Mom’s Split Pea Soup Recipe
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I drove home the other day and my outside thermostat was showing 7˚F! I walked out of work, zipped my coat to my chin and bolted to my car. My paper thin scrubs didn’t help me when I planted my bum on an ice cold leather seat. Gaaah!
There is a happy ending to this story. I came home to a hot bowl of this lovely split pea soup (made possible by my husband). It was perfect. He called my Mama for the how-to and surprised me when I walked in the door. Yeah,… I married up.
Ingredients for Mom’s Split Pea Soup:
4 quarts water
1 cup dry yellow split peas
1/2 lb pork riblets
5 medium potatoes
2 medium carrots
1 medium onion
3 Tbsp oil
3-4 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp fresh dill
1 1/2 tsp salt + more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning
How to make Split Pea Soup:
1. Add 4 quarts of water to a large soup pot over med/high heat. Place 1 cup of dry yellow split peas in the pot along with the riblets; cover (leave the pot open a crack so it doesn’t overflow) and boil for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until peas are almost dissolved. Use a large spoon to remove impurities that float to the top; I did this few times during the cooking process.
Note: I’ve tested soaking peas overnight in the water to speed up the cooking process but did not notice any difference in timing.
2. While peas and riblets are boiling, peel and dice 5 potatoes into half-inch cubes, peel and cut the first carrot into small circles about the thickness of quarters. Once the peas dissolve, add potatoes and carrots to the pot. Cook an additional 15 min or until potatoes are cooked through and easily pierced with a fork.
3. Finely grate the second carrot. Then thinly dice 1 onion. Saute both over med/high heat with 3 Tbsp oil until translucent, then add in 3 pressed cloves of garlic along with 2 Tbsp of fresh dill; stir an additional 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant. Add everything to the soup pot.
4. Finally, add 1 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash and finish. Add more seasoning to taste.
5. When soup is finished, remove it from the heat and take out all the riblets. Using a fork, separate the meat from the bone and return the clean meat back into the soup. Discard the bones. I’m picky about meat in my soup; I don’t like nasty little “surprises.” My husband did an awesome job with this meat; I didn’t have to inspect what was in each spoonful. He knows me well!
Serve with some fresh chopped parsley on top. And it’s done
Mom's Split Pea Soup

Ingredients
- 4 quarts water
- 1 cup dry yellow split peas
- 1/2 lb pork riblets
- 5 medium potatoes
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 medium onion
- 3 tbsp oil
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp fresh dill
- 1 1/2 tsp salt + more to taste
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning
Instructions
- Add 4 quarts of water to a large soup pot over med/high heat. Add 1 cup of dry yellow split peas in the pot along with the 1/2 lb riblets; cover (leaving it open a crack to prevent overflow) and boil for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until peas are almost dissolved. Use a large spoon to remove impurities that float to the top.
- While peas and riblets are boiling, peel and dice 5 potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. Peel and cut the first carrot into small circles the thickness of a quarter. Once the peas dissolve, add potatoes and carrots to the pot. Cook an additional 15 min or until potatoes are cooked through and easily pierced with a fork.
- Finely grate the second carrot. Finely chop 1 onion. Saute both in a large non-stick pan over med/high heat with 3 tbsp oil until translucent then add 3 pressed cloves of garlic and 2 tbsp of fresh dill. Stir an additional 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant. Add everything to the soup pot.
- Finally stir in 1 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper and 1 tsp Mrs. Dash. Add more seasoning to taste.
- When soup is finished, remove it from heat and take out all the riblets. Using a fork, separate the meat from the bone and return the clean meat back into the soup. Discard the bones.
- Serve topped with some fresh chopped parsley if you want to be fancy.
Hi Natasha. I’m interested in cooking your Mom’s split pea soup. It looks delicious, but it has a grated carrot in it and I’m wondering how that affects the texture? Is the grated carrot important to the integrity of the soup? I’m tempted to just slice both carrots instead of grating one. Any comment on how that affects the soup? Or am I over-thinking this, lol?
Hi Lisa, this recipe has both a chopped and a grated carrot helps with the texture and the color of the soup. I hope you love it.
Hi Natasha,
Tried making this soup today. Is the broth meant to remain on med/high boiling for 1 hour and 40 mins? My soup got reduced by more than half and I ended up with not too many servings. Should I have kept it simmering on low instead?
