Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup for Pennies
A thick, cozy split pea soup made in the slow cooker with budget-friendly pantry staples. It’s hearty, hands-off, freezer-friendly, and easy to scale for meal prep.
This is the kind of soup that turns a few inexpensive ingredients into a pot of meals you can count on all week. The slow cooker does the work, and the leftovers freeze like a dream. Make it simple and vegetarian, or add a ham bone or diced ham if you’ve got it—either way it’s big flavor for small money.
Total Time
8 hr 15 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
8 hr
Servings
8
Ingredients
Soup Base
- •1 lb (about 2 1/4 cups) dry green split peas, rinsed and picked over
- •1 medium yellow onion, diced
- •3 carrots, diced
- •3 ribs celery, diced
- •4 cloves garlic, minced
- •6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- •1 cup water (add more as needed for thinning)
- •1 tsp dried thyme
- •1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional but recommended)
- •2 bay leaves
- •1/2 tsp black pepper
- •Salt, to taste (start with 1/2 tsp if using low-sodium broth)
Optional Add-Ins (Budget-Friendly)
- •1 ham hock or meaty ham bone (or 1 to 2 cups diced cooked ham)
- •1 Tbsp oil or butter (for sautéing the veg first, optional)
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the split peas in a fine mesh sieve until the water runs mostly clear. Pick out any debris or shriveled peas.
- 2
Add the split peas, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, broth, water, thyme, smoked paprika (if using), bay leaves, and black pepper to a 6-quart slow cooker. If using a ham hock or ham bone, nestle it into the liquid.
- 3
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4–5 hours, until the peas are very soft and the soup is thick.
- 4
If you used a ham hock/bone, remove it to a plate. Pull off any meat, shred it, and return the meat to the slow cooker. Discard bone, skin, and excess fat.
- 5
Remove the bay leaves. Stir the soup well to break down the peas (they should mostly dissolve). For an extra-smooth texture, mash briefly with a potato masher or blend a portion with an immersion blender.
- 6
Taste and add salt as needed. If the soup is thicker than you like, stir in a splash of water or broth until it reaches your preferred consistency.
- 7
Serve hot. Cool leftovers completely, then refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze in single portions for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Facts
Per serving
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Nutrition calculated automatically from ingredients.