Recipe by adapted from California Pizza Kitchen on March 6, 2017
Rating
5 stars (6 reviews)
Ingredients
1 pound dried split peas (sorted and rinsed)
½ cup semi-pearled barley (I use Bob's Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills*)
2 quarts water
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon shoyu or tamari
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or ½ Tablespoon dried)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon rubbed dried sage
large pinch ground cumin
1 ½ cups diced carrots
2/3 cups minced onion
1/3 cup finely diced celery
optional: ¼ cup thinly sliced green onion tops
Steps
In a large pot, combine peas, barley, water, bay leaves, salt, shoyu, thyme, garlic, sage and cumin. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in carrots, onion, and celery. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, another 25 to 30 minutes, checking periodically and adding small amounts of additional water if needed.
Discard bay leaves. Ladle soup into warmed soup bowls and garnish with green onion tops, if desired.
Reviews
Annie on 2025-11-09 (5 stars): This was such a great base for my soup. I threw what I had in the pressure cooker for 15 mins, with a natural release for about 5 minutes and then quick release. I didn't have all of the veggies needed, so I chopped and roasted some pumpkin, cauliflower stalks, and celeriac and mixed it all together at the end. Yum.
Botchie on 2024-11-10 (5 stars): I have been making this type of soups with Yellow, Green split pea, Red, Green and Black " Beluga" Lentils with a Ham steak and Barley for Winter Fare. Thank You
CHRISTINA on 2020-10-06 (5 stars): I added cooked farro that I had left over at the end and let it come back up to temp. It was wonderful!
Merrymepenelope on 2020-04-13 (5 stars): We got a spring snow today in the desert, making this a perfect day for a hearty soup. I use my Instant Pot for soup so I rinsed the split peas and barley, added them to the pot with the spices, garlic and water and set it for 15 minutes, followed by a quick release. Into the pot, I grated a big carrot, the onion, half a zucchini, a medium-sized cubed potato plus a chopped celery stalk then cooked at pressure for 3 minutes. (These times are for high elevation)
This soup is fantastic!!! Thank you so much!
Amanda on 2020-03-20 (5 stars): I thought because of the barley.. but I didn’t purée it, and it was so so good!!!
Amanda on 2020-03-20 (5 stars): Hi Pamela! I like a pea soup puréed. What do you think about doing that with this recipe? It’s on the stove now and smells amazing!
