Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Chicken is the ultimate bowl of comfort, designed to warm you from the inside out. This hearty and wholesome recipe combines vibrant vegetables, savory chicken, and aromatic Italian seasoning, all slow-cooked to perfection. It’s an incredibly satisfying meal that promises to become a family favorite, perfect for chilly evenings or anytime you crave a nourishing, easy-to-prepare dinner.
For more delicious and healthy soup ideas, be sure to explore my healthy asparagus soup recipe – another fantastic option for a light yet fulfilling meal!
There’s something uniquely comforting about a warm bowl of soup, and this Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Chicken truly delivers. Unlike traditional split pea soup often made with ham, this recipe features tender chicken, making it a wonderful alternative that’s equally flavorful and incredibly versatile. It’s packed with an array of nutrient-rich vegetables and cooked effortlessly in your slow cooker, ensuring a delicious and hands-off approach to dinner. The rich, creamy texture and deep flavors make it an instant classic.
Despite its humble green appearance, split pea soup is a powerhouse of taste and nutrition. This wholesome rendition is exceptionally delicious, offering a satisfying blend of savory and earthy notes. Serve it alongside some warm, crusty rolls or a crisp, fresh green salad for a complete meal that’s guaranteed to delight everyone at your table. It’s perfect for meal prep, too, as the flavors only deepen over time.
Why You’ll Love This Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Chicken
This easy chicken split pea soup recipe isn’t just another dish; it’s a smart choice for busy households seeking delicious, nutritious, and convenient meals. Here are several compelling reasons why this recipe deserves a spot in your weekly rotation:
- Effortless Convenience: The beauty of a slow cooker meal lies in its simplicity. After a minimal amount of initial sautéing, you simply combine all ingredients in your crockpot, set it, and forget it. This allows you to go about your day while a healthy, flavorful dinner cooks itself. Imagine coming home to the inviting aroma of a perfectly cooked meal, ready and waiting!
- Nutritionally Wholesome: This soup is a powerhouse of goodness. It provides ample lean protein from the chicken, keeping you feeling full and satisfied. Furthermore, it’s loaded with an assortment of vegetables like carrots, celery, and peas, delivering essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Split peas themselves are incredibly nutritious, rich in protein, fiber, and various micronutrients, making this a truly balanced meal.
- Perfect for Family Meals: Feeding a family can be challenging, but this recipe makes it easy. It’s incredibly budget-friendly, using readily available and affordable ingredients. The flavors are universally appealing, ensuring even picky eaters will find something to love. This recipe yields a generous 8 servings, providing plenty for a large family dinner or ample leftovers for quick lunches throughout the week, saving you time and effort on subsequent meals.
- Hearty & Comforting: On a cold day, nothing beats a warm bowl of hearty soup. This split pea soup with chicken offers a thick, creamy texture and a rich, savory flavor profile that provides deep comfort and warmth. It’s the quintessential comfort food without being heavy.
- Excellent for Meal Prep: This soup holds up beautifully in the refrigerator and freezer, making it an ideal candidate for meal prepping. You can cook a large batch on the weekend and enjoy wholesome meals throughout the busiest weekdays.
- Customizable and Versatile: While the recipe is fantastic as is, it’s also highly adaptable. You can easily adjust the seasonings, add more vegetables, or even swap out the protein (see our tips below!).
Essential Ingredients for Your Chicken Split Pea Soup
Crafting this flavorful and healthy chicken split pea soup requires a selection of fresh, wholesome ingredients that work together to create a deeply satisfying dish. The addition of chicken not only enhances the flavor profile but also provides a significant boost of lean protein, making the soup even more filling. Here’s a detailed look at everything you’ll need to make this incredible slow cooker meal:
- Fresh Vegetables: These form the aromatic base of our soup. You’ll need:
- White Onion: Diced finely, it provides a sweet and pungent foundation when sautéed.
- Carrots: Diced, they add natural sweetness, beautiful color, and a wealth of Vitamin A.
- Celery: Diced, it contributes a subtle, fresh, and slightly peppery flavor, completing the classic “mirepoix.”
- Garlic: Minced, it offers an indispensable aromatic punch that elevates the entire soup.
- Dried Split Peas: The star of the show! These small, dried legumes break down beautifully during slow cooking, creating the soup’s signature thick and creamy texture. Green split peas are most common, but yellow can also be used. Remember to rinse them thoroughly before use to remove any dust or debris.
- Olive Oil: Essential for sautéing the vegetables, drawing out their flavors and creating a rich depth for the soup base.
- Flavorful Seasoning: The right blend of herbs and spices is key to a truly delicious soup.
- Italian Seasoning: A fragrant mix of dried herbs like oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary, it imparts a warm, aromatic, and savory Mediterranean flavor that complements the vegetables and chicken wonderfully.
- Salt and Pepper: These fundamental seasonings are crucial for enhancing all the other flavors in the soup and should be adjusted to your personal taste at the end of cooking.
- Rich Broth: The liquid base that carries all the delicious flavors.
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth: I recommend using low-sodium broth to control the overall saltiness of the soup. It provides a savory depth that water alone cannot achieve. You can also use vegetable broth for a vegetarian option or even bone broth for added collagen and nutrients.
