. If it gets too thick, just add water to thin