Split Pea Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What thickens split pea soup? ›

How to Thicken Split Pea Soup. The potato should make your split pea soup perfectly thick and creamy. However, if the soup is still too thin for your liking, you can thicken it up with full-fat cream (though it may alter the flavor a bit) or a cornstarch slurry.

Cooking. Bring about 1.5 cups of water or broth to a boil for every cup of lentils or split peas. Add the lentils, allow water to return to boiling, reduce heat, partially cover pan, and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the variety.

Add a bit of lemon zest to make those peas really sing. You can try the fresh pea approach with your favorite split pea soup recipe, but this super traditional, easy version is an Epicurious favorite.

One common reason is using too much water or broth while cooking. Additionally, if the split peas are not cooked long enough, they may not release enough starch to thicken the soup. Another possibility is not adding enough vegetables or other thickening ingredients during the cooking process.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute.

In this soup, the peas should be soft after about 1 to 1 1/2 hours cooking time. If you take a taste after this time and they haven't softened, your peas are likely stale. Buy a fresh batch before making the soup again.

A one-pound bag of split peas contains about 2 cups, enough to make two batches of this soup, and costs about $1.

Watery pea soup, resulting from the addition of too much water or stock lends itself to an easy fix. Thickening agents such as pureed vegetables, flour or cream-based products change the texture of the soup from watery to thick by condensing the excess water.

Split peas absorb lots of water as they cook, so check the soup often and add liquid as needed. The peas only need to be cooked until they are tender. But if you like a smoother, creamier texture, cook them longer until they soften and fall apart.

Salt and pepper you can just stir in. Same goes for bouillion cubes/paste, though you'll want to mix them into a small amount of soup first to get them to dissolve well and then stir that into the rest of the soup. If you want to add real meat, you'll want to cook it a while longer to get the flavor into the soup.

Why does split pea soup hurt my stomach? ›

From a Western nutrition perspective, legumes, lentils, and split peas can cause bloating because of the oligosaccharides present. Oligosaccharides are small sugars that aren't actually digested by us.

Not Adding Acid. If a soup is tasting bland in the bowl, consider adding acid rather than salt. A squeeze of lemon or lime, or a dash of yogurt or sour cream can add brightness to the bowl.

3 cups of water for 1 cup of split peas. the desired texture. For split peas that hold their shape, cook for 20 minutes. To make a smooth puree, cook for 40 minutes or longer.

However not thickened with traditional methods, the thickness of this soup comes from the cooking down of the split peas themselves. The longer you cook the pea occupied broth, the thicker the soup gets. This is a preference, so you choose your thickness.

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!"

If the peas are very old and dried out, they won't soften.

Cornstarch is a great option as it is a natural thickening agent, but you'll want to be careful about how much you use. Start with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked together with cold water to create a slurry. Then, gradually add the slurry to the soup, letting it boil for one to two minutes before adding more.

Digestive spices such as hing, ginger, and cumin help to make split pea soup less gas-producing. Rinsing and soaking your split peas also helps them to create less gas.

If the peas aren't softening after the second simmering, stir in ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to the pot. It will foam up at first but subsides as it cooks. This should quickly soften the peas with a little more while simmering!