Chicken Split Pea soup is perfect for cold weather or anytime you want a bit of comfort in a bowl. With stovetop and Instant Pot instructions, this chicken and split pea soup recipe is on the dinner table in about 1 hour.
Chicken Split Pea Soup
In the Caribbean, we have soup anytime, no matter the weather. A member of a Guyanese Facebook group I follow asked if anyone else had soup for dinner on Sundays while growing up in Guyana. The response was overwhelmingly “yes” and apparently soup on Sundays was/is a Guyanese culinary tradition.
The similarities in the types of soup and the side dishes served with the soup were just heartwarming. We have a strong food culture and it lives on in the traditions we have around food. I don’t reserve soup for Sundays. I have soup anytime I feel like it and this chicken split pea soup is a good base for many soup concoctions!
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Split Pea Recipe
- Made Easy with Instant Pot: I love making soups in my Instant Pot. Just dump everything in and leave it!
- Whole30 Friendly: This nutritious soup is perfect for your Caribbean Whole30. A new rule makes yellow split peas Whole30 compatible, so feel free to enjoy this soup. Just pay attention to your bouillon cubes or just use Loisa Adobo.
- Customizable: Chicken split pea soup is a delicious base for lots of tasty additions. I share some variations below.
Ingredients for Chicken Split Pea Soup
This is a hearty and flavorful dish that combines the richness of chicken with the earthy taste of split peas. Throw in fresh veggies, herbs, potatoes, chicken bouillon, and seasonings and you have a delicious comfort meal.
- Yellow split peas: These have a mild, earthy flavor so they’re not as sweet as green split peas. Wash them before cooking; no soaking is required.
- Cooking Oil: I use avocado oil.
- Potatoes: Peeled, diced, and added for a thicker, hearty soup.
- Carrots: Add these for natural sweetness and added nutrients.
- Aromatics: I use diced celery, diced onion, and finely chopped garlic cloves.
- Fresh thyme: This fresh herb has a distinct earthy and slightly minty flavor with hints of citrus.
- Wiri wiri pepper: This is an optional ingredient but is highly encouraged if you want a kick of spice.
- Chicken bouillon cubes: Alternatively, use 1 tablespoon of Loisa Adobo. Add more to taste, if desired. Both of these are great alternatives to chicken broth or chicken stock.
- Water: This is the liquid base of the soup.
- Skinless boneless chicken thighs: Halved.
To season the chicken
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Iodized sea salt
- Parsley flakes
- Black pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Chicken Split Pea Soup
Combine the chicken, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, parsley flakes and black pepper in a bowl and then set it aside.
Stove Top Instructions:
Add oil to a large stock pot warmed on medium heat. Then add the onion and garlic and cook for about minutes, followed by the seasoned chicken, and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Add the washed split peas, celery, thyme, bouillon or Loisa Adobo and about 8 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the split peas are completely soft (this takes about 40 minutes to an hour).
Then add the potatoes, carrots, and wiri wiri peppers (if using) and about 4 more cups of water Continue to cook until the potatoes are almost mushy, then use the back of your pot spoon to crush about 1/2 of the potatoes and mix into the soup to thicken the broth. (This step is only needed if the potatoes don’t dissolve into the broth during cooking.
Instant Pot Chicken Split Pea Soup
Set your instant pot to the sauté option. When the pot is hot, add the oil and bring it up to temperature. Then add the seasoned chicken and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add the washed split peas, thyme, celery, bouillon cubes or Loisa Adobo, sliced carrots, and potatoes followed by 6 cups of water, and mix together well.
When making the soup in the instant pot, you can choose to cut the potatoes into large chunks or dice them. If diced, the potatoes will completely melt away while pressure cooking. I like it when some of the potatoes melt away and some stay intact. So I cut my potatoes into two or 4 pieces then at the very end, I crush some of the potatoes with the back of my pot spoon and mix them into the broth. This thickens the soup and makes it oh so velvety.
Then take the instant pot out of sauté mode by hitting cancel, seal up the instant pot and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes.
After the pressure cycle completes, rapid release the pressure, then add the wiri wiri pepper (if using) so that they can steam.
Give your chicken split pea soup a good stir and it is ready to eat.
Storage
Once the soup has cooled down to room temperature, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze the soup for up to 3 months.
To defrost, place it in the fridge overnight. To reheat, warm it up in a pot on the stove over medium heat until warmed through.
Tips for the Best Chicken Split Pea Soup
- Rinse and sort the dried split peas to remove any dirt or debris.
- Don’t skip the sauté. This step builds a flavorful base for the soup.
- Monitor the texture as the soup cooks. Simmer until the split peas are tender and have broken down to create a creamy consistency. This usually takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- This tastes even better the next day. Once the flavors have had time to meld, it’s truly mouthwatering!
Recipe Variations
You can make this soup exactly as written and it is delicious but you can also remix it by adding the following:
- Add some dumplings. Dumplings give this soup a nice contrast of sweetness with every bite. Try my duff recipe but make 12 little dumplings instead of 6 duff.
- Add some root veggies. Plantain (green or sweet) works really well here. As well as eddoes (malanga), cassava (yuca) and sweet potatoes
- Use bone-in chicken. A cut up whole chicken is a great option for this soup!
- Add some veggies. A handful or two of spinach and some steamed okra/o adds so much flavor and makes this soup nutrient-dense.
