Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

Submitted by BelleTerre

"This is my vegetarian version of split pea soup without the ham bone. It goes nicely with fresh-baked bread, which is also included in my recipes. Substitute 1 cup of barley for the rice, if you like :)"

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 8-10

ingredients

• 2 cups split peas, rinsed and sorted
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 turnip, peel and dice (optional)
• 1 medium potato, peel and dice
• 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
• 8 ounces spinach, chopped
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 cups water (or more as needed)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste

directions

1. In a large soup pot, saute onion and celery in oil until tender. Add carrots, turnip, and potato. Saute about 5 more minutes. Add water, broth, peas, rice, and spinach.
2. Simmer until peas are tender (this will take about 2-4 hours), stirring every so often to avoid scorching. Add water or broth as needed to keep soup from becoming too thick. Add parsley, salt, and pepper in the last 30 minutes.
3. Warning: If you do not add water during the cooking process, the soup will be very thick and the split peas may not soften!

Reviews

[OliveLover]

We like food with flavor and use a lot of spices, herbs and hot pepper in our cooking. I agree that this is a thick, hearty, and very heart healthy meal. However, when we tasted it, the first word was "bland." There was no "fresh, hearty flavor." After trying a few additions, including granulated garlic, fish sauce, and sherry vinegar, we each ate about half a cup and decided, "Not bad." I won't be making this again.

 

[dstomko]

This smelled awful as it was cooking, and I am a definite veggie lover. I finally realized that it was the smell of overcooked peas that I really disliked. The final result was thick and tasty, though. I think that if I make it again, I will save the spinach (I used fresh) as a late addition, and cook it just until it has wilted to add a bit of fresh flavor.

 

[Grace4Gayle]

This had an amazing flavor for such simple ingredients. Don't breeze past this recipe without trying it. I did use oat groats instead of rice (I have a ton to use up) and even after cooking it on low for 9 1/2 hours my split peas still were firm. But the flavor was so good that it just didn't matter. It makes a lot so I'm going to freeze it in individual portions for a quick lunch.

 

[gogoroxx]

This is delicious, I love it! I did not have a turnip so left it out, but will try it next time. A very hearty soup! I had it in the crockpot for 8 hours and the peas were soft and fabulous. I usually pulse soups a bit with a hand blender, but this one mixed together so well I didn't have to. Thr rice softens up and blends with the peas, you can barely tell it's there. The leftovers taste great! So healthy and satisfying, Thanks for this recipe!

 

[somebodys_sweet_pea]

This was great! As with another reviewer, my peas were also just a little hard still (although it was still yummy!). I think next time I will give the peas their own time in the crock for an hour or two before adding the rest of the ingredients. I was going to put some liquid smoke in per another reviewer's recommendation, but had some bacon grease on hand for another recipe, so I added some of that! Oh, and this IS thick!! I halved all the recipe accept for the water/broth. Will be making this again, thanks!