Instant Pot Split Pea Soup (Video)
My Instant Pot Split Pea Soup has ham, sweet potatoes, and red bell pepper, and this tasty soup can be ready in about 45 minutes! This soup is surprisingly low in net carbs, but see suggestions if you want an even lower-carb version of split pea soup.
PIN Instant Pot Split Pea Soup to try it later.
There are other types of split pea soup on the blog, so I guess it’s obvious that I’m a fan. And when I first got the Instant Pot, this was one of the soup recipes I really wanted to try. I wanted a recipe that was a different take on this classic soup, which is why I added ham and sweet potatoes to my original Instant Pot Split Pea Soup!
But recently I decided to update my recipe into a version that’s lower in carbs, so I reduced the amount of sweet potatoes and added some red bell peppers to make a low-carb split pea soup recipe. Check the nutritional information to see what you think!
Or there are suggestions below to make it even lower in carbs if that’s what works for you. And any time you happen to end up with some leftover ham, this tasty soup is a great idea for using it.
I cooked my Instant Pot Split Pea Soup for 15 minutes on high pressure because I wanted the split peas completely dissolved into the soup and liked that the sweet potatoes were breaking apart a bit at that point. This was really about as easy as it gets for a pressure cooker soup. Chopping up the sweet potatoes, red peppers, onions, and ham takes about 5 minutes, and then the Instant Pot magically turns everything into a delicious tummy-warming soup!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- small sweet potato
- red bell peppero
- green split peas
- ham
- onion
- bay leaves
- Dried Thyme (affiliate link) or Ground Thyme (affiliate link)
- canned chicken broth (affiliate link) or homemade chicken stock
- water
- Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link); optional but recommended
Why do I recommend ground thyme?
You can definitely make this soup with regular dried thyme if that’s what you have. But I’m starting to prefer ground thyme in soup because the dried thyme floats to the surface in the finished soup.
What if you don’t have ham flavor base?
I’m a long time fan of Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link) to add more flavor to soups that have ham. But you can also put them ham rinds into the soup while it cooks and then remove them. And if you happen to have some Ham Stock, replacing a few cups of the chicken broth with that will also add more ham flavor.
How can you make Instant Pot Split Soup even lower in carbs?
For a tasty Instant Pot Split Pea Soup that will be a lot lower in carbs, skip the sweet potato and chop up two red bell peppers to add to the soup.
What Size Instant Pot Did I Use?
I use a 6 Quart Instant Pot (affiliate link) for all my Instant Pot Recipes.
Love Your Instant Pot?
Check out my growing collection of Instant Pot Recipes! You can also find lots more Instant Pot /Slow Cooker Recipes on my other site.
What if you don’t want to use the Instant Pot?
If you’re not a pressure cooker fan, you can use the instructions from Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup to make this soup in the slow cooker or use instructions for Yellow Split Pea Soup to make this soup on the stove!
How to make Instant Pot Split Pea Soup:
(Scroll down for complete recipe including nutritional information.)
- Heat oil in the Instant Pot on SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT, and cook chopped onions for a few minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook a few minutes more.
- While onions cook, peel and dice sweet potato, chop red bell pepper, and cut ham into cubes.
- We used a one-pound package of green split peas, equal to 2 cups.
- Put all ingredients into the Instant Pot with the chicken broth. (Or if you have Homemade Ham Stock I would definitely use some of that and less chicken broth!)
- Set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 15 minutes.
- When the time ends, let the Instant Pot NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes.
- Carefully release the rest of the pressure.
- Stir to combine the dissolved peas with other ingredients.
- Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and serve hot.
More Popular Instant Pot Soups:
- Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Pesto Soup
- Instant Pot Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Soup
- Cheesy Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
My Instant Pot Split Pea Soup has ham, sweet potatoes, and red bell pepper, and this can be on the table in less than a hour!
Ingredients
- 1 T olive oil (see notes, DO NOT SKIP)
- 1 small onion
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 tsp. dried thyme or ground thyme
- 1 small sweet potato, cut into pieces about 3/4 inch squareÂ
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 lb. diced ham (cut into pieces about 3/4 inch square)
- 1 lb. green split peas (see notes)
- 3 large bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken broth or homemade chicken stock (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons or packets Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (see notes)
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop onions and then heat oil in the Instant Pot on SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT, and cook onions for a few minutes.
- Then add minced garlic and dried or ground thyme and cook a few minutes more.
