Pea and Ham Soup (slow cooker or stove)

Rating

4.97 stars (150 reviews)

Keywords

ham bone recipe, ham hock, Pea and ham soup, slow cooker soup, split pea soup

Ingredients

• 500g / 1lb dried split peas ((Note 1))
• 1.2-1.5kg / 2.4-3lb ham hock (aka ham bone), bacon hock or MEATY leftover ham bone ((Note 2))
• 1/4 tsp salt ((start with less, adjust later))
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves (, minced)
• 2 bay leaves (, dried or fresh)
• 1 onion (, finely chopped)
• 1 carrot (, peeled and finely chopped)
• 2 celery sticks (, finely chopped)
• 8 cups (2 litres/qts) water
• Parsley (, finely chopped)
• Crusty bread for dunking!

Categories

• Mains
• Soup

Cuisine

• Western

Reviews

• Kath on 2026-07-01 (4 stars):
  I’m sorry, but this made me laugh out loud - replacing ham hocks with diced ham that is stirred through at the end just sounds revolting! I simmer the ham hocks in all of the ingredients apart from the peas. Then remove the hocks, add the peas and cook until peas are tender, and then re-add the (shredded) meat from the hock…
• Kath R on 2026-07-01 (5 stars):
  I made this as per recipe in a pressure cooker (may have overcooked it) but I do prefer an old recipe that I used to use (that I’d forgotten about) in which I would add everything except the split peas in a pot on the stove. Simmer until the hocks are tender, remove and then add the split peas. I would shred the meat whilst split peas are cooking and then stir the meat through at the end. I like the texture better as it’s not super mushy
• Jewels on 2026-05-24 (5 stars):
  Second time making this delicious soup. This time I wrote myself a note by my slow cooker TAKE OUT BAY LEAVES BEFORE BLENDING. 🙃 😜 This soup is so easy. I put 4 cups of chicken stock (salt reduced) and 4 cups of water just coz I can. Ate with fresh crusty artisan sourdough with lashings of butter. OMG Yum 😋
• Cat on 2026-05-02 (5 stars):
  YUMMy. I couldn’t believe I made it. I made it exactly as per recipe and it was yummy
• Neville Hood on 2026-04-17 (4 stars):
  Nice and simple recipe but I add other veggies to the mix like sweede and turnip to give that something else taste. I dont use hocks anymore as my tolerance to fats and oils is diminishing but good ham bones like the neck are the ducks nuts, just have to be careful with the bones with the stick blitzer lol. Cheers. PS. Your Normandy Pork Chops recipe in divine.
• Freda Elder on 2026-04-15 (5 stars):
  me for one cooks pea soup for 10 hours and a smoked ham hock is already cooked. I'm sorry, but your recipe doesn't cook long enough to develop flavour.
• JudyC on 2026-04-05 (5 stars):
  Was gifted a small ham bone at Christmas and time to use. Was about 3-400 gm so bought a small ham as suggested to supplement. Cooked for 75 mins in the instant pot on high. Added 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar at end to tone down that porky taste, and it all worked great. Had to add a lot more water as was very thick. Thanks Nagi for another easy nutritious recipe.
• Christine on 2026-03-25 (5 stars):
  Hi Nagi, Delicious, I made it just as the recipe said to. A very hearty earthy soup. I also have a dog just like Dozer Christine
• Kylee Beard on 2026-03-12 (5 stars):
  This soup is absolutely delicious. I buy an expensive ham at Christmas and the flavour of the soup is amazing but I find with the ham hocks at the supermarket you get so much more flavour using chicken stock. I’ve converted my non soup eating brother into a soup lover! Thanks Nagi
• Peter on 2026-01-19 (5 stars):
  Pretty well word for word copy of my Great Grandmothers recipe I have hand written in her old cooking diary. So in theory I don't even need to cook from this recipe to know its perfect. Only change I've made is white pepper. It's much nicer used with any type of pork than black pepper.
• Rachelle Lacy on 2025-12-29 (5 stars):
  I tried this with my ham bone from Nagi's brown sugar glazed ham recipe, followed the recipe. DELICIOUS! Thank you, Nagi and team. Another A+!
• Dom on 2025-12-27 (5 stars):
  This is truly one of the best soups I’ve done. So easy just taste magnificent. The one thing I do right at the end is once I serve it I drizzle a little bit of Worcestershire sauce on top. It’s a game changer.
• greg k on 2025-12-20 (4 stars):
  I love the flavor of smoked ham hocks. If using a leftover (not smoked) ham bone add 1/2 tsp liquid smoke (hickory here in the USA). For this size recipe I also add 1 tbl dried crushed rosemary and 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper. One of my favorite cold weather soups (over 30 years making it...)! For a somewhat exotic (quite yummy) variant use 1 tbl slightly bashed whole cumin seed (mortar and pestle), 1 tbl hot curry powder (Keen's or Deep) and 1 tbl Old Bay seasoning (skip the aforementioned rosemary and cayenne). Old Bay is seasoning mix I usually use for seafood chowder- don't know an Aussie equivalent- look it up on Amazon.com.
• Maggie Burgoyne on 2025-11-22 (5 stars):
  My daughter in law makes this soup and it is without doubt the best soup I have ever tasted. I'm going to give it a go
• Tanya on 2025-10-06 (5 stars):
  I have made this soup for many years, albeit adjusted for my family’s taste preferences. Mr. Hubby can’t stand the taste of onion, which he could taste in Nagi’s original recipe. Sigh. Here are my adjustments: - Caramelize the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in sauté pan with pinch of salt and ¼ tsp cayenne; deglaze with white wine. Add to crock pot along with bay leaves. - Chicken stock instead of water - Add peas after 4 hours cooking on high. Skip the stick blender. - Towards the end of cooking add splash of apple cider vinegar and dash of soy sauce. Finish with a few drops of Worcestershire before serving. Bon Appetit! PS: I use smoked ham shanks that come pre-packaged in US grocery stores (at least in my area).