RECIPE: SLOW COOKER SOUP
Pea and Ham Soup: Slow Cooker Recipe With Ham Hock
Pea and ham soup is the soup you make when a ham bone is sitting in the fridge after a roast and you want a meal that costs almost nothing and feeds a crowd. It is thick, salty, smoky and filling, and it asks for almost no work: everything goes into the slow cooker at once, and eight hours later you shred the ham, blitz the soup twice, and serve it with bread.
This guide follows the RecipeTin Eats version, the plan source for this post and the most complete version we found. It uses dried green split peas, a meaty ham hock or a leftover ham bone, and plain water instead of stock, because the ham bone gives the broth all of its flavour. A hearty 2-cup serving comes in at 509 calories, 39 g of protein and 22 g of fibre, as published on the RecipeTin Eats page.
Featured Image
Pea and Ham Soup at a Glance
| Detail | Pea and Ham Soup |
|---|---|
| Recipe | Pea and ham soup, slow cooker method |
| Source | RecipeTin Eats, “Pea and Ham Soup” |
| Serves | 6 to 8 |
| Prep time | About 15 minutes |
| Cook time, slow cooker low | 8 to 10 hours |
| Cook time, slow cooker high | 6 hours |
| Cook time, stove | 2.5 hours on low |
| Main ingredients | 500 g dried green split peas, 1.2 to 1.5 kg ham hock or meaty leftover ham bone, 8 cups water |
| Serving size | 2 cups |
| Calories per serving | 509 cal |
| Protein per serving | 39 g |
| Fridge storage | 4 to 5 days |
| Freezer storage | 3 months |
Why We Made This Guide
We made this pea and ham soup guide because the recipe looks too simple to need one. The common mistakes are using a ham bone with no meat left on it, blending the soup until it is baby food smooth, and salting it early.
The other reason is that pea and ham soup is not one fixed recipe. The versions we checked disagree about the pea type, the liquid, the cook time and the fridge storage. BBC Good Food uses fresh or frozen peas and vegetable stock, and Simple Living Creative Learning says the fridge life is 3 days while RecipeTin Eats says 4 to 5 days. It is also one of the cheapest hot meals you can make: the whole pot feeds 6 to 8 for roughly $9 to $14.
Ingredients and Prices
This is the full ingredient list from RecipeTin Eats, with typical US supermarket prices checked in November 2026. Prices vary by store and region, and a leftover ham bone costs nothing extra.
| Ingredient | Amount | Typical US price, November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Dried green split peas | 500 g (1 lb) | About $1.50 to $2.00 per 1 lb bag |
| Ham hock or meaty leftover ham bone | 1.2 to 1.5 kg (2.4 to 3 lb) | About $4 to $6 for a small smoked hock, more for a large meaty hock |
| Onion, finely chopped | 1 | About $0.50 to $1.00 |
| Garlic cloves, minced | 2 | About $0.25 |
| Bay leaves, dried or fresh | 2 | Pantry item |
| Carrot, peeled and finely chopped | 1 | About $0.25 to $0.50 |
| Celery sticks, finely chopped | 2 | About $0.50 |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp to start | Pantry item |
| Black pepper | 3/4 tsp | Pantry item |
| Water | 8 cups (2 litres) | Tap water |
| Crusty bread, to serve | 1 loaf | About $3.00 to $5.00 |
| Total core ingredients | Serves 6 to 8 | About $9 to $14, or about $1.20 to $2.00 per serving |
Our Review
Our review of this pea and ham soup is a researched review. We did not cook it in our own kitchen, so this is not a taste test. The recipe earns its 4.97 out of 5 rating from 150 ratings, and the strongest point is the method: throw everything in, turn the slow cooker on, and walk away. There is no browning, no sauteing and no soaking.
The recipe is honest about the one thing that matters most, which is the meat on the bone. It says plainly to use a ham bone with plenty of meat, because more meat means more flavour and more shredded ham, and it tells you to add a hunk of ham if your bone is bare. The texture is the second thing this split pea and ham soup gets right: the split peas cook down until they are creamy, and the recipe asks for only two or three blitzes with a stick blender, so the finished soup is thick but not completely smooth. The honest weak point is the look: pea soup is brown more than green, khaki at best.
