Ukrainian Split Pea Soup

Ukrainian Split Pea Soup is made from dried split green peas (or yellow split peas), simple vegetables, and a nutritious broth from meat bones. This Split pea soup recipe comes from my mom who makes this occasionally with chicken, pork, or any bone-in meat that you have on hand. It is so good and isn’t too thick like many of the split pea soup recipes!

Pea soup is Ukrainian comfort food! Make our other favorite soup recipes like Ukrainian Pickle Soup (Rassolnik) or classic Borscht! I love a good soup packed with nutrition and flavor, this homemade split pea soup is just that, not to mention kid-friendly too!

The Best Split Pea Soup Recipe

This is the only recipe for split pea soup that I make now! It’s the version my husband grew up on called “Horohoviy Soup”, that his mom used to make. Her recipe is super easy and simple! Plus it’s a complete meal in one bowl and is considered healthy comfort food in my book!

I will have to say, that this is not a traditional American split pea soup with ham. It’s not as rich or thick as puree, but rather a thinner soup with lots of savory flavor. I’ve come to love this lighter version and when cooked long enough it does tend to get slightly thicker. Needless to say at the end of cooking time you can’t detect the peas, they just cook into the soup leaving a yellowish-green tint and flavorful broth!

Can I Use Different Meat?

Traditionally, American split pea soup is made with a ham bone, salt pork, or cold roast beef. In Europe, pea soup is made with potatoes, carrots, and vegetables. It’s a cheap way to easily prepare large batches of soup and feed a crowd. When my mother-in-law made it she used whatever she had on hand, beef, pork, or chicken (preferably some leftover meat bones). Use any leftover meat like diced ham, bacon, or even turkey bones for the flavor. If in a rush make it vegetarian and skip the meat just be sure to use some kind of broth for flavor.

 

Ingredients:

My mother-in-law will sometimes use yellow split peas but I usually buy green split peas, either colored peas will work for this soup recipe just don’t mix them up with green lentils. Lentils will cook differently.

• Meat Bones- you could easily use water and flavor it with chicken bouillon for your soup base but making homemade broth is so easy and very nutritious! The stove does most of the work, you just need to simmer any meat bones that you have (including any leftovers from a roasted chicken or drumstick dinner) before adding everything else! I used beef bones that had some meat intact for this pot of soup.
• Split Peas- do not need to soak. You can simply rinse dry split peas (yellow or green) and add them directly to the soup! Because peas are dried and split in half they cook quickly.
• Vegetables- like carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes are all you need to easily make split pea soup! Get creative and add barley or brown rice for a thicker consistency!
• Spices- like garlic salt, lemon pepper, Vegeta, bay leaves, fresh dill, and salt and pepper add great flavor! I like to give a good dash or two of cayenne pepper towards the end for a little kick (it makes it so delicious)!

Note: Homemade bone broth is a rich stock packed with nutrients like collagen, electrolytes, and many amino acids! Making it in soup is so easy and mostly hands-off! Collagen is important to our diet, it helps build muscle and form connective tissue, so don’t underestimate the strength it has to help us function!

How To Make Split Pea Soup:

I like to throw my meat bones in a pot of water first and let it cook slowly for a couple of hours. It sounds long but you get a very nutritious soup this way. If you want to speed things up you can use an instant pot to cook the broth faster.

1. Make the Meat Broth: add a meaty beef or pork bone (can also do chicken drumsticks) to a large 8-quart pot. Bring to a boil then simmer for 2-21/2 hours. Keep the pot partially covered so that the liquid doesn’t evaporate too much. Remove and clean off the bones and add all the meat back to the pot.
2. Add the split peas and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in a skillet with a few tablespoons of oil until golden brown and soft. Add to the simmering bone broth.
4. Add the potatoes and simmer the soup for 35 minutes.
5. Finally, stir in all the seasonings and the soup is ready! Discard the bay leaves and garnish with fresh dill. Serve!

Cook’s Tip: When bringing the bones to a boil you will have foam that gathers on top, take a fine mesh skimmer and skim off any impurities. This also helps make a clearer broth.

Serve With

Split pea soup is delicious with homemade crusty bread like our No-knead Artisan Bread or Rye Bread! We love our soups with garlic cloves and freshly baked bread! Yes, we bite into a raw garlic clove and eat it with bread and soup. Here are ways to serve this hearty pot of soup:

• Canapés are the perfect little side to this satisfying meal! Try our mushroom canapés or avocado sandwiches!
• Crunchy Croutons make a great bread substitute if you’re out of crusty bread!
• If you live on a farm like us, hard-boiled eggs make a great side! Simply halve them and spread some mayo and black pepper over the tops.
• Sprinkle some green onions or bacon bits over the top, if you need to clean out your fridge.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers:

I like to store leftover soup in the pot, it was cooked in (if I have the fridge space) or transfer it into a smaller pot. This allows me to reheat it fast the next day. This soup goes quickly in our family but it should stay fresh if kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.

You could also portion out the soup into quart-sized bags and freeze them if you’re left with too many leftovers. Then you can tear off the freezer bag and plop the frozen soup into a saucepan to reheat it.

Another way to reheat leftovers is to use a crock pot! Simply place leftover soup into a slow cooker and keep over low until you’re ready to serve! This makes a great make-ahead option when you need to bring soup to a potluck and keep it warm!