Grammy's Split Pea Soup

One of my favorite recipes is my Grammy's Split Pea Soup.
Every single time we went to my Grammy's house, when we arrived there would be Split Pea Soup on the stove. It didn't matter if we were visiting her at Thanksgiving or in the summer when it was 100 degrees out....No matter what time we got there, without fail as soon as we walked in her door she would tell us to wash up and go sit down & she would serve us her famous Split Pea Soup.

This was our welcome to Grammy's house and she did this up until she was 103 years old and lived on her own. Now that she is 105, she lives in a retirement home & sadly can't cook anymore.

Because Grammy is old school (aka...born in 1911) and never used a crock pot, she would have this soup simmering on the stove for 12+ hours. 

I got Grammy's recipe from her years ago and I converted it to a Slow Cooker recipe because I LOVE using a slow cooker and I don't have time to stand at my stove for hours stirring this soup.

As you might remember, I got an Instant Pot last Fall. 

To say that I am obsessed with it is an understatement. 

You can make Grammy's Split Pea Soup in a slow cooker in 6-8 hours.

You can make Grammy's Split Pea Soup in an Instant Pot in 45 minutes!!!!!
 Amazing.

Here is what you need:

1 lb. bag of split peas
1/2 onion, diced
3 carrots
3 ribs celery
2 small yukon gold potatoes, peeled & diced

2 T minced garlic
1 bay leaf
½ T smoked paprika
¼ tsp thyme
Cracked pepper, to taste

4 cups vegetable/chicken broth, plus 2 cups of water

(or 6 cups of broth, up to you!)

****Optional: A Ham Hock. Grammy ALWAYS had a ham hock in her Split Pea Soup, but if you don't have one (or if you are a vegetarian) you can still make this soup. The smoked paprika gives the smoky flavor that a Ham hock would give. Sometimes I use a ham hock, sometimes I don't, but I always use the smoked paprika!*****

Directions:

Dice the onion, carrots and celery (or if you are lazy like me......I use the mirepoix pre-diced carrot/celery/onion mix from Trader Joe's because it's already diced for you! So Easy & perfect for soups!)

Peel and dice the 2 potatoes:

Place the onion, carrots, celery, potatoes & garlic in the pressure cooker:

 Add the split peas:

 then add the bay leaf, smoked paprika, thyme & pepper

Add the 4 cups of broth & 2 cups of water (or you can add 6 cups of broth). Stir.

Secure the lid on the pressure cooker, close the steam valve, and set the cooker to high pressure for 15 minutes (Instant Pot: Manual function, set time to 15 minutes). 

After 15 minutes of high pressure, allow the cooker to release pressure naturally. After 15 of natural release, you can move the valve & release the rest.

Once the cooker returns to normal pressure, open the steam valve, open the lid, and stir the soup.
Total cook time with coming up to pressure, cooking, and natural pressure release is less than 45 minutes.

Taste and adjust the salt or other seasonings as needed. 

Serve & Enjoy!!

 If you make this soup in a Crock Pot/Slow Cooker, then you would just add all the ingredients and cook for 6-8 hours on low, stirring every 1-2 hours.

I hope you love this soup as much as I do. It is super healthy and SO easy to make.
I make it about 2 times a month during the winter months and I eat it for my lunch.
It stores for up to a week in the fridge and reheats beautifully. 

To quote Grammy..."This soup will warm your bones"

If you aren't a fan of Split Pea Soup (I'm talking to you, Kevin) then it's okay..... I will be sharing more a lot Slow Cooker recipes that I have converted to Instant Pot recipes.

If you missed my first Instant Pot Recipe, it was Korean Beef that I posted in October:

You can see the Instant Pot Korean Beef recipe HERE.
(I also have the slow cooker version of the recipe on that post also) 

I'm having so much fun using the Instant Pot. I didn't think anything could replace my Crock Pot...boy was I wrong!

So, stay tuned & let me know what kinds of recipes you would like me to blog, I plan on sharing at least 1 or 2 Instant Pot recipes per month.
In the meantime, you can check out all my other recipes HERE or on the Recipe Box tab above!

Happy Friday!