Delicious and hearty, this Quebec-Style Yellow Split Pea Soup cooks low and slow with vegetables and a ham hock, for a filling soup that’s perfect for lunch or dinner.
Fall’s cooler weather has definitely arrived here , so I’ll be embracing soup season, starting with this Quebec Style Split Pea Soup. This classic French-Canadian soup is warming and hearty and the perfect thing for cooler days.
This soup features split yellow peas, together with vegetables and spices and a ham hock or bone. The long simmer infuses such great flavour in the soup. This is a great soup to enjoy throughout the year, but is especially handy as as use for your left-over Christmas or Easter ham bone.
This pea soup is definitely hearty enough for a dinner soup, especially with the bits of ham in it. Serve with a salad and a crusty bread and you’re all set. If you’re a fan of Habitant™ soup, you’ll love this one!
Ingredients
Ham Hock: Many grocery stores carry frozen ham hocks now, so be sure to look in the frozen meat section for ham hocks if you can’t find fresh! I prefer a fresh ham hock, as you will get just pure pork flavouring in the soup. If you love smoked flavours, you can use a smoked ham hock.
Dried Yellow Split Peas: Look for these in the dried pea and bean section at your grocery store. Even though these peas are dried, you don’t want to start with a package that’s been in your cupboard for a long time, as even dried things can dry out more and become less than ideal. I always buy a fresh package from the store. Prepare your dried peas by rinsing well in a colander under cold running water, then picking through the peas and discarding any odd looking ones.
Chicken Broth: I try to use a low-sodium chicken broth for this soup and add salt myself at the end of cooking. Many people feel that extra salt in the simmering liquid will hinder the beans from cooking. For a vegetarian option, replace the chicken broth with vegetable stock. Alternately, you can skip the broth altogether and just use the same quantity of more water. I prefer the extra flavour from the broth, personally.
Additional Ingredients: Carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, dried savory (spice), dried thyme, water, salt and pepper.
FAQ
What makes this soup “Quebec Style”? This soup is in the style of classic, Habitant, French-Canadian pea soup, that is made with yellow split peas, a ham hock and small pieces of vegetable. It is a thick, somewhat smooth-textured pea soup.
Can I use a smoked ham hock? If you want! Obviously, the smoked hock will add a distinctive smoked flavour to the soup. If you like that, it’s certainly fine to go ahead and use it. You will probably need to add less salt at the end of cooking.
Don’t I need to soak the peas before cooking? No. Unlike their dried bean counterparts, dried peas will cook quite quickly and easily without soaking or pre-cooking. Dried split peas will generally cook to tender in as little as 30-45 minutes without soaking.
Why didn’t my peas ever soften? I have never had this happen myself, but if your peas never got tender after cooking for several hours, it could be that the peas were old/too dry. It could also be related to your water. If your water is really, really hard, it can prevent dried peas and beans from softening.
Can I cook this soup in a slow cooker or instant pot? I’m sure you can, though I don’t have any real direction for you in that respect, as I’ve not done it myself. I would generally try to mimic the simmer rate and general time for the stove-top recipe for the slow cooker. I am not a regular Instant Pot user, so I don’t have any advice for you there. (If you have tried this recipe in a slow cooker or instant pot, I’d love if you’d come back and leave some information for others who may want to try it that way :)
How can I make this soup vegetarian? Simply omit the ham hock and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken broth. If you like, a crumble of veggie bacon on top would be a nice addition to this soup.
Is this soup gluten free? Most likely, yes. Be sure to make sure your chicken broth is labeled as gluten free, as some are not. It’s also worth checking the dried beans as well and seeking out ones that specify gluten free.
What if I can’t find ham hocks? If you can’t find ham hocks, you can get a little bit of that flavour by stirring a little cooked ham into the soup during the last half hour of cooking.
Why aren’t there any cloves in this soup? While it’s true that some French-Canadian Pea soup often is spiced with cloves, I am not a big fan of cloves and I don’t think I’m alone. It’s quite a powerful spice and can be divisive in terms of taste. I felt it safer to leave them out of this recipe. If you are used to cloves in pea soup or are a clove lover, you can certainly add some with the spices.
Cook’s Notes
I like to give this soup a super quick blend with the immersion blender. Not enough to puree it. Just enough to blend a bit of the peas in to the broth, for a thicker soup. Alternately, you could remove a cup of the soup and blend it in a blender. Or you could just leave it be. Your call :) Just be sure to remove the bay leaf before you do any blending.
I prefer to add all of the additional salt and pepper at the end of cooking, as I’m adding some salt with the broth and the ham hock already. Saving it until the end prevents an overly salty soup. That said, do be sure to taste and season well, if it needs it. It will help to bring together all the great flavours in this soup.
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Get the Recipe: Quebec-Style Yellow Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb unsmoked ham hock
- 2 Tablespoons butter, or cooking oil
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 1 rib celery, finely diced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 3/4 cups dried yellow split peas, rinsed well and sorted through
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried savory
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Trim off and discard skin from ham hocks.
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Cook, stirring regularly, until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in dried split peas, bay leaf ,savory and thyme. Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth and water. Add the ham hock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are very soft and soup is thickened, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. *NOTE: You may need to add additional water or stock if soup gets too thick.