Hi Sasha! It could take up to the full 1 hr and 40mins but keep an eye on it, you only need to boil until the peas are almost dissolved. Did you leave your pot completely uncovered without a lid? If so, this will cause it to reduce more than necessary, leaving you with less broth. I boil this covered, leaving only a small crack to prevent overflow. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha! Wow, this soup is incredible. It has such a comforting taste. My teenager (also named Natasha 😆) gobbled up a huge bowl on her lunch break from school. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Awww that makes me so happy. Thank you for sharing that with me. I’m overdue for making this soup again. Thanks for the reminder!
This truly is comfort food!
It did take me twice as long to cook my meat, but it was organic rack of lamb ribs and I used green peas. Definetly worth the wait!
Great flavor, smooth texture, and just enough peas but not too thick.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that great review with us, Natalya!
God bless you and your family!
THank you, Natalia! You also! Many Blessings!
Natasha, thank you so much for this recipe. I was looking for an easy split pea soup made with yellow split peas just like grandma’s. Your recipe is exactly what I needed! I love all of your recipes and so thankful
I found you a few years ago. All of the foods I miss from my Ukrainian childhood I can find here and replicate them! You guys rock! Keep up the good work! You bless so many with what you do!
Hello Oksana, yay that is so awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your great feedback and comments regarding this recipe. I hope that you’ll love all the recipes that you will try.
Hi Natasha!
What would be the difference if you use green split peas ?
Thanks!
I love your recipes!!!
Hi Pat, one of our readers actually posted a comment mentioning they used green split peas! Here’s what they said: “OOOOOOHHHH! I made this tonight, except I used green split peas and I had a ham bone for the meat. Otherwise, I followed your post, and am very pleased with a DELICIOUS, hearty, yummy, rib-sticking winter soup. MMMMMM! Thank you for sharing yet another marvelous recipe that allows for substitutions. Vadim is the man….such a nice hubby!” I hope that is helpful!
I use chicken broth instead of water. Just reduce the amount of salt that you add later
I’m very pleased to uncover this website. I want to to thank you for ones time just for
this wonderful read!! I definitely appreciated every part of it and i also have you bookmarked to see new things
in your website.
You’re welcome! I’m glad to hear you’re’ enjoying our website!
Hi Natasha! Can’t wait to try this recipe, I have lentils in my pantry do you think it would work ok?
Hi Irina, I honestly haven’t tried this as a lentil soup but if you experiment, please let me know how it goes. I’m curious!
Natasha, do you have a recipe of Broccoli & Cheddar soup?
Hi Luba, all of our soup recipes can be found HERE. We do not have a Broccoli Chessar Soup at this time.
This recipe is wonderful! I doubled the peas and used a smoked turkey leg instead of the riblets-turned out delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hello Natasha! I am from Romania, so Ukrainian and Russian recipes are very similar! 🙂
Don’t you add some Borscht to this or something to make it more sour? (not sure that it is named like this in English, but we add some sour liquid made of bran to our soups to make it sour and i am sure that Ukrainians and russians use it too)
Hi Dranga, I wonder if you are thinking of a different soup? This split pea soup has a mildly sweet/savory flavor profile rather than sour.
Thank you for all of your recipes, they really are all totally solid. Real talk!
Also, why am I the only dude up in here? Lol
Hi Patrick! Thank you so much!! I think it’s so great that you are here! 🙂 My husband is a wonderful cook also and guys who cook are just plain awesome!!
Hi Natasha! Thank you so much for such a yummy recipe! I made this soup today and it was delicious😋 I didn’t have beef on hand so I ended up using sausage and it gave it a smoky flavor and turned out perfect 🙂 we all loved it!!! Definitely gonna make it again!:-)
That sounds amazing!! Thank you for the wonderful review and sharing your changes with us, Luda!
Hi i dont have pork riblets. Would pork chops with bone in work?
Hi Gloria, That will still work as long as it is bone-in :).
Would cutting recipe in half reduce cooking time for peas?
It might be slightly quicker, I would definitely keep an eye on it 🙂
I keep coming back to your page. How is the progress on your cookbook? We fans love your recipes and you’re awesome! Keep up the good work. Yours in Christ, Ana
PS: Typo in the last sentence of the instructions “if you want to by fancy”
Thanks for catching that and letting me know! Fixed! 🙂 The cookbook is on hold until our house is completed which is about a month out right now 🙂
Natasha, this was delicious! This is my second time making it. I love all your recipes;)
I’m happy to hear how much you’re enjoying the recipes! Thanks for following and sharing your review Katie!
Not thick enough with 1 cup of peas. I would advise adding more peas.
Hi Yelena, with soups like these, it seems everyone grew up eating them in varying consistencies (thicker vs thinner). It also helps to make sure you get the yellow peas and cook for the amount of time stated to give them a chance to soften and expand.
