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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.

Instant Pot Split Pea Soup shown in serving bowl with salt-pepper shakers in background.

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?

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!

Instant Pot Split Pea Soup process shots collage

How to make Instant Pot Split Pea Soup:

(Scroll down for complete recipe including nutritional information.)

  1. 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.
  2. While onions cook, peel and dice sweet potato, chop red bell pepper, and cut ham into cubes.
  3. We used a one-pound package of green split peas, equal to 2 cups.
  4. 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!)
  5. Set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 15 minutes.
  6. When the time ends, let the Instant Pot NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes.
  7. Carefully release the rest of the pressure.
  8. Stir to combine the dissolved peas with other ingredients.
  9. Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and serve hot.

Instant Pot Split Pea Soup shown in serving bowl with salt-pepper shakers in background.

More Popular Instant Pot Soups:

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!

close-up of Instant Pot Split Pea Soup shown in serving bowl with salt-pepper shakers in background.
Yield: 8 servings

Instant Pot Split Pea Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 25 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

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

  1. Chop onions and then heat oil in the Instant Pot on SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT, and cook onions for a few minutes.
  2. Then add minced garlic and dried or ground thyme and cook a few minutes more.
  3. 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.
  4. This recipe uses a one-pound package of green split peas, or 2 cups if you need to measure out the split peas.
  5. 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!)
  6. Set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 15 minutes.
  7. When the time ends, let the Instant Pot NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes.
  8. Then carefully release the rest of the pressure.
  9. Stir to combine the dissolved peas with the other ingredients.
  10. Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and serve hot.
  11. 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:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount 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.

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Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

© Kalyn Denny
Category: Instant Pot
square thumbnail image of Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with salt-pepper-shakers and spoon

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.

Instant Pot Split Pea Soup Pinterest image

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