- Water: Used in conjunction with the broth to achieve the perfect consistency and volume for your slow cooker.
- Cooked Chicken: The protein component that makes this soup extra hearty.
- Leftover Chicken or Rotisserie Chicken: This is where convenience truly shines! Using pre-cooked chicken (shredded or chopped) means less prep time and ensures the chicken stays tender without overcooking. It’s an excellent way to use up leftovers or quickly assemble a meal.
- For Serving and Garnish: These optional additions elevate the presentation and add an extra layer of flavor and texture.
- Fresh Parsley: Finely chopped, it adds a vibrant pop of color and a fresh, herbaceous note.
- Parmesan Cheese: A sprinkle of grated Parmesan adds a salty, umami richness that complements the soup beautifully.
- Croutons: For an added crunch and textural contrast, homemade or store-bought croutons are a fantastic topping.
Step-by-Step Guide: Making Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
One of the many joys of slow cooker recipes is their largely hands-off nature, and this slow cooker split pea soup is no exception. While a brief sauté of the vegetables at the beginning builds a fantastic flavor base, the crockpot does the heavy lifting, allowing the ingredients to slowly meld and intensify into a deeply delicious and aromatic meal. Follow these simple steps to create a comforting pot of split pea soup with chicken.
- Sauté the Aromatics and Peas: Begin by heating the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for about 5 minutes until they start to soften and become fragrant. This step is crucial for developing a rich depth of flavor. Next, add the minced garlic and the rinsed dried split peas. Cook for an additional 30 seconds, stirring constantly. This brief sauté with the garlic awakens its flavors and gently toasts the peas, contributing to a more complex taste in the final soup.
- Transfer to Slow Cooker and Combine: Carefully transfer the sautéed vegetable and pea mixture from the soup pot into your slow cooker. Stir in the Italian seasoning, chicken broth, and water. Ensure all ingredients are well combined and the peas are submerged in the liquid. This is when the foundational flavors are set before the slow cooking process truly begins.
- Slow Cook to Perfection: Place the lid on your slow cooker and set the cooking time. For a longer, gentler cook, set it to LOW for 8 hours. If you’re short on time, you can cook it on HIGH for 4-5 hours. The longer cooking time on low often results in a deeper flavor, but both settings will yield a wonderfully tender and creamy soup as the split peas break down.
- Add the Chicken and Season: Once the cooking time is complete and the soup has thickened to your liking, gently stir in the pre-cooked chopped or shredded chicken. Allow it to heat through for about 10-15 minutes in the warm soup. Taste the soup and season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remember, seasonings are vital to bringing out the best in the ingredients, so adjust until it’s perfectly balanced to your palate.
- Garnish and Serve: Ladle the hot soup into individual bowls. For an extra touch of freshness and flavor, garnish each serving with a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley and a dusting of grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately with your favorite accompaniments and savor this wholesome, comforting meal.
Chef’s Tips & Variations for Perfect Split Pea Soup
Elevate your slow cooker chicken split pea soup with these expert tips and delightful variations:
- Time-Saving Hacks: For those exceptionally busy days, every minute counts. Consider purchasing pre-chopped mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery) from your grocery store’s produce section, or opt for frozen chopped vegetables. This significantly reduces your prep time, allowing you to get the soup into the crockpot even faster.
- Achieve Extra Creaminess: If you desire an even silkier, more luxurious texture, a simple trick is to blend a portion of the soup. Before adding the cooked chicken, remove about 1/4 to 1/3 of the soup. Use an immersion blender directly in the slow cooker (or transfer the portion to a regular blender, being careful with hot liquids) to blend until completely smooth. Stir the blended soup back into the main pot. This technique naturally thickens the soup and creates a wonderfully creamy consistency without adding any dairy.
- Vegetarian or Vegan Option: Easily adapt this recipe to suit dietary preferences. To make it vegetarian or vegan, simply omit the chicken entirely. Instead of chicken broth, use a high-quality vegetable broth. You can add extra vegetables like diced potatoes, sweet potatoes, or spinach in the last hour of cooking for added substance and nutrition. Plant-based proteins like crumbled tempeh or lentils (cooked separately or added with the split peas) can also be incorporated.
- Serving Suggestions Beyond the Bowl: While delicious on its own, pairing this soup with the right sides can transform it into a truly memorable meal. Serve it with warm, crusty bread or garlic bread for soaking up every last drop of the savory broth. Crackers, a side salad, or even grilled cheese sandwiches make excellent companions. For a heartier meal, consider serving small portions as a starter to a main course.
- Enhance Flavor with Fresh Herbs: Don’t underestimate the power of fresh herbs. While Italian seasoning provides a great base, a handful of fresh thyme, rosemary, or marjoram added in the last 30 minutes of cooking can brighten the flavors considerably.
- Adjusting Consistency: As split pea soup cools, it tends to thicken. If your leftovers are too thick for your liking, simply stir in a splash of extra chicken or vegetable broth (or water) when reheating until you reach your desired consistency.
