Ultra creamy vegan split pea soup. This richly flavored soup is hearty and satisfying and makes a delicious plant-based appetizer or main.
Are you surprised that this vegan split pea soup is yellow? Did you think it should be green?
I did! I kind of had the idea that I would have a bright green soup if I made any kind of soup with the word ‘pea’ in the title!
Turns out I was wrong. I made this soup with yellow split peas and with green split peas and either way the soup turns out yellow.
And basically – from what I could find out – there isn’t any major difference between yellow split peas and green split peas so you can use either/or and the soup you get will be yellow either way.
I had it in mind that it would be rather nice if this soup turned out green. After all, the yellow/orange colored soups are so common. I have multiple soup recipes on this blog already and so many of them fall into this category.
I mean even my vegan potato soup is orange (due to the carrots – but oh wow sooo good!). And you definitely can’t expect anything other than orange when you make a vegan butternut squash soup or a vegan carrot soup can you?
It wasn’t until I made a straight up vegan pea soup (not split pea soup, just pea soup) made from frozen peas that I got my green colored soup. And what a bright green color it is too. And I also made a vegan zucchini soup. Yay for the green soups!
But enough about that, let’s get back to the matter at hand which is this delicious vegan split pea soup. It’s in a league of its own. It has a distinct flavor.
Yes – it tastes like peas, but in the best possible way.
How to make vegan split pea soup
- Cooking this vegan split pea soup is really easy.
- Sauté some chopped onions and garlic in some olive oil and then you just throw in some dried split peas, potatoes and carrots along with some vegetable stock and leave it to cook for around 45 minutes until soft and cooked.
- Blend with an immersion blender and then stir in some coconut milk, add salt and pepper to taste and then serve.
Appetizer or Main?
This soup is so filling you can easily have it as a main course. In fact I would recommend it. It’s a really thick, hearty and delicious soup.
We tend to think of soups as appetizers and of course this can be an appetizer, but I also think you might skip your main course. It’s just so filling.
Also, since it is so high in protein, it really is a fully balanced meal on its own.
How To Store Vegan Split Pea Soup
This recipe makes a big pot of soup which is totally fine because it keeps really well in the fridge for a few (3-4) days and you can reheat it as you like. If you find it really too thick when reheating, then feel free to thin it out with a little more water or coconut milk. It is also freezer friendly if you want to freeze it.
More vegan soups!
- If you like the soup as full meal idea then you’ll also love our vegan minestrone soup which is a full meal in one pot.
- Our vegan tomato soup and vegan tomato basil soup are both tomato soups but are totally different, try both if you’re a fan of tomatoes!
- Our vegan sweet potato soup and vegan potato leek soup are both creamy and delicious and our vegan cauliflower soup is ultra creamy.
- If you’re keen on another high protein option then our vegan lentil soup is the one to try.
Vegan Split Pea Soup
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8
Description
Ultra creamy and smooth vegan split pea soup. This richly flavored soup is extremely hearty and satisfying and makes a delicious plant-based appetizer or entrée.
Ingredients
- 1 Onion (Chopped)
- 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 2 cups (450g) Dried Green Split Peas*
- 2 Large Carrots (chopped)
- 2 Large Potatoes (peeled and chopped)
- 8 cups (1920ml) Vegetable Stock
- 1 14oz (400ml) Can Coconut Milk
- Sea Salt (to taste)
- Black Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic to a pot with the olive oil and oregano. Sauté until softened.
- Add the dried green split peas, chopped carrots and potatoes and the vegetable stock.
- Bring to the boil and then cover and turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer for around 45 minutes, stirring now and again (be careful it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot) until everything is soft and cooked. It will become very thick, like a very thick stew.
- When cooked remove from the heat and blend with an immersion blender if you have one. If you don’t have one then either leave the soup chunky or transfer in stages to a blender jug and blend it.
- When blended it will be very thick and smooth. Now add in the coconut milk and stir in.
- Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve with chopped spring onions to garnish and bread for dipping.
Notes
*You can use dried yellow split peas as well, it won’t make any difference. I have used either/or with this soup.
*This is a very filling soup, so it will serve at least 8 as an appetizer or 6 as a main course.
