Vegan Split Pea Soup is a hearty mix of green split peas, carrots, celery, onion and green cabbage simmered with flavorful herbs – it’s my all-time favorite split pea soup recipe! Includes slow cooker, Instant Pot + stovetop methods.
Let’s start the new year with a big bowl of warm and comforting vegan split pea soup! Virtually fat-free, split peas are an excellent way to add protein and fiber to your diet.
This soup is inspired by a recipe my mom has made for many years. We just had it over the holidays and it was as good as ever!
I do have to admit after making it myself, it never seems to taste as good as my mom’s. It must be that special touch she has. Even so, if she can’t come and cook it for us, it’s still wonderful and I know you’re going to love it!
Thick and hearty, this vegan split pea soup is filled with the usual mirepoix and medley of spices, plus added cabbage for extra heftiness and flavor.
Whether you choose to cook it in your slow cooker, pressure cooker or on the stove top, it’s extremely healthy and so easy to make. It’s a perfect vegan soup for the chilly winter season!
Ingredients You’ll Need
In this recipe, split peas, carrots, celery, onion, cabbage, and herbs are simmered to perfection for a delicious thick and hearty vegan soup perfect for lunch, dinner or meal prep.
Here is everything you will need:
- split peas
- cabbage – green, napa or savoy cabbage
- onion – any color will do
- garlic
- celery
- carrots
- herbs de provence + bay leaves
- vegetable broth – I use and recommend 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Veg Paste (affiliate link) with water as your liquid base. A jar lasts a long time and you control the amount.
Now you’re ready to put it all together!
How To Make Vegan Split Pea Soup
Whether making split pea soup in a slow cooker, Instant Pot or on the stovetop, it only requires a few simple steps.
(Note – The full printable recipe, with instructions for stovetop, slow cooker and Instant Pot are at the bottom of this post)
- Place the ingredients into your slow cooker (shown above), finishing with the liquids to prevent splashing.
- Cook on LOW for 8 – 10 hours or HIGH for 5 – 6 hours.
- Above picture on the right shows soup once done and stirred well. Peas have broken down nicely creating a nicely textured soup.
- Let it cool a bit, then remove the bay leaves.
- Using an immersion blender (affiliate link), puree until desired consistency. You may like to puree the soup until it is silky smooth, or blend it for just a second at a time until your desired chunkiness is achieved. You could also eat it as is if you prefer.
Top Tips
- Use anywhere between 4 – 7 cups of water, depending on how thick you like your split pea soup. Using 4 cups of water will yield a super thick soup, thick enough to stand a spoon in, while adding more will thin with each cup of water added. I typically use 5 – 6 cups of liquids.
- Make sure to add the split peas first, as they will cook best at the bottom of the pot.
How To Store
- Refrigerator: Leftovers will keep for 5 – 6 days in the refrigerator, stored in a covered container.
- Freezer: This vegan split pea soup is freezer friendly and freezes well for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely and store in freezer safe containers (affiliate link), leaving ½ inch head space for expansion. You can also freeze larger portions in large ziplock bags (remove as much air as possible before zip locking). Let thaw before reheating.
- Reheat: Simply re-warm on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through. Alternatively, reheat in the microwave using 30 – 60 second intervals, stirring after each, until warm.
Serving Suggestions
This split pea soup is super hearty on its own, but it never hurts to add a topping or something extra on the side. Here are a few of my favorite options:
- Bread: Serve with a chunk of homemade Artisan Bread, soft and chewy Vegan Naan, or gluten free Socca.
- Toppings: Split pea soup is great topped with Crispy Roasted Chickpeas, Coconut Bacon, seasoned croutons, or diced fresh carrots for a little crunchy texture.
- Salad: Serve with a side House Salad, Vegan Caesar Salad or Radish & Cucumber Salad.
- Veggies + dip: Serve with fresh veggie sticks and Classic Hummus, White Bean Hummus or Vegan Ranch for dipping.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Parsnip & Split Pea Soup
- Lemon Chickpea Orzo Soup
- Vegetable Quinoa Soup
- Vegan Potato Leek Soup
- See all vegan soup recipes on TSV!