Can you please add a recipe for instant pot pea soup? Also, for some reason my soups has a lot of broth even though I used about 10 cups of water instead of 4 quarts
I will definitely keep your suggestion in mind. I have added it to my list of things to try in the instant pot.
Hi!
My local Whole Foods did not have pork riblets. Would baby back ribs work?
Can’t wait to taste this soup!
Baby back ribs would work as well 😀
Lol my husband absolutely LOVED this soup! He seriously eat pretty much the whole pot within 24 hours!
Such a good base for the broth.. make it creamy and tasted super tasty! Needed to add more salt than recommended but otherwise perfect!
I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy the recipe Lilly! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hello,
Please advise on how many chicken thighs should be used instead of pork. The recipe looks great! Thank you😊
Hi Eugenia, 3-4 skinless chicken thighs should be sufficient 🙂
can i use green split peas instead?
Hi Oksana, I have tried the green ones and it just doesn’t turn out the same in flavor or color. If you can find the yellow ones, those work best.
Hi Natasha, where do you buy yellow spit peas? I looked in Safeway, walmart, Russian store but they don’t have them. Thanks in advance!
P.s love your website!
Hi Galina, I have found them at Fred Meyer and I believe Winco sells them also. We get them from the bins. There are quite a few different brands sold on Amazon as well (affiliate)
Oh ya that’s right, didn’t think of winco ha ha. So yesterday I went and got a whole bag of it for a good price, made that soup and everybody loved it. Thank you for a great recipe and great website! 🙂
You’re welcome Galina! Thanks for following and sharing your wonderful review!
Hi Natasha,
We don’t eat pork. What other cut if meat would work as an alternative?
Hi Oksana, bone-in chicken thighs (skinless) would be the next best thing 🙂
Thank you!
My pleasure! 😀
I really want to make this soup, but I don’t have pork riblets. May I use chicken instread?
Hi Tanya, I would suggest skinless bone-in chicken thighs if possible. The long cooking time with bone-in meat really helps to flavor the broth.
My husband always asks for split pea soup… apparently it brings back lots of child hood memories of his mom making it… my mom has never made it and I’ve never tried it… I was hesitant to make it because I wasn’t sure how it will turn out. Well… we’ve been married 9 years and I finally got around to making it for him today! Lol. We all enjoyed it VERY much! And husband was VERY surprised when he came home from work on a freezing day to his favorite soup! He did I was exactly how he remembers it. Thank you for the recipie!!!!
So awesome to hear that! I am glad your family enjoys it. Thanks for sharing your review Olga!
Hi Natasha!
Can I use white beans in light seasoning the ready ones and put them in soup at the end? Will it be same?
Nadia, you can add them at the end to taste. Keep in mind the salt content of the beans when adding them. Are you planning to substitute them? I assuming you just adding them at the end.
Just a hint: This soup is usually served with croutons
Hi Elena, is that an American tradition? It does sound like a good idea!
Natasha, thanks so much for this great recipet . My husband is the pickiest eater in the whole world and he loved this soup. it turned out perfect ! I definitely found a new favorite soup
Yay!! That’s so awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me 🙂
hi Natasha, I am browsing through your fabulous website and loving your recipes. I notice you mention a product called Mrs Dash. What is it and what is an alternative? meaning, what is the essence of the flavour of this product?
thanks. I look forward to your reply.
Anna, Mrs Dash is salt free all purpose seasoning. Click here for the full list of ingredients. You can buy it on Ebay and Amazon.
Hi Natasha,
Great recipes. My entire office is using your borscht recipe after I tried it and raved about it. I was wondering if you have the nutritional value for your recipes. I’m on a restricted calorie diet and need to know the calories of the dishes I make. Thanks in advance.
Katya thank you so much for sharing my recipe at the office! You’re awesome! 🙂 I currently don’t have nutritional values, but when I need to research something, my best source: Caloriecount.com – sign in for free and then go to “tools” and then click “recipe analyzer” You can copy and paste your list of ingredients and it spits out the nutrition info. It’s a great tool. I hope that helps! 🙂
Hi Natasha 🙂
Do you think i could add some bacon?
We love split pea soup!!!
Yes! That would taste great!
natasha can i use green peas instead yellow peas for that soup
You can but the yellow ones taste better. My mom always makes it with the yellow ones.