Why Split Peas Need No Soaking
Split peas are dried peas that split in half during the drying process, and that smaller size is why this split pea soup needs no soaking. Most dried beans need an overnight soak, but split peas do not: you put them in the slow cooker dry, straight from the packet, and eight hours of slow cooking turns them soft and creamy. The peas taste quite neutral and a little earthy, and they take on the flavour of the ham they cook in.
Ham Hock Versus a Leftover Ham Bone
A ham hock is a ham bone, the bone inside a leg of ham, left after the meat has been carved off. A leftover ham bone from a home roast is the same thing, just less tidy, and it makes the same ham bone soup. Either one works in this ham hock soup: use a store bought ham hock of 1.2 to 1.5 kg, or a meaty leftover ham bone. The one rule is that the bone must be meaty. If your bone is bare, add a hunk of ham cut into pieces about 5 cm across. A smoked ham hock soup starts with a smoked hock, not a raw one.
The Throw-It-All-In Method
The method for this slow cooker pea soup is as simple as the recipe promises. Put the peas in the slow cooker, push the ham in, scatter the onion, garlic, bay leaves, carrot and celery around the ham bone, pour over the water, and turn the cooker on. There is no need to cook the onion separately: the onion rises to the surface and sautes itself in the fat from the ham hock. The author says she tried sauteing the onion first and then using her method, and there was no difference in flavour.
Slow Cooker Times: Low 8 to 10 Hours, High 6 Hours
Slow cook this soup on low for at least 8 hours, and 10 hours is even better. On high, it takes 6 hours. The test for doneness is not the clock, it is the ham: the meat should fall off the bone and shred with a touch. Easily shreddable ham means the soup has cooked long enough to pull a ton of flavour out of the bone. The long cook also does the work on the peas: after 8 to 10 hours they are so soft they become creamy, which is why the soup thickens on its own.
Stove Top and Pressure Cooker Times
If you do not have a slow cooker, this stove top pea soup works on the stove in 2.5 hours on low. That is the RecipeTin Eats stove time, and it is the fastest version that still lets the ham fall off the bone. Simple Living Creative Learning gives a wider stove range of 1 to 2.5 hours: the soup is done when the ham shreds easily and the peas are soft. The recipe also gives a pressure cooker time of 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes on high, for an Instant Pot or similar cooker.
Water, Not Broth
This soup uses water, not broth, and that is a deliberate choice. The ham bone releases so much flavour that all the soup needs is water for the broth, and the recipe says so twice. Other versions disagree. BBC Good Food uses 1.5 litres of hot low-salt vegetable stock, and Taste.com.au uses stock as well. If your ham bone is small or bare, stock is a sensible safety net, and the source recipe itself offers a sprinkle of chicken stock powder as a flavour boost for a naked bone.
Partial Puree Versus Smooth
When the cooking is done, remove the ham bone and shred the ham meat, then discard the bone and the fatty skin. Remove the bay leaves. Then use a stick blender to blitz the soup two or three times. That is the RecipeTin Eats method, and the number matters: two or three blitzes thicken the soup without making it completely smooth, so you get a smooth, creamy broth with soft bits of pea and vegetable still in it. If you prefer your soup fully smooth, blend it longer. Just do it before you return the shredded ham, so the meat stays in shreds.
Shredding the Ham and Finishing the Soup
Once the ham is shredded and the soup is blitzed, return the ham to the slow cooker and stir it in. Then taste and add more salt if needed. The recipe starts with only 1/4 tsp of salt for a reason: the soup gets most of its salt from the ham, and the right amount depends on your hock. Serve the soup garnished with finely chopped parsley, and put a hunk of warm crusty bread on the table for dunking.
What to Serve With Pea and Ham Soup
Crusty bread is the serving that matters most with this soup, and every version we checked agrees on it. A thick soup needs something to dunk, and a warm loaf with butter does the job better than a spoon. If you want a salad on the side, the source recipe suggests a cucumber salad for crisp freshness, or a French carrot salad with honey Dijon dressing for something different.
