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This vegetarian split pea soup recipe has become a staple in my kitchen—and one both me and my husband genuinely crave. It’s rich, hearty, and proof that simple, plant-based ingredients can deliver serious flavor.
Perfect for weeknight dinners or easy meal prep, this cozy soup is one we keep coming back to. I hope it brings just as much comfort to your table as it does to ours.
Why This Recipe Rawks
First off, let’s talk about the magic of split peas. These little green gems are packed with plant-based protein, fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals that support digestion, heart health, and sustained energy. Plus, I love that they absorb flavors so well, making them the star in this vegetarian split pea soup recipe. There are plenty of reasons this soup is on repeat in my kitchen. Here are just a few others:
- There’s something so comforting about a warm bowl of soup. It reminds me of my childhood, huddled around the kitchen table eating my mom’s homemade split pea soup recipe. Now, I get to pass on that tradition to my family— yet without the ham bone.
- This soup makes fabulous leftovers. It freezes well and reheats nicely, making it perfect for meal prep. Plus, it’s loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, which support overall wellness. So don’t be shy—make enough to have leftovers for another week!
- Kids love this soup! If you’re worried about them not eating their greens, just blend it up and they’ll never know those fiber-rich peas are hiding in there, helping to boost their immune system and keep their tummies happy.
Fun fact: peas are my least favorite vegetable. I can’t stand frozen peas or even fresh peas— I literally gag like a little kid. Yet split peas in this soup are something I happily chow down. So if you’re scared, don’t be.
Okay, let’s get the ingredients, start the stove and warm our bellies together!
Vegetarian Split Pea Soup Ingredients
This comforting vegetarian split pea soup recipe can be made with ingredients found at almost any grocery store. Here’s what I’m putting in the stock pot:
- Avocado oil: This high-heat oil is perfect for creating lovely sautéed vegetables. You can also use olive oil if you have that on hand.
- Leeks and yellow onion: These two work together to build a flavorful, balanced base. Leeks are a nutrient-rich, milder cousin to onions, and yellow onions add that buttery, mellow flavor I love in almost any savory dish. I use both so the onion flavor doesn’t overpower the soup. If leeks are new to you, here’s my guide on how to cut leeks to make prep easy.
- Carrots and celery: These staple soup ingredients enrich the stock. Carrots cut through the green produce and, combined with celery, they make an earthy flavor that is perfect for this vegetarian split pea soup recipe.
- Garlic cloves: Another way to add a flavor burst is through fresh garlic, and it doesn’t disappoint in this aromatic recipe.
- Dried green split peas: Split peas have 8g of protein per serving, making them a great plant-based protein option.
- Vegetable stock: Whether you buy some (look for vegetable broth) or learn how to make vegetable stock, use a version that contains only real, whole-food ingredients and is lower in sodium.
- Spices and Herbs: I’m not big on the smoky flavors, yet a dash of smoked paprika in this healthy split pea soup recipe brings it home without a ham bone. If you love more smoky flavor, add a dash of liquid smoke. Then adding thyme and bay leaves brings a lovely floral and thyme flavor to this vegetarian split pea soup recipe.
- Lemon Juice and whole grain mustard: these flavor-packed additions are thanks to rawkstar Meagan. Keep sharing your recipe reviews and tweaks in the comments— I’m reading them all!
Traditional vs Vegetarian Split Pea SOup
Traditional split pea soup recipe is made with meat broth and a ham bone (and sometimes bacon). My vegetarian version doesn’t use any of those yet is just as flavorful using fresh herbs, spices and sautéed veggies.
How to Make Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
This recipe is so simple! Grab a stock pot, set down the cutting board and let’s get chopping and cooking!
- Wash + chop up the veggies. Then sauté in oil in a large stock pot. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are softened. Add the garlic and sauté for just under a minute longer, stirring constantly so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add the spices, stock and split peas. Cover the stock pot and reduce heat to low so that the soup can simmer for 1 hour. You know it’s done when the peas are soft and partially broken down, but not just mush.
- Remove bay leaves, stir in the lemon juice and mustard.
- Serve in bowls with paprika and green onions.
Storage Tips
This soup recipe stores well in the fridge for about a week, and it freezes beautifully. Just let it cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container (like Souper Cubes) for future lunches or quick dinners.
Easy Swaps and Add-Ins
You can customize this vegetarian split pea soup recipe any way you like. For an even more intense burst of flavor, try experimenting with some of these exciting variations.
- Swap split peas: If you can’t find split peas, substitute with green lentils. Both are great plant-based protein options and super hearty. You’ll want to gently boil them, or simmer, until tender in the soup.
- Swap leeks: Leeks can be swapped with shallots, which are similar in flavor (just stronger, so use a lot less).
- Add leftover veggies: Feel free to toss in any leftover veggies you have in the fridge—zucchini, bell peppers, or even kale can add extra nutrients and flavor.
- Add more spice: You can add your own spice combo to make this soup unique. I often add a little heat to my recipes, and some cayenne pepper is the perfect kick for this vegetarian split pea soup.
- Swap fresh herbs: While fresh herbs add more health benefits (and flavor), dried herbs are a great swap in a pinch.
Instant Pot Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
Need to make this soup quickly? Grab that instant pot and get chopping! Set the pot to sauté. Add in the avocado oil, and once heated, toss in the veggies. These will probably soften a bit faster, so check on them after 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once sautéd, turn off the instant pot, remove the veggies, and deglaze the bottom of the pot with 1/2 cup of vegetable stock. Then add in the cooked vegetables, the rest of the stock and all the spices.
Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. Follow the instant pot guide to manually release pressure, or allow for the pressure to naturally release in 15-20 minutes.
Common Questions
Split peas, the mature form of peas, are created by drying the peas, peeling them, and then splitting them, which increases the surface area of each pea. Because of this, split peas are unique in that they do not require pre-soaking and thus cook significantly faster than whole peas.
Common vegetables to add to split pea soup include carrots, celery, onions, and garlic for a flavorful base. You can also add leeks, potatoes, or spinach for extra texture and nutrients. These vegetables complement the creamy texture of split peas while adding depth and color to the soup.
Instead of using a ham bone or meat broth, use vegetable stock and spices like smoked paprika to mimic the flavor of pork in the soup. It does change the final taste a bit, yet it’s just as savory and comforting. These changes might just surprise you with how good vegetarian split pea soup tastes.
If your split pea soup tastes bland after cooking, try adding a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to brighten the flavor. Fresh herbs like parsley or thyme stirred in at the end can boost freshness, while a pinch of salt, smoked paprika, or nutritional yeast can enhance depth. For extra richness, try blending in a spoonful of miso or a drizzle of olive oil.
More Vegetarian Soup Recipes
If you know me, you know I love soup. It’s a great way to pack in lots of different veggies at once. It also fills the whole house with amazing smells. Here are a few more vegetarian soup recipes I’ve created that have been hits on my blog:
If you make this Vegetarian Split Pea Soup recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. Your feedback helps me and all the readers in this community. And if you’re interested in more plant-based recipes (and exclusive content), sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter.
Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 leek white and light green parts only, halved, washed well, and thinly sliced
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and cut into thin rounds
- 2 celery stalks thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic cloves minced
- ½ tsp sea salt, unrefined
- ½ tsp black pepper, ground ground
- 1 cup dried green split peas about 12 oz.
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme plus more for serving
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
For Topping:
- smoked paprika
- 2 green onions
- fresh thyme
Instructions
- Sauté the leek, onion, carrot, and celery in 2 tbs avocado oil. Season with salt and pepper then stir occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 45 more seconds.
- Add fresh thyme, bay leaves, vegetable stock and green split peas. Cover and reduce heat to low for 1 hour (or until split peas are soft and partially broken down). Remove bay leaves before serving.
- Mix in the mustard and lemon juice. Serve with paprika, green onions, salt and pepper.
Equipment
- stove
Notes
- To make this onion-free, sub the yellow onion with another leek.
- This may make extra servings. To freeze, allow to cool completely. Store in freezer-safe containers and freeze.
- Dried thyme can be substituted in a pinch.
Love split pea soup but this tops my homemade soup.
Good recipe! Will make this one again!
Split pea soup has always been on the top of my list for soups so I was anxious to try this recipe. This soup was very tasty and could definitely be a meal replacement so filling. I ate it with some sourdough bread for dipping. I added in a little smoked paprika and tried it with a swirl of the cashew cream. The high protein and fiber in this soup make this a winner I will make over and over again. Love It and all the fun I had making it.
Vegetarian split pea was not as good as my mother-in-laws recipe since she used a piece of salt pork to cook her peas alongside! But that’s not vegetarian and I tried this one as a test to compare which my husband liked too – still his mom’s!
Favorite soup was a toss up between the Potato Comfort Soup and the Vegetarian Tortilla Soup. They were flavorful! Thanks for the Challenge. Now I have a new listing of soups to choose from for the family!
Admittedly, I’m a sucker for split pea soup and this did not disappoint! Came together very easily and is just as good, if not (or actually) better, than its non-vegetarian counterpart.
I really enjoy the mix of flavors in this soup.
Excellent soup. I loved all the flavors, everything mingled really nicely together. An easy soup to make I will make this one again. I love peas
I like that this is a thicker soup and has lots of great flavor. This is easy to make and is great for dinner.
Hearty and filling soup. Although not a huge fan of peas, once puréed this soup becomes a great addition to tacos!
The split pea soup was so easy and fast to make using the pressure cooker! I used Herbes de Provence in place of the thyme. It is a favorite blend of mine that also includes thyme. We didn’t miss the ham at all! Thank you for the recipes and the fun soup challenge!
Yum! What a hearty soup. My husband wasn’t excited about pea soup but he tried it and liked it too! I will freeze the leftovers for future lunches.
Let me start off by saying I have eaten Split Pea Soup since I was a little girl. I love it! This recipe is almost identical to mine except I don’t include leeks and I do now add cubed pieces of ham. Tonight’s soup brought back home when we ate meatless Fridays. Thank you.
Delicious and filling. I had already started making the soup when I realized I didn’t have the split peas. I used whole dried peas instead. I just cooked it longer and used a hand blender to partially blend the peas for a thicker soup. I made it in the instant pot. It was easy and I love being able to walk away and let it cook. This is a great recipe.
This is a very easy soup to make. I added some liquid smoke like another reviewer suggested. I skipped the leek because I forgot to buy it and didn’t want to make a trip to the store for just one item. I added a half a zucchini that I had leftover.
It was soooo good! Definitely a recipe I’ll make again. I will be freezing most of it though because I’m the only one in my house who likes peas.
Pleasantly surprised, peas not being at the top of my list but this soup really was good. The combination of vegetables pulled together well and we’re delicious.
For this one I chose to use lentils, after reading the description, since lentils are my favorite. I followed the recipe and It was yummy, yummy!!! Thank you for all the wonderful soup recipes. I enjoyed the challenge very much. I have soups in the freezer for a long time.