Since I first tried this soup, it became one of our favorites! But I just bought myself an electric pressure cooker and this soup was done in half the time! I cooked meat and peas on high pressure for 30 min and peas were perfectly dissolved and meat was perfect too, then added potatoes and carrots cooked for 7 more minutes and then added the rest of the ingredients and it turned out soon good, and twice faster! I’m loving it! Thanks for your great recipes!
Thank you so much for sharing that! It’s great to know that it works well in a pressure cooker. What brand of pressure cooker do you have? I’ve been thinking about getting one.
I bought instant pot DUO60, I think this one is the best rated one right now. I just made beef stroganoff on your website in my pressure cooker and it was done in 45min. It’s awesome!
Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Just finished cooking and tasting. I followed your recipe but substituted peas (didn’t have any) for 1 cup of garbanzo and 1/2 cup of white beans and used smoked turkey leg in place of pork riblets (don’t eat pork). It came out sooooo good! Garbanzo kept their shape but white beans became mushy. Ii gave the soup nice consistency. I think your recipe is really good basic for any bean soup but yellow split peas already on my shopping list 🙂
This is 3-rd recipe I’m trying from your kitchen and always success! Thank you Natasha.
Thanks for the great review Anna and I hope you’ll find many more favorites :).
I’ve never made soup before, but today was my first with this recipe. I was so nervous that the ingredients wouldn’t come together, but when I finished, my mom tried it, added a TBSP of salt, and said it was great! Our whole fam ate it, and only a little bit is left. Thanks for the recipe. Now I feel more confident to try one of your borsches. Wish me luck 😉
You’ll do great! I’m so glad you enjoyed the split pea soup 🙂
Thank you for the amazing recipe! Making it for the first time today but my sister Ella has made it several times and I couldn’t resist it! Your recipes are greatly appreciated!! Be blessed 🙂
Thank you Luda for such a great report and you are welcome :).
Natasha, I am a Nigerian currently studying in Ukraine. i have always been scared of trying foreign dishes but i mustered up courage & tried ur recipe today, It was my first Ukrainian meal and I absolutely loved it! Thanks for sharing.
That’s awesome! You definitely chose a classic 🙂
Natasha, thank you so much for the recipe. I just made it and it tastes yummy. My 13 month old loved it too. I substituted pork to beef (only meat I found in my fridge) and it was still delicious. Although yellow peas package said “soak for at least 8-12 hours before cooking” my peas went soft after 30 min boiling and soup was ready in 1 hour.
I’ve never thought to use beef; great idea!! Did you add it at the beginning and was it soft by the end? We’ve tried soaking the peas overnight and it didn’t help anything so we don’t recommend it; it’s just not necessary 🙂
It took me some time to make this soup. As you see I am making it in April. I had all the ingredients but just didnt get to it. But today my husband was really sick and he wanted some soup so this is what i made him. And we both really like it. I just used chicken instead of pork and it was very good!!!
Do you think soup could be frozen?
I don’t see why not! I’m so glad you both enjoyed it 🙂
Ok! So, I didn’t have any plans to cook today! We had some leftovers from yesterday; however, when I saw this post, I decided to make it! It was my first time making the split pea soup & it took me two hours from start to finish, but it was worth it! My husband, who is not Russian, also loved it! Thank you for the recipe!
Yes, split peas definitely take a while to cook, but I’m so glad you and your hubby loved the soup 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Since I have a smaller pot, and i use half recipe of peas, do i decrease the time in half for cooking the peas and meat too?
The time should still be around the same. Your water will get to a boil faster but not the cooking time. The goal is to cook peas until they just about dissolved :).
Thank you for sharing the recepie I made this soup today :))
Totally inspired by your soup, I finally made and posted my own version. Thanks for reminding me of this delicious soup!
Natasha, this soup was soooo good. Thank you!
You are welcome Dina, I’m glad you loved it :).
Hello Natasha,
I just got done making this soup, It was amazing we all loved it. perfect for cold days. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
You’re welcome. It is definitely a soup you’d cozy up with 🙂
One question I forgot…do your peas turn kind of mushy and falling apart after cooking? I’m wondering if I over-cooked them or they supposed to be this way? It was good neways 😉
Peas should be mushy or almost dissolved, you did everything right :). I’m glad you like the soup.
I made this soup last week and wanted to come back and say it’s pretty great 🙂 I’ve never made it with the yellow peas and have to say they make it such a comfort food, perfect for cold winter days. I got them at fred meyer dry bulk bins section.
Just made the soup today. We all loved it. Very delicious
I’m glad you like it Tonya :).
Hi Natasha! Where do you buy the peas? Is it in the bulk section in winco? I can’t ever seem to find them.
We buy them in Winco, they are located above the bins. Also I saw them in Fred Meyer.
