Slow Cooker Split Pea and Ham Soup

Dwynnie's Note:

Easy and delicious! Very thick and hearty! Freezes well! (I always make a double batch and freeze 2/3.) Update: If you overcook, the soup will get even thicker than usual! and turn a little bit of an olive drab color--it will still taste good though!

• Total Time: 8 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 8 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 (16 ounce) package dried split peas, rinsed
• 2 cups ham, diced or 1 ham bone (meaty) or 2 ham hocks
• 1 cup carrot, diced
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1 tablespoon salt (to taste-definitely reduce if not using water)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 quarts hot water

Directions:

1. Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order listed.
2. Pour in water. Do not stir!
3. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone.
4. Remove bones and bay leaf.
5. Serve!

Reviews

[FLKeysJen]

Delicious! I added lots more carrots, and substituted 2 quarts chicken broth for the 1.5 quarts water, based on the other reviewers' suggestions that it needed more liquid. Leftovers were even better than the first night.

[didyb]

Very good and easy. I used up a ham bone that has been using up freezer space. I made on Saturday to eat on Sunday. It was VERY thick on Sunday, so I thinned it out a bit with some water. Not a problem-- that way it can be adjusted to everyone's liking. Very tasty and fragrant! Since I used the ham bone, I omitted the salt altogether, and did not miss it.

[Island Girl 525]

This soup was really good. I used home made beef broth instead of water. I found the soup to be really thick, and needed to add additional water to it. It may have been due to my cooking time- because I was worried it would not be done in time, I started with 2 hours on high, then about 8 hours on low. Using this method, the soup was ready to eat before 8 hours was up, probably only needed 6-7. I thought the soup had great flavor and liked that it did not need to be pureed or put into a blender. Thanks for sharing, I will definitely make this again!