If you try this split pea soup recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintA VERY GOOD SPLIT PEA SOUP (VEGAN)
Full of protein and virtually fat free, this vegan split pea soup can be made right in your slow cooker or on the stovetop. It’s nourishing, flavorful and so easy to make!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 1 - 6 hours
- Total Time: 40 minute
- Yield: Serves 4 - 6 1x
- Category: Entree, Soup
- Method: Slow Cooker, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 lb. green split peas (about 2 ¼ cups), rinsed and odd peas removed
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 2 celery sticks (some leaves ok), chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ head of cabbage (about 2 cups), finely shredded
- 2 heaping teaspoons herbes de Provence (or 1 teaspoon thyme and oregano)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon vegan worcestershire sauce, optional
- 4 – 6 cups vegetable broth or water* (see notes)
- mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped (or 2 – 3 teaspoons dried)
Instructions
This soup can be prepared 3 different ways:
Slow Cooker:
- Place ingredients into the bottom of your crock pot, starting with the split peas and finishing with the broth. Heat on low for 7 – 8 hours or high for 4 – 5 hours. Add parsley 30 minutes before done. Let soup cool slightly and remove bay leaves.
- Using an immersion blender, carefully, as to not burn yourself, puree soup until desired consistency. You can also puree using a food/processor or blender, may take two batches. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed. Soup will thicken upon standing.
Stovetop:
- In a dutch oven or pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil or ¼ cup water over medium-high heat, add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add carrots, celery, garlic, cabbage and herbs, and saute, stirring frequently, for 3 -4 minutes. Add the split peas, bay leaves, worcestershire sauce and vegetable broth.
- Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley 30 minutes before removing from heat. Let soup cool slightly and remove bay leaves.
- Using an immersion blender, carefully, as to not burn yourself, puree soup until desired consistency. You can also puree using a food/processor or blender, may take two batches. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed. Soup will thicken upon standing.
Instant Pot:
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE and add the 1 tablespoon olive oil or ¼ cup water, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, saute for 4 – 5 minutes (feel free to skip this step entirely).
- Add split peas, cabbage, herbs de provence, bay leaves, and at least 5 cups of broth, and stir to combine.
- Attach lid and turn to lock, set the valve to SEALING, and manually set to HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. Let natural release for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup to desired consistency. Alternatively, puree using a food processor or blender (may take 2 – 3 bathes).
Serve: Pair with your favorite artisan bread, or top with crispy roasted chickpeas or coconut bacon.
Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days. Store in mason jars or to-go containers for easy grab-n-go lunches. Freezes well for up to 2 months, just let thaw before reheating.
Serves 4 – 6
Notes
Make this oil free by using ¼ cup water in place of oil when sauting on the stovetop.
*For a very thick split pea soup, thick enough for a spoon to stand alone in the center, use 4 cups of water. Use 5 for a soup that will be a little thinner, and six for a somewhat thick soup. When in doubt, I would rather you use a little less water and add more as needed. Reason being, you can’t thicken a soup, as easily as you can thin it. Use your best judgement.
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: I love my immersion blender for pureeing soups. It’s easy to clean, small and fits well in a utensil drawer (affiliate links). For more of my favorite cooking tools, shop my kitchen essentials.
Updated: Vegan Split Pea Soup was originally published in January 2017. It has been updated with new photos and helpful tips in April 2020.
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betty scott says
I’m not a vegan all the time. Loved this recipe; but I added 1 1/2 cups chopped turnip and 1 cup chopped parsnip (grew all my own vegs.) Halfway through I added lg. chunks of red potatoes. At the end I added cooked ham chunks. I also added 1 tsp. oregano. I used yellow split peas. we vacuum seal the leftovers by bowls full. I use 1 lb. marg. tubs and freeze overnight; then stand in warm water the next day and pop out and put in vacuum seal bags. Good for 3 years! B. from newfoundland
Gael Melville says
Outstanding! Amazing depth of flavour – this is the vegan pea soup recipe I’ve been waiting for. I was a bit sceptical about the herbes de Provence since the lavender flavour can be overpowering but it blended perfectly with the other vegetables and tasted great. I did have to add additional water part way through cooking (stove top method) but that was the only adjustment I made. Thank you so much!!
★★★★★
Elisa says
I’m really enjoying this, thank you! Was unsure about the cabbage but it dissolves into the soup, adding all the health benefits and subtly improving the flavor. I made it oil free and am pleased with the results.
