split pea soup that is creamy and yellow and has ham, carrot, celery, and thyme chunks in it. On a chilly day, there is nothing like this one! Since I am a Canadian living in the United States and can no longer buy Habitant soup, I created this substitute. Because it is homemade, I believe it to be at least as good as the original.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 3 hrs 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 30 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
Ingredients
- 1 ham bone with some meat
- 2 ½ cups yellow split peas
- 5 stalks celery, diced
- 4 carrots, diced
- ½ large Spanish onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf (Optional)
- 1 pinch ground black pepper, or to taste
- 8 cups water, or as needed
Instructions
- Place ham bone, split peas, celery, carrots, onion, salt, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper into a large pot; pour in water. Bring mixture to a boil and skim off any foam with a spoon.
- Reduce the heat and place a lid on the pot, slightly ajar to allow some evaporation. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender and soup is thick, about 3 hours.
- Remove ham bone from soup; remove meat from ham bone, chop, and return to the pot.
- You can substitute 2 smoked pork hocks or 1 small ham shank for the leftover ham bone.
- Adjust the thickness of the soup by adding a little water to thin it, or remove broth with a spoon to thicken it up.
- I sometimes use an immersion blender for a quick second to blend the soup, making sure to leave some chunky peas, carrots, celery, and ham.
Reviews
2 TBS of salt? Made it taste like sea water. Try maybe 1/2 tsp salt vs 2 TSP
This is just soooo fine. Other than adding a bit more salt would not change a thing.
Delicious I love it!
I have made this recipe several times and love it. The only thing, because the ham bone is already salty, two tablespoons was too much salt the first time I made it. I have since only put two teaspoons which is much better for my family’s taste.
I found the recipe very simple to follow. Such an easy but hearty meal that really warms the innards in the cold Canadian winter.
Great recipe. Didn’t have thyme, used the same amount of marjoram. Excellent. This will be my go to for pea soup. Always use yellow split peas. I didn’t use any salt.
This soup was great and so quick and easy to make. However like a previous reviewer stated, I would use less salt, one tbsp would have been plenty for me. I also had 3 cups of leftover chicken stock so I used that half and half with the water.
WAY TOO SALTY, Should be 1 or 2 Teaspoons NOT 2 TABLESPOONS. Otherwise was good.
I am Canadian and we have Habitant soup in the can. I had a ham bone from the Holidays and found this recipe. Fantastic…..
Just finished making this recipe Used a hambone It was truly delicious !!!!! Thanks!!
This was great. I added some Cajun seasoning which provided a lovely afterburn.
I didn’t even have all of the ingredients and it came out great. I used half of a can of Flakes of Ham instead of the ham bone. This is much better than Habitant is now…they now make it in the U.S. instead of Canada and it is just canned soup now.
It was delicious however I would add more peas next time.
I always loved the Habitant pea soup with ham but lately it has been expensive so I decided to try this recipe. I didn’t measure anything and used all the ingredients except salt because ham is already too salty for my liking. It turned out perfect so delicious. Thankyou for sharing this recipe
Easy recipe and perfect comfort food for the cold, dreary weather of January. I used chicken stock and omitted the salt.
I really liked it tho next time I think I’d use a little less salt but otherwise i thought it was excellent
This was great! Like others, I added chicken stock, extra bay leaves, 1/2 tsp. or so of garlic powder and oregano, and reduced the salt to 2 or 3 tsp. As a finishing touch, I added a can of coconut milk after the soup was done. Delicious…
I’ve been making this for years. It’s my favorite split pea soup recipe.
Great starter recipe! My grandmother taught me this recipe. I dont like carrot and celery in mine also I make my broth with the ham bone then remove it before I add the peas. I use a whole small bag of peas and I add just the ham back in as the peas cook. I also add a small onion, bay leaf and thyme. I find cutting the ham off the bone easier when it’s not covered in peas.
It was delicious! Didn’t change a thing.
I don’t care much for pea soup, as I never liked the one in a can but this was absolutely delicious. I’d make it again.