Old-Fashioned Split Pea Soup for About a Dollar a Bowl
This old-fashioned split pea soup with smoked ham costs about a dollar a bowl, simmers in one pot, and is packed with fibre and protein from Canadian peas.
Ingredients
| yellow split peas, rinsed and picked over | 450 g |
| smoked ham, diced | 200 g |
| yellow onion, diced | 1 medium |
| carrots, diced | 2 medium |
| celery stalks, diced | 2 |
| dried thyme | 5 ml |
| bay leaf, if you have one | 1 |
| water | 2 L |
| oil or a splash of water, for softening the vegetables | 15 ml |
| salt and pepper | to taste |
Steps
- 1Rinse the peas. Run the split peas through a sieve under cold water and check for any stray stones.
- 2Soften the vegetables. In one pot over medium heat, cook the onion, carrots, and celery with the oil or a splash of water for 5 to 6 minutes, until softened.
- 3Add the ham. Stir in the diced ham and thyme and cook for 1 minute.
- 4Bring it to a boil. Add the split peas, water, and bay leaf, bring everything to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer.
- 5Simmer until thick. Simmer partly covered for 60 to 75 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until the peas have broken down and the soup is thick.
- 6Season carefully. Remove the bay leaf, then season with pepper and only a little salt at first, since the ham carries plenty.
- 7Serve. Ladle into bowls, and thin with a little water if the soup has gone thicker than you like.
Split peas are one of the most underrated foods in the grocery store. They bring plenty of plant protein and fibre, which keeps you full for hours and help manage cholesterol and blood sugar.
Some soups ask for your attention, and this one mostly asks for your patience. You spend fifteen minutes chopping, and then the pot does the rest while the kitchen fills with the smell of smoked ham and thyme.
This split pea soup is a weeknight take on soupe aux pois, the Québécois classic, made with diced smoked ham instead of a ham bone. It feeds six for about $5.97 in total, or roughly a dollar a bowl, and it is built on an ingredient Canada ships to the world in larger quantities than any other country.
Why does the soup look so thin at first?
Around the 40-minute mark, the pot can still look thin, like pea water with bits floating in it. Do not panic, because the change happens fast near the end as the peas give way and collapse into the thick, old-fashioned texture no blender can fake.
Taste before you salt, since the smoked ham does most of the seasoning for you. The only real work happens in the first fifteen minutes, and after that it is a stir every so often while you get on with your evening.
Can you make it without ham?
To make the soup vegetarian, leave out the ham and add 5 ml of smoked paprika with the thyme for the same campfire depth. A pot made without ham still lands, and you may want a little more salt at the end, since the ham was doing that job before.
If you like building cheap dinners around pulses, our lentil cottage pie costs about two dollars a serving, and the cabbage and chickpea curry feeds six for under fifteen dollars.
How long do leftovers keep?
The soup thickens dramatically overnight, almost to the point where a spoon stands up in it, so leftovers want a splash of water when you reheat them. Many cooks swear it tastes better on day two, once the smoke has worked through the whole pot.
Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within 2 to 3 days, following Health Canada's advice on leftovers, and reheat them to 74°C, which for a soup means bringing it to a full, rolling boil. The soup also freezes well, which makes a double batch one of the smartest moves of soup season, alongside our two-dollar maple butternut squash soup.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to soak split peas?
Split peas do not need soaking, which is what makes split pea soup practical on a weeknight. Rinse them in a sieve under cold water and pick out any small stones, then add them straight to the pot. They break down on their own in about an hour of gentle simmering.
Can you use green split peas instead of yellow?
Green split peas work the same way and cook in about the same time. They give the soup a deeper green colour and a slightly sweeter flavour, while yellow peas taste milder and earthier, closer to traditional Québécois pea soup. Use the same weight, rinse them well, and check for stones.
Can you freeze pea soup?
The soup freezes well in airtight containers once it has cooled in the fridge. Leave a little space at the top, thaw it overnight in the fridge, and bring it back to a full, rolling boil, adding water as needed since it thickens as it thaws. Smaller containers make quick single lunches.
Your next step
If you want more meals that punch this far above their price, a registered dietitian can build a rotation around peas, beans, and lentils that fits your tastes and budget. The Medimap Health Hub has more budget-friendly recipes, and you can find a registered dietitian near you on Medimap.
Disclaimer: This recipe is general information, not medical or dietary advice. If you live with a health condition or follow a prescribed diet, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian about what fits your needs. Cost and nutrition figures are estimates and will vary by store, brand, and portion.