- While onions cook, peel and dice sweet potato, remove stem and seeds from red bell pepper and chop, and cut ham into cubes about 3/4 inch square.
- This recipe uses a one-pound package of green split peas, or 2 cups if you need to measure out the split peas.
- Put all the ingredients into the Instant Pot with the chicken broth. (If you have Homemade Ham Stock I would definitely use some of that for this recipe!)
- Set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 15 minutes.
- When the time ends, let the Instant Pot NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes.
- Then carefully release the rest of the pressure.
- Stir to combine the dissolved peas with the other ingredients.
- Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and serve hot.
- This soup freezes well and can be reheated in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
Notes
Do not skip the oil; this keeps the split peas from causing too much foam in the Instant Pot.
One pound of split peas is equal to two cups.
I would love this soup with homemade chicken stock, but you can use canned chicken broth if that's what you have. (Or if you have Homemade Ham Stock I would definitely use that for this recipe!)
I always use some ham flavor base (affiliate link) when I'm making this type of soup, and I love Goya brand. If you don't have ham flavor base you can add ham rinds to the soup and remove them when it's cooked, or use some Ham Stock as mentioned above.
Recipe created by Kalyn and inspired by a life-long love of split pea soup and a new Instant Pot.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 200Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 1371mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 5gSugar: 5gProtein: 20g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
My Instant Pot Split Pea Soup is surprisingly low in net carbs, or skip the sweet potato and use another red bell pepper if you want even fewer carbs. This recipe would be suitable for Phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Check out Instant Pot Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2016 when Kalyn had a brand new Instant Pot! The recipe was last updated with better photos and with more information in 2022.
19 Comments on “Instant Pot Split Pea Soup (Video)”
I am so shocked that it turned out so well. Thanks so much for the awesome recipe, bookmarked this immediately for future as well.
Thanks
Radhika
In this season of pumpkin in everything, you could use that too.
Interesting idea! I think pumpkin or butternut squash instead of the sweet potato could be really good.
Such a great flavor combination. I make a 1 pot meal every Sunday for my workday lunches. When I saw the addition of sweet potatoe to split pea, I got excited! Of course, with all discoveries, there often becomes a roadblock that must be navigated… my roadblock was having no sweet potatoe on hand, but 2 small bags of frozen butternut squash cubes. So, why not! I combine the sweet potatoes and butternut squash quite often. I substitute the squash, and bypassed the ham, used vegetable stock, because I try to keep my weekday lunches vegeterian, and low in WW (weight watchers ) purple plan points. 15 LONG minutes lol, and I cracked open the pot and was elated with the end result! Thank you for creating a great base recipe. This will be a go to meal for me!
I love the idea of using butternut squash in this! So glad you had that idea and enjoyed it!
23 large bay leaves? Was that meant to be 2-3 perhaps?
Yes, thanks for catching it and taking time to tell me!
Years ago I made split pea soup. What a failure! My children and husband never let me live it down. But with this recipe, I’ve been redeemed! Hallelujah!
Thank you for sharing.
So happy to hear that! I do wish it was a bit more photogenic, but it’s tasty!
This looks like the best split pea recipe I’ve read. Could russets or yukons be used?Â
Of course; use any potatoes you prefer.
This was only my second time using my Instant Pot since I just got it for Christmas. Â This was a delicious success! Â The directions were easy to follow and it came out perfect. Â I used the sweet potato and also added in a chopped carrot. Â When I first opened the pot after cooling down naturally it looked very watery but once I stirred it it all blended together beautifully. Â Thank you for a great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!
This was perfect! Thank you
Glad you liked it!
My instant pot manual said you should not cook split peas in the instant pot as it can clog a valve – just wondering about your thoughts on that.
I think the possibility of clogging is from the foam you get when things like beans and legumes are cooked under pressure. If you don't add some oil that foam can clog the pressure cooker, that's why I added a tablespoon of olive oil, it keeps down the foam. But as you can see it worked perfectly for me and if you google it you'll find many other split pea soup recipes made in the Instant Pot.
Possibly the manual is referring to a whole pot full of split peas; that might cause too much foam.
Used the split pea soup recipe as a guide. Used cubed butternut squash instead of sweet potato and added a little smoked paprika and garlic. Also used vegetabke stock instead of chicken. Added about 1/2 cup diced carrots. It was awesome!
Love hearing how you switched it up! So glad you enjoyed.