Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone

Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone, comfort food on a cold winter’s night. The Instant Pot makes this classic soup quick and easy.

My favorite soup, hands down, is split pea with ham. Beginning in the fall, with crisp evenings and the hint of frost in the air, and continuing through the long cold nights of winter, there are evenings when I just want to have a bowl of something warm and delicious. Split pea soup with loads of ham and carrots is just the perfect thing. Along with some crusty sourdough bread or even some flakey buttermilk biscuits, a big bowl of hot, satisfying soup is heaven to me.

If you have an Instant pot, making split pea soup is a total breeze. Literally, in less than an hour, you can be ladling out big bowls of this tasty stuff and enjoying homemade that you’ve made from scratch. The Instant Pot cuts down on the cooking time to next to nothing compared to the 2 hours plus time it takes on the stove. And one of the things an Instant Pot does well is helping to break down the dried peas. I usually find I need to use a hand blender after cooking split pea soup, the traditional way to get that smooth texture from the cooked peas. I want some texture but some smoothness to the soup. But in the Instant Pot the texture was just perfect.

I used a leftover ham bone from a ham dinner I shared with my brother. You can definitely use a couple of ham hocks instead. And chop up some thick-sliced ham. I always feel the ham is an integral part of split pea soup. You can usually find a bone-in ham for a reasonably inexpensive price and have several meals from it, including some fantastic Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone. I know the vegetarians out there will not want to make this recipe. I get that. And you can find vegetarian versions out there. But I want the smokiness and those delicious chunks of meaty ham in my split pea soup.

I know of friends out there who are still unsure of getting an Instant Pot as it is a pressure cooker, and it can be intimidating. But these new-fangled contraptions aren’t your grandmother’s pressure cooker that was whistling along on her stovetop. Modern Instant Pots have safety valves and cut-offs that make them pretty much accident-proof. I resisted for many years before getting one a couple of Christmases past. Now, I have totally embraced this wild modern thingamajig and have made some pretty tasty and, more to the point, quick recipes with it. It really takes hours out of making things you would typically make on the stove. Now it is not the be-all-end-all device that will make everything in your kitchen. But I find it invaluable in my kitchen. If you don’t have one, here is a link from Amazon for several sizes. I use this one, but there are many fabulous versions and sizes.  (And to help my blog, I get a small, tiny commission at no cost to you, if you use any link on my blog) Then you too, can be making Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone for your next cold winter’s night.

Hope is in the air. It feels like there seems to be more lightness to our crazy planet, we have a bit of reason to be excited about the world’s future, and there is a light at the end of this very long tunnel. As always, please think of others in what you choose to do. Hopefully, bring some joy to those you encounter. We all need a smile now and then. Till next week!

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Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone, comfort food on a cold winter's night. The Instant Pot makes this classic soup quick and easy.

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy soup, Instant Pot, soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 4 Stalks of celery diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves dried
• 4 carrots ½ inch chopped, or slices
• 4 cloves garlic finely minced
• 3 cups cubed ham
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 lb green split peas rinsed and sorted (unsoaked)
• 1 Leftover ham bone or 2 ham hocks
• Salt to taste added after cooking.

Instructions

1. Turn the pressure cooker on to the Sauté function. Let it warm up and add the olive oil and butter.
2. Add the onion, celery, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, occasionally stirring, until the onion starts to turn translucent. Cancel the sauté function.
3. Add the carrots, garlic, cubed ham, and black pepper, and add the broth, ham bone, or ham hocks. Stir in the split peas, breaking up the peas if they stuck together when you rinsed them.
4. Place the lid on the pot and lock it in place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
5. Choose Pressure Cook/Manual and use the + or - or dial to set to 20 minutes high pressure. It will take a few minutes for the pot to come to pressure before it begins to cook.
6. When the cooking time has finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 20 minutes to naturally release some of the pressure. Then turn the steam release knob to Venting to quick-release the remaining pressure.
7. When the pin in the lid drops down, carefully open the lid, facing away from you. Remove the bay leaves and the bone or ham hocks.
8. Taste and add the salt as desired. Since the ham or ham hocks have loads of salt, you may not need to add any salt. I usually don't need to.
9. Serve hot and enjoy.

Recipe Notes

The soup will thicken quite a bit when it cools, which is normal. This soup can be frozen for 6 months.