- Category: Appetizer, Savory, Gluten-Free
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving (of 8)
- Calories: 405
- Sugar: 7.4g
- Sodium: 521mg
- Fat: 11.5g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 60.5g
- Fiber: 17g
- Protein: 15.5g
Keywords: vegan split pea soup
*This recipe was first published in March 2017 and has now been updated.
So here’s what I did; I added an extra cup of broth, an extra carrot, potato, garlic & 1 heaping tblspn of oregano. Then I cooked some ‘smart bacon’ (the whole pack) in a pan w/ coconut oil until crispy. Crushed those, added that after the blending. THEN the ‘piece de resisitance’…drumroll… Stubbs Liquid Smoke. OMG! SO FRIGGIN GOOD! This took me about 3 hours btwn prep time & cooking but I was in the mood. I got so into it. lols. Thank you. xox
★★★★★
Sounds delish! Thanks for sharing Kathy!
I can’t wait to make this. Buying the ingredients fresh this weekend.
what if I added some Smokey Sauce to this? How much do you think? If I dont hear from you, I’ll take a small batch aside and try a bit w/ the smokey sauce…you know, to make up for the ham.
Hi Kathy, honestly I have no idea how much to add, but I think it’s a great idea!
Best Pea Soup EVER!!!
Really yummy! I added chilli, nutritional yeast, turmeric and half a bag of wilting spinach. Hearty and perfect for winter.
★★★★★
Thanks Bella!
Surprisingly tasty from such basic ingredients. I didn’t have any oregano so used fresh thyme instead which seemed to work and I didn’t have any coconut milk so just left it out.
A word of warning, you do need a very large cooking pot. I used my very largest saucepan but had to decant some veg into another cooking pot to get all the stock in.
★★★★
This was my first time making this soup. I made it for my mom who loves split pea soup and was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer 8 wks ago. This is delicious! I also made the lentil soup earlier which she had for lunch. Superb! Thank you
★★★★★
So glad it was delicious Claudia! So sorry to hear that about your mom, so good that she has you to make her delicious food. Thanks so much for the wonderful review. Wishing you everything of the best! 🙂
I think this soup came out delicious. I was worried the coconut milk would make it taste coconuty, but it really didn’t seem to add to anything except to make it more creamy and smooth. I did use half homemade vegetable stock (and 2 cups ready made low sodium and 2 cups water for the rest) which I think had to help with its full flavor. Also left skin on potatoes as I was lazy. Will definitely make again and dont see making any changes at all.
★★★★★
So glad it came out delicious! Thanks for sharing and the awesome review. 🙂
Any thoughts about converting this recipe to a slow cooker recipe? Cooking times etc
Hi Abigail, sorry I am totally clueless when it comes to a slow cooker since I don’t have one (yet!).
A bit slow to the party here…. I have just made it in the slow cooker. I put in 6 cups of water with my stock cube instead of 8 and threw the coconut milk in at the start along with everything else. I figured things stay wet in the slow cooker and it was easier to add more water at the end if needed. It turned out great!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Kate!
I was so pleasantly surprised by this soup. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but I really do and I love that it is so high in protein per serve. It’s a keeper. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Amanda, I know what you mean, I found it a pleasant surprise too! And yay for all that protein. Thanks so much for the great review. 🙂
This is so delicious. It’s also just as filling as you described, definitely will make again.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Rachelle! Thanks so much for posting. 🙂
Tried this recipe tonight. Love the idea and I’m always looking for new vegan recipes! I used a masher to break apart the potatoes and stuff since I don’t have a blender. For some reason I didn’t really need the coconut milk. It wasn’t as thick as I expected. It tasted good but I agree more seasoning worked better for my taste buds. Maybe because I used low sodium veggie broth. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★
A lovely soup base! Nice and hearty, as you describe. I’ll be making it again.
However, when I finished your instructions and tasted the soup, it had a pretty bland flavor, mostly just tasted of peas. I then added an extra can of coconut milk, and seasoned further with garlic powder, more oregano, thyme, paprika, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, and finally it really hit the jackpot. So I ended up with a fabulous soup, it just needed some tweaking in my opinion.
★★★★
Thanks for the review Tamar, glad to hear you were able to tweak it perfectly to your taste. 🙂
My absolute favourite soup made with a definite finesse
★★★★★