- Add another meat. Some chicken split pea soup recipes include diced ham.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ham, turkey, bacon, and chicken all pair well with split pea soup.
Soaking split peas is not necessary. Unlike most legumes, split peas do not require soaking before cooking because the splitting process naturally breaks down the tough outer layer of the peas, making them cook relatively quickly compared to whole dried peas.
It’s very easy to enhance the taste of split pea soup. Add a protein like chicken or ham hocks. You can also saute onions and garlic to create a foundation of flavor. Chicken bouillon cubes also have a great impact on overall taste.
Chicken and Split Pea Soup
Equipment
- Large Stockpot
- Instant Pot optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup of yellow split peas washed
- About 2 tablespoons of oil for cooking I use avocado oil
- 1 lb potatoes peeled and diced
- 3 carrots sliced
- 3 sticks of celery diced
- 1 onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 wiri wiri pepper optional
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes or 1 tablespoon of Loisa Adobo or more to taste
- 3 quarts about 12 cups of water
- 2 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs, halved
To season the chicken
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon of onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt iodized sea salt
- 1 teaspoon of parsley flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl combine the chicken, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, parsley flakes and black pepper and set aside.
Stove Top Instructions:
- Then add a large stock pot to medium heat and bring up to temperature, then add the oil and let it come up to temperature.
- Next add the onion and garlic and cook for about minutes, followed by the seasoned chicken and sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Then add the washed split peas, celery, thyme, bouillon or Loisa Adobo and about 8 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil and cook until the split peas are completely soft (this takes about 40 minutes to an hour) then add the potatoes, carrots and wiri wiri peppers (if using) and about 4 more cups of water.
- Continue to cook until the potatoes are almost mushy, then use the back of your pot spoon to crush about 1/2 of the potatoes and mix into the soup to thicken the broth. This step is only needed if the potatoes don't dissolve into the both during cooking.
Make it in the Instant Pot:
- Set your instant pot to the sauté option.
- When the pot is hot add the oil and bring up to temperature the seasoned chicken (see step 1 above) and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Then add the washed split peas, the thyme, celery, bouillon cubes or Loisa Adobo, sliced carrots and potatoes followed by 6 cups of water and mix together well.
- Then take the instant pot out of sauté mode by hitting cancel, seal up the instant pot and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes.
- After the pressure cycle completes, rapid release the pressure, then add the wiri wiri pepper (if using) so that they can steam.
- Give your soup a good stir and it is ready to eat.
Notes
I like to control my heat, so I just let my pepper steam, then I cut it open and mix it into my food while eating.
Nutrition
The information listed in the recipe card is an estimate provided by an online nutrition tool. The tool evaluates ingredient names and amounts then makes calculations based on the number of servings listed for the recipe. It is provided as a general guideline and not as a precise calculation. For precise nutrition information please feel free to add the ingredients to your preferred nutrition calculator or consult a doctor or licensed nutritionist.
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J Says
I found this recipe on Food Social, which is a slightly different version than this one, but mostly the same. I don’t have an instant pot, so I just did it in a stockpot. Also, I’m kind of lazy and didn’t really plan ahead, so I didn’t marinate the chicken. I made my adobo seasoning, so next time I’m going to try the Adobo Mojado (wet version) and marinate the chicken in that to see what it does to the flavor profile. I seared the chicken, removed it to a plate, cooked the veggies until tender. Added the 6 c water, all the spices, peas, & chicken and simmered 20-25 min. I used breasts instead of thighs and sweet potatoes instead of white, 2 tbsp. adobo instead of one, and didn’t use the Wiri Wiri (frankly, I had never heard of those and had to google them.) Anyway, I was pleased with the results, thanks!
Lori Says
If adding dumplings when would you add it to this recipe if you’re cooking with the Instant pot?
Althea Brown Says
I would add at the end and let the dumplings cook using the saute function on the instant pot.
Carol Says
This soup was awesome! I am a soup lover any time of the year and this in the IP is amazing and quick!. I followed everything to the T aside from adding leeks to it. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes with us. After I try your Roti recipe the Pepper pot is next. I will just need Axel to test the roti for me lol.
Althea Brown Says
Hahaha. I’ll start renting out Axel as a taste tester. Just be prepared for his brutal honesty.
Priya Says
Awesome recipe! Easy peasy using the instant pot. Thank you!!!
Trish Says
Hello! Can we make this soup in the instant pot? If so, how would i do it? do you recommend using the soup function? I just got my instant pot and I am trying to learn!
Althea Brown Says
You totally can. You would only need 6-8 cups of water total. I would start from step 3 in the recipe, then I would add the split peas and water. Mix everything together and cook on manual high pressure for 20 minutes. When it’s done cooking, release the steam then stir up the soup and you should be good. I’ve never used my soup function on the IP so I’m not sure. I mostly just use the manual pressure function but you can also just try it to see how many minutes it’s set for.
Carmen Says
My mother used to make a soup caLled metagy she told me it was a guayanese soup. it was made qith pig foot, salt fiah (i am not aure) casava, dumplings and coconut milk. I have been looking dor the rexipe for a long time but cannot find it. Will greatly appreciate if you can send e the recipe.
Thank yoy so much
Althea Brown Says
Hi I have a vegetarian recipe for metemgee or metagee on my site. Just use the search bar and it should come up. Metemgee the way I know it is vegetarian and then served with fried fish on the side but I guess you can add meat to the broth. Take a look and see if this is what you are looking for n