★★★★★
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Yay, glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for sharing, Elisa!
Janna says
This soup was absolutely delicious! The harmony of flavours is perfect- the cabbage really adds a delicious complexity to the soup, balancing out the sweet/sour/savoury tastes. This will be a new favourite! (I didn’t have carrots on hand so I used small-diced sweet potatoes.) Thank you for the great recipe!
Bridgitte says
Such a wonderful and hearty split pea soup! This is the third soup I’ve tried from your site. Thanks for another great recipe!
★★★★★
Susan says
I made this as written in my Instant Pot and it was amazing!
★★★★★
Felecia says
You don’t mention when to add parsley in the pressure cooker instructions….
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
I would suggest to stir it in after the soup is cooked or add it to the top of your soup bowl, but you could also add a bit to the pot when cooking if you prefer. Thank you for bringing that to my attention, I’ll add it the instructions. Enjoy the soup!
Cheryl H says
Made this with some homemade vegetable broth and omitted the vegan worcestshire sauce and it was still incredibly flavorful. I used purple cabbage which might have given it a little darker color, Great recipe.
★★★★★
Donna says
I have recently gone vegan and found your lovely blog. I am absolutely loving it. I am very simple in my cooking also and your recipes make sense to me. I am trying this soup now and I’m excited to taste it. I am hoping it will work in an instapot.
Tanya says
OMG this was absolutely delicious! I didn’t have cabbage on hand and it was still the bomb. This soup will be on the meal rotation all winter long!
★★★★★
CARMEN says
Best pea soup recipe ever. Love it and am sure my company I am preparing this for will also! Thank you, Julie!!!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Thank you Carmen, so glad you love it too! I hope you had a great time! Cheers :)
Mairéad says
What would you suggest as a substitute for celery for those with an intolerance? This recipe looks lovely but I’d hate to have to leave out an ingredient :/
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Great question! You can omit the celery, add an extra carrot if you like, but you won’t miss anything and your soup will still be delicious! Enjoy :)
Mary June Pittman says
I used this recipe minus the oil and I added nutritional yeast on individual portions , it was delicious , ty…
Sam says
Delicious soup but too watery. I used 6 cups veg broth; next time I will use only 4.
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Glad the flavor was good. Sorry that it was too watery. I’m going to add a note about that. Thanks for the feedback!
Mandy says
Finally made this after bookmarking forever ago
Thank you! Love the addition of cabbage.
Delicious
Judy says
This looks great, and I look forward to making it. Just one point about the nutrition facts: Folic acid is listed at 0%, but that must not be right because split peas are an excellent source of folate.
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
I notice sometimes it doesn’t generate the vitamins & minerals correctly. On another recipe, it shows the folic acid/folate just fine. Not sure why it’s not showing properly on this one since I have the ingredients listed correctly in the nutritional generator. As you mention, split peas are excellent for folate.
Michael Follen says
When you say celery stalks to you mean 2 sticks from the head or 2 whole heads?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Just 2 sticks of celery, about 3/4 to 1 cup. Enjoy!
misguidedmommy says
Do you have any background with pressure cookers? I’m wondering if I can put this in my Instapot, but I’m unsure of the time to cook. Do split peas cook similar to lentils time wise?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
I haven’t worked with a pressure cooker yet, but split peas do cook similar to lentils time wise. Would love to know how it goes if you give a try.
misguidedmommy says
Hi. I made it tonight in the pressure cooker. Followed your recipe (I didn’t have the fancy herbs), and put it in the pressure cooker for ten minutes. Let it manually release, and then blended half and mixed it back in with a 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk. It was delicious. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Asia says
Helpful edit:
You wrote: “Make this oil free by using water in place of water when sauteing on the stove top.” It should read “water in place of oil”.
Keep up the wonderful work! I love reading and following your site! :D
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Haha, hopefully that’s the last of my mis-types. Thank you and cheers to team-work! :)
dan says
Just wanted to mention that I think you may have gotten the slow cooker directions backwards:
“Heat on low for 4 – 5 hours or high for 7 – 8 hours.”
That would typically be more time on low than high right? Figured I’d mention it, no need to post the comment on the page or anything :)
-dan
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Hi Dan,
Oops, you are correct. Thank you so much for pointing that out! Cheers :)