How to Store and Freeze Pea and Ham Soup
This soup keeps in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, and it freezes for 3 months. Those are the RecipeTin Eats figures, recaptured fresh from the recipe page for this post. Cool the soup fully before you pack it, store it in airtight containers, and leave room at the top because soup expands as it freezes. To reheat, warm the soup gently on the stove over low heat, stirring now and then, and add a splash of water if it has thickened too much.
Pea Type, Liquid, Cook Time and Fridge Storage: The Disagreements
First, the pea type differs: RecipeTin Eats, Taste.com.au and Women’s Weekly all use dried green split peas, while BBC Good Food uses 750 g of fresh or frozen peas, added near the end of cooking. Dried split peas break down and thicken the soup, while fresh or frozen peas stay whole and green, so the two versions are different soups with the same name: one is a split pea soup, the other is closer to a fresh pea soup, and neither is a vegetarian pea soup, because the ham bone makes the broth. Second, the liquid differs: RecipeTin Eats uses water, while BBC Good Food and Taste.com.au use stock. Third, the cook time differs: RecipeTin Eats says 8 to 10 hours on low or 6 hours on high, while BBC Good Food cooks on high for 2 hours or low for 6 hours, then adds the peas and cooks 30 minutes more. Fourth, the fridge storage differs: RecipeTin Eats says 4 to 5 days, while Simple Living Creative Learning says up to 3 days.
Picky Eats
This soup is a hard sell for picky eaters, and the honest reason is the look. The soup is brown, thick and speckled with bits of pea and vegetable, and children who eat with their eyes will push it away before they taste it. The flavour is the opposite of the look: salty, smoky and mild, with no spice and no heat, so the taste is rarely the problem. Three things help: blend the soup fully smooth, serve it with bread for dunking, and let them add their own parsley or a swirl of cream.
Parents’ Review and Family Tips
For parents, this soup is a weeknight win in one way and a planning job in another. The win is the cost and the yield: one pot feeds 6 to 8, the leftovers freeze for 3 months, and the prep is 15 minutes of chopping. The planning job is the clock: an 8 to 10 hour cook on low means you load the slow cooker in the morning and eat at night, or you use the 6 hour high setting and load it at lunchtime. Family tips: use a meaty hock, season at the end, blitz two or three times, and freeze leftovers in single serving containers.
Nutrition and Carbohydrate Info
The nutrition figures below come from the RecipeTin Eats page, recaptured fresh on 5 November 2026, and they are for a hearty 2-cup serving. Split peas are high in fibre and protein, can help reduce cholesterol and are low in fat, but they are a higher carbohydrate vegetable, so watch your intake if you are on a low carb diet. The carbohydrate number is high: 54 g per serving.
| Nutrient per 2-cup serving | Amount | Daily value |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 509 cal | 25% |
| Carbohydrates | 54 g | 18% |
| Protein | 39 g | 78% |
| Fat | 16 g | 25% |
| Saturated fat | 6 g | 38% |
| Cholesterol | 70 mg | 23% |
| Sodium | 296 mg | 13% |
| Potassium | 1114 mg | 32% |
| Fibre | 22 g | 92% |
| Sugar | 8 g | 9% |
| Vitamin A | 1823 IU | 36% |
| Vitamin C | 4 mg | 5% |
| Calcium | 78 mg | 8% |
| Iron | 5 mg | 28% |
Two things stand out in this nutrition panel. The first is the fibre: 22 g per serving, or 92% of the daily value, which is why the soup keeps you full for hours. The second is the protein: 39 g, or 78% of the daily value, which comes from the peas and the ham together. The sodium is low for a ham soup at 296 mg, or 13% of the daily value, because the recipe uses water and starts with only 1/4 tsp of salt.
What to Know Before Cooking
- Use a meaty ham hock or a meaty leftover ham bone. A bare bone gives a thin, bland soup.
- No soaking is needed for dried green split peas. The recipe uses them straight from the packet.
