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!
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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.
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
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.
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.
Lastly, add in the potatoes and cook until knife tender. Stir in garlic and dill.
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.
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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Chicken Split Pea Soup
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 6
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
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
- 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
- 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.
- Add celery, carrots, onion, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook for additional 5 minutes or until onions begin to soften.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Shirley says
I’ve made this before with the chicken breast and modified it as I didn’t have all the ingredients. It was good, even without potatoes and dill. This time I used the thighs, legs, back and wings, once again no dill or fresh parsley, did add the celery leaves of one stalk. I tried pressing the garlic between two spoons and end up finely chopping. Had potatoes this batch, no parsley or dill, but this was the best of the two soups. (For me, the one teaspoon of salt was plenty.) The thighs, etc made a difference!!👍🏻 Thank you.
★★★★★
Katya says
Agree – thighs add so much flavor! Glad you got to make it again and thanks for the feedback.
CH says
Excellent recipe. I didn’t have potatoes which would be perfect for soaking up all the flavor but added pasta instead. I also added a few dashes of red pepper for a nice kick.
★★★★★
Rosa says
Taste great. Thanks.
★★★★★
Sandra says
I’m sure this had celery seeds in it last time I made it. But anyway this got me through University last winter and it’s just lovely.
★★★★★
Arpita Patel says
With some doctoring this can be great. I added fresh garlic basil parsley and poultry seasoning to my chicken. LOVED IT!
Ghulam Mohyudin says
Good to know that works too! I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
★★★★★
Lindy says
The whole family enjoyed it, thank you!
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you Lindy!
Jane says
My boyfriend said it’s the best chicken soup I’ve ever made, thank you so much
Katya says
Thank you so much! I so appreciate that.
Amy f says
Delicious and comforting.
Elissa says
This soup is AMAZING!
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you Elissa! I appreciate your feedback. This chicken split pea soup is a favorite in our family.
Ilona Holmberg says
Hello Katya and Happy Valentines Day! I made your delicious soup for my husband & I’s Valentine’s Day lunch! It was a hit and I will definitely be making it again! Thank you for such a great recipe. I love it so much, that I have shared your link with at least 20 of my friends. I will be trying some more of your recipes very soon. I love to cook and making your Chicken Split Pea soup was a joy!
Happy tummy,
Ilona Holmberg
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you so much Ilona! So glad you enjoyed the soup and thanks for sharing with your friends!
Dee says
I have been looking for a recipe without ham and then I found yours! I just made it and it tastes SOOOOOOO good!!! My hubby and I eat soup all the time and this one is definitely making it into my recipe book! Thank you!
★★★★★
Katya says
Yeay! That’s so great Dee! Glad you and the hubby enjoyed the soup. Thank you for your sweet comment and taking your time to leave a review. Have a great night!
Valya of valyastasteofhome.com says
I make mine out of yellow split peas. I have to try green too. Looks delicious Katya.
★★★★★