Rich in flavor and hearty in texture, Canadian Split Pea Soup is a beloved classic that warms both body and soul. Originating from French-Canadian cuisine, this soup is a comforting blend of split peas, vegetables, and smoky ham, simmered to perfection. As much as I knew Traditional French Canadian Tourtière was being served at Christmas, I knew that this soup was to follow after my grandmother having made a ham.
Making this soup requires some spare time, similar to my French Onion Chicken Pasta recipe. When it comes to soups, this one beats my Italian Meatball Soup due to childhood memories. Make my Cheesy Rice or Spam Fried Rice for a quicker comfort dish.
Ingredients to make Split Pea Soup
You can find many variations of Split Pea Soup out there. Some with bacon, some with ham hocks, some with no meat at all. As far as I can remember, my family has always used a ham bone to make our traditional Canadian Split Pea Soup. Ingredients for this soup are very simple, but the ham bone provides a ton of flavors!
- Ham Bone (with some meat on it)
- Yellow Split Peas
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onion
- Garlic
- Salt
- Water
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Split Pea Soup
Make this soup when you have a few hours to spare. It is the slow and steady simmering which extract all the flavors from the ham bone and cooks the split peas.
In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, drizzle a little olive oil and cook the veggies for 10-15 minutes.
Stir the split peas into the vegetables. Add the 10 cups of water and the bay leaves to the Dutch oven.
Add the Ham bone to the soup and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to simmer and place the lid on the Dutch oven. Simmer for 2 ½ hours.
Remove the ham bone from the soup. Use an immersion blender if you want to give the soup a smoother texture. Pull the meat off of the ham bone, break it up and place it back into the soup.
Storing the soup
Place any leftover Canadian Split Pea Soup in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. This soup also freezes very well for up to 2 months in an airtight container.
Recipe
Canadian Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1½ pound Ham Bone (700g)
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 3 large Carrots finely diced
- 3 ribs Celery finely sliced
- ½ large White Onion finely diced
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 5 cloves Garlic finely minced
- 2 cups Yellow Split Peas
- 2 pieces Bay Leaf
- 12 cups Water
Instructions
- Place a large Dutch Oven on medium high heat. Drizzle in the olive oil and cook the onions, carrots and celery for 10-15 minutes, or until soft.
- Add the minced garlic and salt to the veggies and cook for 2 minutes before adding the split peas. Continue by adding the water and bay leaves to the pot.
- Add the ham bone to the Dutch oven. Bring the soup to a boil. As soon as it boils, turn it down to a simmer and place the lid on the pot.
- Simmer for 2 ½ hours, or until the split peas have broken down.
- Once cooked, remove the ham bone from the soup. You could use an immersion blender to smooth out the texture of the soup. Take the meat off of the ham bone, break it apart and place it back into the soup.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
So many memories from my childhood while eating this delicious soup! Loved making this recipe!