Full-flavored split pea soup with ham bone is hearty, nutritious, and easy to whip up in a pressure cooker.  The pressure cooker releases the flavor and nutrition from the ham bone to create a crave-worthy soup to satisfy your appetite.

I recently discovered the incredible flavor that a ham bone can bring to soup.  I have always made split pea soup with ham added.  My family loves that soup.

However, during this unique time in 2020 (where we were all encouraged to stay home), I became more cautious about wasting anything.  It was not always easy to find what we needed at the store, so I hesitated to throw out anything that had any use left.  

This extended to the ham we ate for Easter while we stayed at home in 2020.  I decided to use every bit of the ham — including the ham bone.

Best decision ever!  I was astonished to discover that pressure cooker split pea soup with ham bone has more flavor than split pea soup with chopped ham added.

First Impression of Split Pea Soup

It is funny how we get impressions about food.  Growing up in a large family with a small income, beans and legumes of all types composed our diet.  Split pea soup was one common meal we ate.  We never bought ham, so the soup was a vegan split pea soup.

Since we didn’t have much growing up, I associated split pea soup with poverty.  Funny, yes?  It is cheap, substantial, and full of protein and fiber.  The most bang for your buck, made with inexpensive ingredients that cheaply filled bellies.

This childhood impression continued as I read one of the best books of all time, The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak.  The fictional story revolves around a young girl living in Germany during World War II. 

Sprinkled throughout the book are references to the pea soup meals she ate every day.  Mama Hubermann cooked a large pot of pea soup on Sunday. She cooked enough soup to last all week, until she made her next pot the following Sunday.  Everyone ate it and didn’t complain.  I’m sure finding ham in pea soup was rare during this time.

In spite of the naive impressions of my youth, age and wisdom has opened my eyes.  Split pea soup may be affordable to make, but the benefits do not stop there.

The ingredients in split pea soup are incredibly healthy.  They fill you up and provide protein and fiber.  But more importantly, a recipe for split pea soup with a ham bone produces a decadent mouthwatering soup.  Even if I had unlimited resources, I would still seek it out.  Yes, it is that amazing.

What is it about that Ham Bone?

When a ham bone simmers in broth, it releases the deep savory notes of ham into the soup.  As the bone cooks in liquid, all the little bits of ham attached to the bone soften and begin to come off into the soup.  No wasting a spec of ham.

As every bit of flavor is teased out of the ham bone, the soup takes on a rich meaty flavor.  This flavor combines with the split peas, potatoes, and carrots to create an incredible luxurious taste.

Adding meat to the soup doesn’t give the same intensity of flavor as simmering the ham bone in the soup.  Not by a long shot.

Is Split Pea Soup With Ham Bone Good For You

Split pea soup is incredibly healthy.  Take a look at the ingredients.

Split Peas: Split peas are the main ingredient, the star of the show. Split peas are peas, which have been removed from their pod. Then they are dried, peeled, and split.

Split peas are low in fat and high in fiber and potassium, iron, B vitamins, and magnesium.  You can’t go wrong with split peas.

Ham Bone: When a ham bone cooks in broth, the bone proteins start to break down into peptides.  Remember learning about peptides in high school biology? Peptides are made of short-chain amino acids.  Some of the amino acids that compose peptides help strengthen the body’s cardiovascular system.

Biochemists in Spain conducted an experiment to find out if homemade ham broth contained heart-healthy peptides.  After simmering a ham bone for 20 minutes, they discovered an abundance of heart-healthy peptides that could enter the bloodstream and support the cardiovascular system.

Amazing!  And all from a ham bone broth.  So …. Never throw out that ham bone.  Make split pea soup with the ham bone or use it to make any other soup.  Your heart will thank you for it.

Potatoes: Potatoes have potassium, fiber, calcium, iron, and zinc.  They have no cholesterol and low calories, yet are very filling.  

Vegetables: Carrots, celery, and onions are the main vegetables in split pea soup.  These three vegetables make the flavor base in many soups.

The flavor combination of carrots, celery, and onion balance the taste of split peas.

Vegetable or chicken broth: Broth gives the soup more flavor than cooking the soup with water alone.  

I recommend using Better than Bouillon concentrated vegetable base.  The bouillon contains seasoned, concentrated vegetables.

As a bonus, Better than Bouillon also contains less salt than other bouillons or broths.  Add 1 teaspoon vegetable base for every cup of water. Whisk together until combined.

Alternately, you can use your favorite pre-made vegetable or chicken broth.

Herbs: Thyme is my favorite herb to flavor split pea soup.  Oregano is my second favorite. I also add bay leaves, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Dried herbs are a better choice to use in a soup since the flavor of fresh herbs diminish as they cook. 

Dried herbs also save time since you don’t have to mince anything. Just make sure that when you open your herb container and take a sniff, you can smell the aroma of the herb. Otherwise, the herbs are too stale to use.

Add salt and pepper at the end of cooking time to adjust the taste.

Salt is a little tricky in split pea soup with ham.  The salt content of broths vary widely. In addition, ham is a salty meat.  I recommend adding 1 teaspoon of salt to the soup as it cooks.

When the soup is finished cooking, taste it and add additional salt if necessary.

How to Make Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone

This is my favorite recipe for pressure cooker split pea soup.  By the way, you can substitute the words “electric pressure cooker” for “instant pot”.  Any electric pressure cooker will work with this recipe.

I actually prefer the Fagor pressure cooker to the Instant Pot.  You can read why I like it in my Fagor pressure cooker review post.

Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham Bone

• SORT split peas and remove any stones or debris.

• SOAK the split peas in enough water to cover them by at least three inches.   Soak them at least 8 hours or overnight.

• DRAIN and RINSE the split peas.

• PEEL and CHOP the onion, carrots, potato, and celery.

• POUR the broth into the pressure cooker container.  Add the drained split peas, onion, carrots, celery, and potato.

• SPRINKLE in the salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and parsley.  Stir to combine.  

• ADD the ham bone.  Make a well in the center of the soup and place the ham bone in the well.  Top the soup with 2 bay leaves.

• SECURE the lid to the pressure cooker.

• PRESSURE COOK on high for 15 minutes, or until the split peas and vegetables are soft.  Manually release the pressure if you are in a hurry, or allow the pressure to release naturally.  Either method is fine.

• REMOVE the bay leaves and ham bone when the soup has finished cooking.  

• PULL OFF any ham that is falling off the bone and add the ham pieces back into the soup.  Use the ham bone for another recipe or discard it.

• STIR the soup to combine.

• GARNISH with ham, crumbed bacon, or croutons.

Frequently Asked Questions

Adding a ham bone to the split pea soup recipe was so tasty, I am now a ham bone broth gal.  If I need a ham for any holiday meal, I always buy a ham with the bone in.  The flavor it brings to split pea soup is beyond incredible.  Try it and see if you agree.

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