- Do not saute the onion first. It rises to the surface and cooks in the fat from the ham hock.
- Start with only 1/4 tsp of salt and season at the end. The ham salts the broth.
- Blitz two or three times with a stick blender, not until smooth, unless you prefer it fully smooth. Do it before you return the shredded ham.
- Plan the clock: 8 to 10 hours on low, 6 hours on high, 2.5 hours on the stove, or 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes in a pressure cooker.
- The soup thickens as it sits. Add a splash of water when you reheat it.
Is It Worth It?
Yes, this soup is worth making, with one condition: you have a meaty ham hock or a meaty leftover ham bone. With that, the soup is one of the best value meals in this guide series. It costs about $9 to $14 for a pot that serves 6 to 8, it needs 15 minutes of prep, it cooks itself, and it freezes for 3 months. The condition matters because the bone is the recipe: a bare bone makes a thin soup that no amount of blitzing will save. With a good bone, there is no reason to buy a canned or packet version again.
FAQ
Do I need to soak split peas before making pea and ham soup?
No. Dried green split peas need no soaking, because they are dried peas that split in half during the drying process, and the smaller size means they cook faster. The recipe uses 500 g straight from the packet.
How long does pea and ham soup take in the slow cooker?
Slow cook pea and ham soup on low for at least 8 hours, and 10 hours is even better, or cook it on high for 6 hours. The ham is done when the meat falls off the bone and shreds with a touch.
Can I use a leftover ham bone instead of a ham hock in pea and ham soup?
Yes, a meaty leftover ham bone works just as well as a store bought ham hock of 1.2 to 1.5 kg. The bone must have plenty of meat left on it, because the meat flavours the broth and gives you the shredded ham.
How many calories are in pea and ham soup?
A 2-cup serving of this pea and ham soup has 509 calories, with 54 g of carbohydrates, 39 g of protein, 16 g of fat and 22 g of fibre, as published on the RecipeTin Eats page and recaptured fresh on 5 November 2026.
How long does pea and ham soup keep in the fridge and freezer?
This soup keeps in the fridge for 4 to 5 days and freezes for 3 months, according to RecipeTin Eats. Simple Living Creative Learning gives a shorter fridge figure of up to 3 days, so use the shorter figure if your fridge runs warm, and freeze any portion you will not eat within 3 days.
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Sources and Review Notes
What was personally tried versus researched: nothing in this post was cooked or tasted by us. This is a researched guide. Every ingredient, time, temperature, price range and nutrition figure comes from the published sources below, checked on 3 November 2026 for the competitor research and recaptured fresh from the RecipeTin Eats page on 5 November 2026 for the nutrition panel.
- RecipeTin Eats, “Pea and Ham Soup”, https://www.recipetineats.com/pea-and-ham-soup/, the plan source for this post. Ingredients, method, cook times, storage and nutrition, recaptured fresh on 5 November 2026.
- BBC Good Food Middle East, “Slow cooker pea and ham soup”, fresh or frozen peas and vegetable stock version.
- Taste.com.au, “Slow-cooker pea and ham soup”, 1 kg smoked ham hock with parsnips and green apple.
- Women’s Weekly, “Traditional pea and ham soup”, 500 g green split peas and 1 kg ham hock, about 8 hours on low.
- Simple Living Creative Learning, “Pea and Ham Soup”, used for the 3 day fridge storage figure.
- Ingredient prices: typical US supermarket prices from web search results in November 2026, including dried green split peas at about $1.50 to $2.00 per 1 lb bag and a small smoked ham hock at about $4 to $6.
Disagreements stated in this guide: pea type differs, with dried green split peas in RecipeTin Eats and fresh or frozen peas in BBC Good Food. Liquid differs, with water in RecipeTin Eats and stock in BBC Good Food and Taste.com.au. Cook time differs, with 8 to 10 hours on low in RecipeTin Eats and 6 hours on low plus 30 minutes in BBC Good Food. Fridge storage differs, with 4 to 5 days in RecipeTin Eats and 3 days in Simple Living Creative Learning.