- PICK OUT AND DISCARD BAY LEAF and remove the ham hock to a plate. *Note: I prefer a thicker soup, so I blend just a bit of the soup with an immersion blender or blender. Just do a quick blend (or blend just a cup of the soup. You don't want a completely pureed soup. You want it to retain most of it's texture, but the bit of pureed soup will incorporate with the broth for a thicker soup.)
- Let ham hock cool slightly, then remove any meat on the hock and add it back to soup. Discard the fat and bone from the hock.
- Stir to combine meat with soup. Taste and generously season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Oops, didn’t mean to say I add a bay leaf ( already in the recipe) I add a tsp. Of dry mustard. 👍🏼
Amazing! Used a maple mustard ham bone and added long grain and wild rice in the last 45 mins for an added touch
Glad you enjoyed it, Troy! Thanks so much :)
Fabulous! I used a Carando hambone. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for sharing! My dad will be in heaven.
So glad to hear! Thanks so much :)
Hi Jennifer,
Recipe looks outstanding. As a native Montrealer (now in SoCal) I recall my French Canadien Grandmother always using whole yellow peas when making this soup. I’ve used both split and whole – difference in texture for sure between the two. Tougher to find whole yellow peas in US.
I’ve only ever used split yellow peas, but must seek out some whole and give it a try :)
Is this recipe gluton free or if not can you recommend one?
Hi Jack, yes, this would be gluten free. Just check your chicken broth to make sure it is labelled gluten free. Some are not.
I have had this soup since I was 5 years old…But it was in a can call habitat pea soup. Delicious soup. When in my 20,s couldn’t find it Nowhere.. I missed that soup…then I found this recipe on here.. HOLY COW NOW I CAN MAKE IT… THANK YOU. FOR THE RECIPE. .
I grew up on Habitant pea soup as well :) I love being able to make a big pot at home! Thanks!
My husband is from eastern Quebec, we lived in Montreal and also loved Habitat soup, love the yellow pea soup, so ethnic! ( also sucre ala creme pie) I add a bay leaf and a few whole cloves, yum! My mother would add hominy, great if you have the stomach for it😆👍🏼
So glad you enjoyed it, Loralee. I’ve never tried it with hominy. That would definitely be stick-to-your-ribs food :)
how long does it cook in slow cooker
Hi Carolyn, I haven’t made this one in the slow cooker myself. I usually try to duplicate the stove-top simmering time and setting the slow cooker to whatever temperature produces simmering.
I’ve made this recipe a number of times , adding just a cubed slice of ham, and the taste is great. But often the dried peas do not soften enough even if I presoak. I have bought various brands and do not store them long. Internet suggests the peas may be already old in the store, and to try a pinch of baking soda. Do you have success with a specific brand?
Hi Cheryl, I tend to pick up the President’s Choice Blue Menu peas and beans (Loblaws stores, in Canada). One thing I have heard is that sometimes peas and beans won’t soften well in the presence of a lot of salt. Not sure it’s possible to keep salt out if we’re using ham and salted chicken stock, but maybe low-sodium chicken stock and adding the ham a little later (and no added salt along the way). Then just salt to taste at the end. Just a thought.
If you are in the country and have hard water, your peas and beans are more difficult to soften
I had never heard that one, Marion, but I just googled it and yes, indeed, hard water can definitely be an issue when cooking beans and peas. I live the in the country, but our well water is very soft, so I’d never encountered that. According to what I’ve read adding 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda per cup of beans may help or you can use distilled water to cook your beans. Thanks for the information, Marion!
Made this yesterday, adding cut up ham steak close to the end as suggested. My parents and I ate it today for lunch – we really enjoyed it. Looking forward to making it again soon!
So glad you enjoyed it, Marilyn! Thanks so much :)
This soup is up there among my favourites. It is delicious, thanks for the recipe.
So glad you are enjoying it, Karen :) Thanks so much!
I just made your soup, but did it in my slow cooker! Love it ! thank you for your recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
Jennifer,
I have made many other pea soup recipes in a slow cooker that turned out well.
I really like your recipe and wondered if I could use a slow cooker?
Hi Judy, I haven’t made it in a slow cooker myself, but it seems like it would easily be adaptable to a slow cooker. I generally follow the 3-4 hours on High or 7-8 hours on low for the slow cooker. If you try it, let me know how it works!
do you need to Soak peas in cold water before using for recipe.
if you do, how long of a time?
Hi Sylvain, as long as your dried peas are fresh (from the store :) and haven’t been drying out in a cupboard for a long time, you don’t need to soak them for this soup.
Can you double or even triple this recipe? Needed for a large group.
Yes, it should multiply up without issues, as long as you have a big enough pot :)
If only smoked ham hock is available from the butcher, I am thinking to add less salt but does this affect the simmer time?
PS,
Second winter making this delicious soup. Even better than mom’s!
Hi Daniel and so glad you are enjoying it! It will definitely impart a smoked flavour to the soup, but other than that, I don’t think anything will change in terms of simmer time. Yes, maybe hold back on salting until the end and see how much it needs after most of the cooking is done. Enjoy!
After burning pea soup the first few times I tried to make it years ago, I thought split-pea soup and me don’t mix in the kitchen. Then I saw your recipe, and felt the urge to try again….
So good, I accidentally ate the first batch before canning! The second batch made it into the canner. Seriously the best I’ve had! Thank you!!!
So glad to hear, Rhonda! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks :)
Delicious! Love your site, thank you.
Thanks so much :) So glad you enjoyed it!