Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
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 split pea soup with even fewer carbs.
PIN Instant Pot Split Pea Soup to try it later.
When I first got an Instant Pot, Instant Pot Split Pea Soup was one of the soup recipes I really wanted to try, even though there were a few recipes for split pea soup on the blog. And I wanted a recipe that was a different take on this classic soup, which is why I added sweet potatoes to this split pea soup!
But recently I decided to update the recipe into a version that’s lower in carbs, so I used more ham, fewer sweet potatoes, and added some chopped red bell peppers to make a low-carb split pea soup recipe. And there are suggestions below to make it even lower in carbs if that’s what works for you.
If you’re a split pea soup fan like I am, any time you happen to end up with some leftover ham, this tasty Instant Pot Split Pea soup is a great idea for using it. I hope you’ll try this recipe!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- small sweet potato
- red bell pepper
- 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
Is this Split Pea Soup Recipe Low in Carbs?
Split peas do have some carbs of course, but this updated Split Pea Soup has only about 13 net carbs in a serving. If you want a tasty Instant Pot Split Pea Soup that will be even lower in carbs, skip the sweet potato and chop up two red bell peppers to add to the soup.
Why I use ground thyme for Instant Pot Split Pea Soup?
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.
Is Split Pea Soup easy to make in the Instant Pot?
This was really about as easy as it gets for a soup to make in the Instant Pot. 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! I cooked the 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.
What Size Instant Pot Did I Use?
I use a 6 Quart Instant Pot (affiliate link) for all my Instant Pot Recipes. 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:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- 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:
Weekend Food Prep:
This Instant Pot Split Pea Soup recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll 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 square
- 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 also 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, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for Split Pea Soup made in the Instant Pot was first posted in 2016 when Kalyn had a brand new Instant Pot! The recipe updated with better photos and more information in 2024.
21 Comments on “Instant Pot Split Pea Soup”
Hope questions are ok, first can I use yellow peas, and second can I omit the ham and the flavor packets.
You can use yellow split peas. There is also a recipe for yellow split pea soup on the site if you want to enter it into the search bar.
The soup has a pound of ham so if you are omitting ham I would add something else or more of another ingredient to keep the proportions the same, maybe sweet potato if you like that. I haven’t made this without ham but you might need some flavor-enhancing ingredients too.
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?
Of course; use any potatoes you prefer.
This was only my second time using my Instant Pot since I just got it for Christmas. This was a delicious success! The directions were easy to follow and it came out perfect. I used the sweet potato and also added in a chopped carrot. When I first opened the pot after cooling down naturally it looked very watery but once I stirred it it all blended together beautifully. 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.