When you’re craving a warm and filling lunch, nothing hits the spot like a bowl of soup with a slice of crusty bread. This vegan split pea soup is extra comforting, but light, healthy and packed with all the nutrients that you need to carry you through the day.

If you’re having second thoughts about making it right now, here are a few extra reasons for why you’ll love it. This vegan split pea soup is:

Low in calories, but extra filling
Packed with plant-based protein
High in potassium, vitamin A, dietary fibre and iron
Perfect for meal prepping
Made with only 8 ingredients you probably already have at hand

How to Make Vegan Split Pea Soup

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot, and sauté red onions and garlic until translucent.
Add chopped carrots and potatoes, dry split peas and 5 cups of vegetable stock. Season with dry oregano.
Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour until the split peas are perfectly tender. Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed.

Split Peas Q&A

What Are Split Peas?

In short, split peas are regular peas that have been dried, peeled and split. Like similar legumes, split peas are high in protein, complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre, and low in fat.

Are Split Peas Good for You?

Yellow and green split peas are dried versions of fresh sweet peas, which means that their nutritional value is high. They’re a great source of plant-based protein, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, and copper.

Like other legumes, split peas are also exceptionally low in fat, with only a trace of fat per 16 grams of protein and 41 grams of carbohydrates.

What’s the Difference Between Split Peas and Lentils?

They might look very similar, but split peas and lentils are actually entirely different legumes. While split peas are a type of field pea, lentils are their own type of legume.

Split peas are a variety of yellow or green peas, grown specifically for drying. Once they are hulled and split in half along the natural seam, they become split peas. This eliminates the need for pre-soaking, making them much faster and easier to cook.

Lentils are pulses, or the dried seeds of legumes. The most common lentils are brown, green and yellow lentils.

Can I Use Regular Peas for Split Pea Soup?

While split peas and regular peas are the same thing, you can’t use regular peas for this split pea soup. The difference between the two is in processing. To make a split pea, the pea is peeled and then dried. This makes cooking with split peas completely different.

Can I Use Green Split Peas?

In short, yes. Yellow and green split peas have a very similar nutritional value and cooking time, however, green peas tend to be sweeter and yellow peas have a more earthy flavour. For this recipe, I used yellow peas, but you can easily substitute them with green split peas.

How Long Does Vegan Split Pea Soup Keep?

When properly stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this soup will stay fresh for up to 5 days. This makes it perfect for meal prepping.

Can I Freeze It?

Yes, it freezes wonderfully. Simply divide it into single-serving containers, and put them in the freezer. The soup will keep for up to 3 months.

What Should I Serve It With?

This soup is perfect as a light lunch or dinner, with a slice of crusty bread. If you divide it into smaller portions (8 instead of 4), you can also serve it as an appetiser.

How Many Calories Are in a Bowl of Vegan Split Pea Soup?

One serving (¼ of this recipe) of this split pea soup has under 300 calories, 16 grams of protein and only 4 grams of fat.

Vegan Split Pea Soup