I am so excited for this recipe. My dad has bin asking me to make some peas soup. Cant wait to make it. Thank u
I hope you and your Dad love it 🙂
This looks so good!.. What would be a good substitution for the pork? I really want to try this soup but we don’t really eat pork.
I’d say the next best thing would be chicken; maybe use some chicken with the bone-in? Let me know what you think if you use something other than pork.
chicken tighs?? 🙂
Yes, that should work 🙂
i’m excited to make this sometime soon! I also remember having pea soup in kindergarden back in Ukraine, my mom never liked peas so she never made soups like this. Last time i had pea soup was probably when i was still in kindergarden! Making this will definatly bring some memories back! =)
I would love to hear from you once you make the soup :).
Natasha, this is probably one of the best split pea soups I’ve tasted. Could it really be the yellow peas? 🙂 I did use short ribs instead of the pork ribs because that’s what I had on hand. Delicious. Thank you.
Hmmmm maybe. I guess my Mama was really on to something with those yellow peas. 🙂 Thanks Natalie!
I love pea soups but my husband does not share the love, so I usually eat it alone))) I am loving the bright colors of your pictures! With all this grayness outside, life just begs for some color lol
Thanks! I feel the same way about your photos. I was just going through your site yesterday getting inspired! 😉
aw, thanks 😀 I am on a break from taking pictures, because the grayness outside just doesn’t allow for light pictures and there’s not a spot in my house that has enough lighting to be doing this indoors, so I am using what I have from my “backup” storage lol
Lighting is definitely tougher in winter!
No kidding))
Seriously Natasha you have the best husband 🙂 I can’t wait to try making this soup it looks very delicious 🙂 I have a question how big of a pot do you use for your soup and is there a specific brand that you recommend? Thank you 🙂
A pot with a heavy/thick bottom is best because it distributes heat evenly and prevents scorching. I use the Kirkland signature brand from costco, but my pots are really heavy (they will probably last forever, but sometimes they are a little much for my wrists!). 🙂 Circulon is a good brand for pots and they make nice, heavy bottoms on their cookware. Always buy the best you can afford 🙂
Natasha- Can’t wait to try your Russian recipes! I am 13 years old and I love to cook. Last week I made Borscht and Vareniki. I am going to try your cabbage/broc. salad and your split pea soup .
Wow you are cooking way before I was interested in cooking. That’s awesome!
O made this soup today! DELICIOUS!!!!!!
It is exactly the same pea soup that I ate at kinergarden when I was little. I tried making it before, how I tought its prepared. But it wasn’t tasting yummy:-( but this one is super-super good. I actually want to make one again when i will finish this one;-)
Thank you to both of you!!!!
Happy to bring back memories of your childhood. I think that’s so cool that it was the same soup you ate in Kindergarten! 🙂
Yum!
Looks great and easy to make! Thank You for sharing!
Thank you for this and all your recipes!!
You are welcome Marina 🙂
OOOOOOHHHH! I made this tonight, except I used green split peas and I had a ham bone for the meat. Otherwise, I followed your post, and am very pleased with a DELICIOUS, hearty, yummy, rib-sticking winter soup. MMMMMM! Thank you for sharing yet another marvelous recipe that allows for substitutions. Vadim is the man….such a nice hubby!
Thank you Zina, my husband smiled when he read your comment. Your substitutions sound yummy :).
I make split pea soup weekly. Have made so many versions, will try ur mamas recipe too!!! and I can see how this soup could of been the best thing for ur cold day! 7F??? wow never knew it gets that cold in Boise
It snowed today too :).
Thats so funny because I was just sitting down to look for a recepe for a nice soupchik and Boom! There it is. Thanks again. Will be serving this for dinner tonight 🙂
I hope you love it! 🙂
This is amazing want to try it
By the way, Merry *Ukrainian Christmas!!! 🙂
I was thinking about it all day yesterday and forgot all about it today. Wow! Merry Christmas!!
Sounds so delish! Will have I give it a try soon!! 🙂 Thanx for sharing Natasha! 😉
You’re so welcome 🙂
Yum! I love split pea soup. It’s so homey and comforting. I could probably live just on soups:). This soup looks wonderful.
I totally agree. That would be a good goal; to eat a soup a day! 🙂
Oh, how sweet of your hubby 🙂 Great job, Vadim!!!
I got a question: do you think green peas will work as well?
Thank you.
P.S. Merry Christmas !!! (Celebrated today in Ukraine 🙂 )
Yes you can use the green dried split peas. My mon prefers the flavor of the yellow ones 🙂