How to Make Easy Crock Pot Split Pea Soup

Are you looking for a healthy, delicious soup to warm you up on a cold night? There are few soups as simple or as satisfying as split pea soup. Not only is this soup fully compliant with many major fad diets such as the South Beach Diet, it’s also full of fiber, low in calories, and incredibly easy to make. Best of all, split pea soup can be assembled in a matter of moments in a slow cooker and will be ready and waiting for you at the end of the day.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 Cups Dry Split Peas
• 1 Lb Ham Bone
• 8 Cups Water or Chicken Broth
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1/4 Cup Carrot
• 1/4 Cup Celery
• 1/2 Cup Onion
• 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Juice

1. Finely chop the carrots, celery, garlic, and onions, then add them to the pot. These will form the flavor base of the split pea soup and are the often first ingredients added to all manner of soups.

2. Measure out your dried peas and check them for tiny rocks, sticks, or anything else that shouldn’t be there. Doing this in an empty sheet pan will allow you to easily contain everything and give you plenty of space to work.

3. Rinse them thoroughly in a wire mesh strainer. This step is important, because any dried legume products are likely to be coated in dust or dirt, which can ruin the flavor of the finished product.

4. Add ham bone, seasoning, bay leaf, and rinsed peas to the crock pot. Wiggle the bone down among the other ingredients to make sure it stays completely submerged during the entire cooking process.

5. Pour broth and / or water over everything else and cook all day on low.

6. Remove ham bone and bay leaf, then discard. Brush any peas that try to hold on to the ham bone back into the pot.

7. Add lemon juice or vinegar and stir them into the finished soup.

8. Puree your split pea soup thoroughly either in batches in a countertop blender or in the pot using a stick blender.

9. Add salt and pepper to taste. The ham bone contains plenty of salt, so it may not be necessary to add more.

10. Ladle your split pea soup into bowls, garnish with sour cream, and enjoy.

[paint-it]

on 2/2/2009 The ham bone is key! Thanks.

[SunnyStars]

on 2/2/2009 Great recipe for crock pot Split Pea Soup! Thank You! 5*Stars! Sounds so easy I will be testing this recipe, it sounds scrumptious!