French Canadian Yellow Split Pea Soup with Maple Cream
My mother always used to make split pea soup with green split peas and I loved it. This is not my mother’s green split pea soup, however. Instead, this super easy soup follows the French Canadian tradition of using yellow split peas and is the perfect way to use up some leftovers if you've just had a baked ham (which, by the way, is super easy to make in the pressure cooker).
Featured In My CookbookDelicious Under Pressure Jump to Recipe (or scroll for photos and riveting information...)Featured Recipe Techniques
More about the skills used in this recipe.
Pressure Cooking 101
An introduction into pressure cooking so that you can feel comfortable and confident making the recipes you find on my...View Technique
Pressure Cooking Charts
Complete Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot®) Cooking Chart with cooking times, amount of liquid needed, and pressure release method to use...View Technique
General Tips for Pressure Cooking
It is important to understand your Pressure Cooker to use it properly. Use the items below as guidance to continue...View Technique
French Canadian Yellow Split Pea Soup with Maple Cream
- Prep Time: 15 m
- Cook Time: 15 m
- Pressure Release: 10 m
- Total Time: 30 m
- Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups yellow split peas
- 1 ham bone or smoked pork hock rinsed (optional)
- 12 ounces cooked ham cut into large
- 3- inch chunks
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups water
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Pre-heat the pressure cooker using the BROWN setting.
- Add the butter to the pressure cooker and sauté the onion, carrot, garlic and thyme. Cook until the vegetables just start to soften – about 5 minutes. Add the split peas, ham bone, ham chunks, bay leaves and the water. Lock the lid in place.
- Pressure cook on HIGH for 10 minutes.
- While the soup is cooking, combine the sour cream and maple syrup in a small bowl.
- Let the pressure drop NATURALLY for 10 minutes. Then release any remaining pressure using the QUICK-RELEASE method and carefully remove the lid. Remove the ham hock from the pot and let it cool enough to pull any meat from the bone. Remove the chunks of ham and cut into small dice. Return the diced ham to the soup and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with a drizzle or dollop of the maple cream on top.
Can you make this without a pressure cooker?
Hi Evelyn. You sure can. Take a look at my recipe for split pea soup here: https://bluejeanchef.com/recipes/split-pea-soup/ and follow the stovetop directions. You may need to add just a little more liquid when cooking on the stovetop, but you can add liquid to thin it as desired at the end.
Hi Meredith…I would love to make this, but don’t have a pressure cooker, with no plans to buy one. With your recipes, can you include non pressure cooker instructions?
Hi Kathy. I do include both versions in many of my recipes, but haven’t got around to doing it for this one yet. Take a look at my regular split pea recipe and you’ll see both sets of instructions. You can use the instructions for that for this yellow split pea. It will be delicious! Here’s the link: https://bluejeanchef.com/recipes/split-pea-soup/
THANKS FOR THE YELLOW SPLIT PEA RECIPE. WILL BE TRYING THIS OVER THE WEEKEND. CAN’T WAIT. I’M NOT VERY GOOD WITH A PRESSURE COOKER SO I AM DOING IT ON THE STOVE TOP. I’M SURE IT WILL BE GREAT. THANKS.
SUSAN NOEL, FLORIDA
Do you have to soak the peas first?
No you do not have to soak the peas, you can put them in dry when making the soup.
This is my go to recipe, it is my Canadian husband’s favorite. He even converted me to loving pea soup. Miss you on the Q, , ordered your baking pans last time you were on. They are everything you described and more.