Cozy up with a bowl of this belly-warming chicken and split pea soup! Made with tender chunks of potatoes, carrots, celery, fresh rosemary, garlic and plenty of fresh dill.  

Just like our Sicilian Chicken Soup, this split pea soup will warm you up and leave you feeling satisfied!

overhead of chicken split pea soup this recipe

Chicken Split Pea Soup

Making soup from your pantry is so satisfying. You can basically turn basic ingredients into a warm meal. Plus it’s such a great way to pack extra veggies into one meal.

One of my favorite soup recipes just happens to be from my foodie friend Natasha. Her Mom’s Split Pea Soup is a family favorite. It’s chunky, hearty, and hits the spot.

So, there’s no doubt I was inspired by her recipe to make my easy split pea soup. It’s such a tasty and hearty soup made with chicken thighs, green split peas, and basic veggies. 

close up chicken pea soup in soup pot

What are Green Split Peas?

Green split peas are identical to green peas. The difference lies in how they are processed. To make a split pea, the green pea is peeled and dried.

There are two varieties of split peas: yellow and green. Both have similar nutritional content and cooking time, but yellow peas tend to have a more earthy flavor, while green peas are sweeter. You can use them interchangeably. 

Split peas require no presoaking before cooking. Simply rinse them under cold water and cook as desired. They are very soft and creamy when cooked.

Ingredients for Green Split Pea Soup

Green split pea soup is a fairly easy recipe with simple ingredients. You’ll need a bag of dry green split peas. They can be found at most supermarkets next to the dry beans or you can always order on Amazon.

  • Chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
  • Celery
  • Carrots
  • Onion
  • Fresh rosemary
  • Dry green split peas
  • Dry bay leaf
  • Chicken stock
  • Potatoes
  • Garlic
  • Dill
ingredients for green split pea soup

How Do You Make Split Pea Soup?

The only time-consuming part about this recipe is that the green split peas have to cook until they are soft to the bite, which takes about 20 minutes. But other than that the soup practically cooks itself!

You start off with browning the chicken until lightly golden brown. Then you add in all the veggies (minus the potatoes) and rosemary. Cook until the veggies, specifically the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

cooked chicken and veggies in soup pot

Next, add the green split peas, bay leaf, and chicken stock. Simmer the soup until the peas are almost done. They’ll be soft around the edges but hard in the middle. It’ll take about 20 minutes.

green split peas and veggies in soup pot

Lastly, add in the potatoes and cook until knife tender. Stir in garlic and dill.

finished soup pot of green pea soup

Storing Split Pea Soup 

Properly stored, split pea soup with potatoes and chicken will last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. To further extend the shelf life of the soup, freeze it. It reheats really well from frozen.

Simply freeze in covered airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags for up to 3 months. 

side view easy split pea soup

What Goes with Split Pea Soup?

The soup has a mixture of great texture from the chunky veggies to the creamy split peas. When cooked, split peas fall apart and thicken the soup. So you get incredibly thick and just a hearty bowl of soup. All you need is crusty bread to serve the soup.

However, if you do want to pair with something more filling, here are some ideas: 

If you try Chicken Split Pea Soup, don’t forget to leave feedback and a rating.

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overhead of chicken split pea soup

Chicken Split Pea Soup

★★★★★ 5 from 11 reviews
  • Author: Katya
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Simmer
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Cozy up with a bowl of this belly warming chicken and split pea soup! Made with tender chunks of potatoes, carrots, celery, fresh rosemary, garlic and plenty of fresh dill.  

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2–3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (about 4 thighs), cut into bite size pieces
  • 2 celery ribs, sliced
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 cup dry green split peas, rinsed under cold water
  • 1 dry bay leaf
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 3 medium russet potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed or grated with microplane
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a 6-quart stockpot over medium/high heat. When hot, add chicken and cook until lightly golden, about 8-10 minutes.
  2. Add celery, carrots, onion, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook for additional 5 minutes or until onions begin to soften.
  3. Add split peas, bay leaf and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low/medium and simmer, partially covered for 20 minutes or until peas are semi soft. You want them soft around the edges but hard in the middle. Taste soup for salt before adding the potatoes.
  4. Add potatoes and continue to simmer until potatoes are knife tender and peas are soft, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in pressed garlic and chopped dill.

Notes

  • Chicken: I prefer boneless chicken thighs in this soup. They’re incredibly tender and quick cooking. I do not recommended boneless, skinless, chicken breast. However, you can make the soup with bone-in chicken thighs or even drumsticks. To do that, sauté the veggies in step 2 and add the chicken in step 3 before the split peas and stock. Cook the chicken with the peas until tender. It should take around 20 minutes or so. Add an additional 5-7 minutes if the chicken is not cooked through. Take chicken out and pull the meat, discarding the bones, and adding the meat back to the pot. Then proceed with step 4.
  • Split peas: If you can only find yellow split peas that is okay too. Both green and yellow split peas work in this soup.
  • Dill: Not a fan of dill? No problem. Simly swap it out for fresh parsley.
  • Leftovers: Leftover split pea soup will last in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container or freezer for 3 months.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 506
  • Sugar: 11.3 g
  • Sodium: 596.6 mg
  • Fat: 15.6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 54.1 g
  • Protein: 38.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 103 mg

Keywords: fall, winter, easy, cozy, split pea recipe

Recipe originally published in September 2015, updated March 2020 with additional photos and information. No change to the recipe.

split pea soup recipe