Homemade Creamy Split Pea and Ham soup is hearty, filling, nutritious and sooo much better than anything from a can.

How many of you grew up eating canned split pea soup? I certainly did, thanks to my dad; he loves the stuff. I liked mine with a little milk poured in to cool it down and make more creamy. It occurred to me the other day that I’d never set out to make a homemade version of this family favorite. So I whipped up a batch of Creamy Split Pea and Ham soup from scratch. You talk about “Mmmm Mmmm Good”!

Split peas lay on a baking sheet ready to be cooked into Creamy Split Pea and Ham Soup. - The Goldilocks Kitchen

Always make sure to check your split peas for pebbles/rocks before you cook them. I like to pour mine onto a rimed baking sheet, it spreads the peas out and makes pebbles easier to spot.

What are Split Peas?

Split peas are a field pea, grown specifically to be dried and split along their natural seam. They cook faster this way, and don’t need to be ‘pre-soaked’. The Kitchn has a great article explaining the difference between split peas and lentils (which look almost identical).

Split peas are high in protein and fiber, and low in fat. There is no need to soak split peas before cooking, and they turn very creamy when cooked through. -The Kitchn

Since there is no need to pre-soak our cute little lentils for Creamy Split Pea and Ham Soup, the recipe is very straightforward and simple! Saute diced onion, carrot and ham until the onions are cooked soft, then add a bit of garlic and herbs. Pour in chicken broth and a 1 pound bag of dried, split peas and simmer covered until the peas and carrots are soft.

Once the soup is ready, add two or three ladles of soup and one cup of heavy cream to a blender and puree. Stir the creamy puree back into the soup and you’re ready to serve your homemade batch of Creamy Split Pea and Ham Soup! I highly recommend serving with a loaf of my Quick Crusty Dinner Bread.

A Great Recipe for Leftover Ham

If you have leftover ham of any sort, it will be fantastic in Creamy Split Pea and Ham Soup! If you happen to still have a ham bone with some ham attached, even better. Instead of cooking diced ham with the onions and carrots, just and the whole bone with the leftover ham on it when you add the peas and broth. Once the soup is done cooking, remove the ham and bone. When it’s cooled enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone, dice it up, and add it to the soup, discarding the bone.

Once you taste a batch of homemade Creamy Split Pea and Ham Soup, the canned condensed soup will pale in comparison. Don’t skip on the bacon bits for a garnish, they are amazing with this soup! I hope you give this recipe a try, and please comment and rate below. Enjoy!