Vegan Split Pea Soup

Learn how to make vegan split pea soup without using a ham bone! This richly flavorful soup uses simple plant-based ingredients to build flavor and the results are absolutely delicious. It's a recipe you'll find yourself making again and again!

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Keyword split pea soup, vegan split pea soup, vegetarian split pea soup

Freezer Friendly Yes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings

Calories 283kcal

Author Bethany Kramer

Ingredients

2 teaspoons oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb green split peas
6 cups vegetable broth (low sodium) plus additional broth or filtered water if needed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1/4 teaspoon salt & black pepper (each) plus more salt to taste if needed

Instructions

Saute aromatics: First, in a large pot, saute the onions for 1-2 minutes, then add the carrots, celery, a pinch of salt, and cook until soft (about 3 minutes). Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds.
Add broth and peas: Then add vegetable broth, peas, thyme sprigs, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt & black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower to a low to medium simmer and let the soup cook uncovered for 60-80 minutes, or until the peas are very tender. Stir often.
Note: if the soup simmers too much and the liquid reduces, add 1 cup of broth or filtered water as needed until the soup is finished.
Blend part of the soup: When the soup is finished it should be reduced, and the peas should be very tender. Remove the thyme sprigs with a fork and discard. Then use either a hand-held immersion blender and blend part of the soup (still leaving pieces of veggies behind for texture) or transfer half of the soup into a blender and blend, then add back to the pot. Taste, adjust seasoning if needed, and serve!

Notes

Add water/broth if the liquid cooks off! Pea soup is a thicker consistency, so as it cooks the liquid reduces - but at times it can reduce a bit too much. Always keep some extra filtered water or broth on hand to prevent it from drying up! If you add too much liquid, you can gently simmer the soup until it thickens again.

Water or broth? For the base of split pea soup, I prefer using vegetable broth (low sodium) because it adds a lot more flavor! If you don't have broth, you can use filtered water. Or you can use half broth, half filtered water! But as stated above, always keep extra liquid on hand when making this soup.

Nutrition