Key Ingredients in Vegan Split Pea Soup

SPLIT PEA

Split pea is fantastic, but rather underrated legume. Rich in antioxidants, fiber and protein split pea may be interesting alternative to beans and chickpeas. It’s not only split pea soup, you can use it to prepare delicious stews, curries or dips.

HOW TO MAKE SPLIT PEA EASIER TO DIGEST

Ok, I hear you. Split pea are not the easiest legumes to digest and there might be some side effects.. Fortunately, there are super easy ways to fix that.

1. First of all, rinse split pea well – at least four times, until the water is clear. Put the split pea in a bowl, pour water from the tap to cover the peas. Stir with your hand and drain water. Repeat until the water is clear.
2. Cover split pea with fresh water and soak overnight. Drain before cooking.
3. Add a lot of herbs and spices to your soup. The most helpful are: majoram, savory, chili.

VEGGIES

You can actually add any vegetables you like to this vegan split pea soup (leek, celery stalk, celery root), but the basis is potatoes and carrots.

Potatoes make the soup even more hearty and creamy, as they will fall apart slightly. Let’s chop potatoes in small bite size pieces.

Carrot adds a bit of sweetness, to otherwise earthy flavors. We want to chop it in tiny slices or grate with a vegetable shredder.

ONION & GARLIC

Anti-inflammatory super duo – onion and garlic are necessary addition. Yellow onion is best for frying and stewing, but you can use any kind you have at hand.

Do not be afraid to add this amount of garlic. It will combine perfectly with other aromas like smoked paprika, herbs and apple, so it won’t be very noticeable.

Did you know that the same compound that is responsible for strong smell in garlic is also super healthy? It improves our immunity and supports heart and brain.

APPLE

Not a very common ingredient is soup recipes, but fear not.. Apple is here only to provide a bit of sweetness. You will not feel it in the soup, as it will fall apart while cooking. Don’t skip addition of apple!

HERBS & SPICES

Yes, I know it is a long list of herbs and spices, but they all have their purpose in the split soup.

Marjoram and other herbs make it easier for us to digest our legumes, while paprika and chili is responsible for smoky flavor and warming effect of the soup.

SMOKED TOFU

Smoked firm tofu is one of the ingredients responsible for umami flavor. It replaces the bacon and sausage in vegan split pea soup recipe.

If you don’t have smoked tofu, you can use natural tofu, but marinate it with liquid smoke, soy sauce and smoked paprika. Combine the marinade ingredients, cut tofu in bite size pieces and marinate as long as you want (few hours or overnight).

Is Split Pea Soup vegan?

Traditionally, where I come from, split pea soup is prepared using smoked bacon and sausage. I used smoked tofu, smoked paprika and soy sauce instead. Those are perfect substitutes to obtain smoky umami taste everyone likes so much.

This Split Peas Soup is 100% plant based and vegan.

Hearty, satisfying Split Pea Soup with smoked tofu, potatoes and apple.

Vegan Split Pea Soup

Recipe by VegnFitCourse: SoupsCuisine: PolishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

4

hours 

Cook time

50

minutes

Total time

4

hours 

50

minutes

Warming, satisfying Vegan Split Pea Soup is what you need on a winter evening. So easy to prepare, full of veggies and smoky umami flavor – perfect comfort soup.

Ingredients

• MAIN

• 1.5 cups yellow split peas

• 2 medium potatoes

• 1 medium carrot

• 1 medium apple

• 4-5 cloves of garlic

• 2 tbsp frying oil (sunflower, colza, grapeseed)

• 1 cube smoked tofu 180g / 6.35 oz

• SPICES AND HERBS

• 3 bay leaves

• 3 whole allspice berries

• 2 tsp dried smoked paprika

• 2 tsp dried marjoram

• 1 tsp dried sweet paprika

• 1 tsp dried parsley

• 1 tsp dried savory

• 1/4 tsp dried hot chili pepper

• salt and pepper

• WET INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups water

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

Directions

• Rinse split peas until water is clear. Soak for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight) in a large bowl (they double in size). Drain the water.
• Peel vegetables. Grate carrots. Finely chop onion. Mince garlic. Dice apple, potatoes and tofu.
• Heat the oil up in a large soup pan. Fry onion with bay leaves and allspice for 2 minutes. Add garlic, carrots, apple, and potatoes. Stew covered for 5 minutes. Stir frequently so they do not stick to the bottom of your pan. Add 1 tsp salt.
• Add all the herbs and spices. Add diced tofu*. Mix and stew for 2 minutes.
• Add split pea to the pot, pour all the water in and add soy sauce.
• Cook until the split pea is soft – usually around 40-45 minutes.
• Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Notes

• *If you don’t have smoked tofu check the advice for substitute in the ingredients section above the recipe.

VEGAN SPLIT PEA SOUP SERVING SUGGESTION

Although split pea soup is very satisfying on its own, I can’t help myself and always eat is with slice of dark rye bread.

This way it really is wholesome full meal with healthy carbs, proteins and lot of fiber.

Love hearty soups? Try also:

Creamy Beet Soup With A Sweet Twist

Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup

How to make hearty Vegan Split Pea Soup

Hearty and delicious as it is, vegan split pea soup is actually pretty easy.

SOAK SPLIT PEA

Some recipes do not require soaking split pea. You can try and cook them right after rinsing, but if you have time I suggest you place the split peas in a bowl of water for few hours.

Soaking split pea will considerably reduce cooking time. It also helps to reduce unwanted bloating effect, that legumes may have on some people.

PEEL AND CHOP VEGETABLES

I like the carrot to almost fall apart, giving the soup a bit of sweetness. That is why I normally grate it. You can chop it finely too.

Cut potatoes into a bite size chunks. They will provide a bit of a texture together with split peas.

If you use other veggies, chop them however you like.

FRY ONION AND SPICES

Heat the oil up in the soup pan and start frying onions until translucent. Fry it with bay leaves and allspice, so they release their amazing flavor immediately.

STEW VEGETABLES

Add minced garlic, apple and all the vegetables to the soup pot. We want them to soften and get some flavors by stewing in a covered pot. Now it’s time for all the remaining spices and tofu.

ADD MAIN INGREDIENT

Add split pea, water and soy sauce.

Give it all a stir and cook in a covered pot for around 40-45 minutes. Stir the soup occasionally.

Split pea may cook longer, if they were stored for a long time.

ADJUST SEASONING

Check if split pea and potatoes and are soft. Carrot and apple should already almost fall apart.

Since we added a lot of spices and herbs, the only thing we might be missing is salt and pepper.

Adjust seasoning to your liking and your vegan split pea soup is ready to be served!

Questions and Answers

Blend or not to blend?

I love blended creamy soups, while my husband prefers them with pieces of veggies. Here’s perfect solution. East split pea soup not blended the first day and try the creamy version the next day. Everyone’s happy!

What about Vegan Split Pea Soup leftovers?

Keep vegan split pea soup in the fridge. Can you believe that next day it will be even better? You can safely store it for 3-4 days refrigerated.

If you made way too much, you can freeze vegan split pea soup for later, in a plastic airtight container. Keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How to reduce cooking time?

Soaking split peas beforehand will considerably reduce cooking time.

If you’re planning ahead, and you know you will have little time for cooking, you can pre-cook split peas one day before. In this case the soup will be ready when potatoes become soft.

Let me know if you liked this Vegan Split Pea Soup recipe! Please share it on Pinterest and Yummly!

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