- Smoky Flavor Twist: If you enjoy a hint of smokiness, a pinch of smoked paprika or a very small amount of liquid smoke (just a drop or two) can add a wonderful depth, especially if omitting ham.
Frequently Asked Questions About Split Pea Soup
Split peas are simply dried, peeled, and split seeds of the pea plant. They are typically available in green or yellow varieties. Because they have been split, they cook much faster and more evenly than whole dried peas, eliminating the need for pre-soaking. They have a mild, slightly earthy flavor with a subtle sweetness, similar to fresh green peas. When cooked, split peas become incredibly tender and naturally break down, creating a wonderfully creamy and thick texture for soups and stews.
One of the best features of split peas is that they generally do not require any pre-soaking before cooking. This makes them incredibly convenient for quick meal preparation, much like lentils. However, it is highly recommended to rinse them thoroughly under cold running water before adding them to your soup to remove any lingering dirt, debris, or starches.
Seasoning is absolutely key to transforming a bland split pea soup into a flavorful masterpiece! Don’t be shy with your seasonings. Start by building a strong aromatic base with sautéed onions, carrots, and celery. Beyond that, generous use of Italian seasoning, bay leaves, dried thyme, and a good amount of salt and pepper (adjusted at the end) can make a huge difference. Crucially, always use a flavorful liquid base like chicken broth or bone broth instead of plain water. A splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice at the end can also brighten the flavors significantly.
Split peas naturally thicken as they cook and break down, often creating a rich, creamy consistency on their own. However, if you desire an even thicker soup, you have a few options:
- Blending: As mentioned in our expert tips, remove a portion of the soup (about 1/4 to 1/3) and blend it until smooth with an immersion or regular blender, then stir it back in. This is a natural, healthy way to thicken it without adding extra ingredients.
- Cornstarch or Flour Slurry: Whisk 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch or all-purpose flour with an equal amount of cold water or broth until smooth. Stir this slurry into the simmering soup during the last 30 minutes of cooking and allow it to cook until thickened.
- Mashed Potato: For a subtly starchy and creamy thickener, mash one small boiled potato and stir it into the soup. The starch from the potato will help bind the liquid and thicken the consistency.
- Simply Cook Longer: If your soup isn’t thick enough, sometimes all it needs is a bit more simmering time with the lid off to allow some of the liquid to evaporate, naturally concentrating and thickening the soup.
While you can add frozen green peas for extra color and freshness towards the end of cooking, they are not a substitute for dried split peas. Dried split peas are essential for achieving the creamy, thick texture characteristic of split pea soup, as they break down during the long cooking process. Frozen peas retain their shape and would not provide the necessary thickening. If adding frozen peas, stir them in during the last 15-20 minutes of cooking so they don’t become mushy.
Yes, this Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Chicken is naturally gluten-free! All the ingredients – split peas, vegetables, chicken, broth, and seasonings – are typically gluten-free. Always double-check your broth and Italian seasoning labels to ensure they don’t contain any hidden gluten-containing ingredients, especially if you have a severe allergy or sensitivity.
Storage and Reheating Recommendations
One of the many benefits of this slow cooker split pea soup is how wonderfully it stores. In fact, many believe the flavors deepen and improve overnight, making leftovers even more delicious than the first serving! Here’s how to properly store and reheat your soup:
- In the Refrigerator: Allow the soup to cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container. It will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Keep in mind that split pea soup naturally thickens significantly as it cools. When you’re ready to reheat, you may need to add a splash of chicken broth or water to achieve your desired thinner consistency.
- To Reheat:
- Stovetop: For larger portions or if reheating from a thickened state, gently reheat the soup in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add broth or water as needed to thin it out.
- Microwave: For individual servings, transfer the soup to a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 1-2 minute intervals, stirring in between, until heated through. Add a little liquid if it’s too thick.
- To Freeze: This soup freezes beautifully, making it an excellent option for long-term meal prep.
- Ensure the soup has completely cooled to room temperature before freezing.
- Transfer it to freezer-safe containers, leaving about an inch of headspace to allow for expansion. Alternatively, you can use heavy-duty freezer bags (laying them flat for easier storage once frozen).
- The soup will maintain its quality in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Thawing and Reheating from Frozen: To enjoy, simply transfer the frozen soup from the freezer to the refrigerator and let it thaw overnight. Once thawed, reheat it using the stovetop or microwave methods described above, adding liquid if necessary to adjust the consistency.
More Hearty and Healthy Soup Recipes to Explore
If you loved this Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Chicken, you’re in for a treat! Our collection of soup recipes is brimming with wholesome and flavorful options perfect for any occasion. From comforting classics to exciting new flavors, there’s a soup for every craving. Expand your culinary repertoire with these delicious ideas:
- Hearty Beef Noodle Soup
- Flavorful Mexican Chicken Soup
- Rustic Italian Chicken and Bean Soup
- Bright Chicken Lemon Rice Soup
- Creamy Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Comforting Sausage and White Bean Soup
- Nutrient-Packed White Bean and Kale Soup
- Velvety Creamy Chicken Broccoli Soup
We hope you enjoy making and savoring this incredible Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Chicken. It’s a testament to how simple ingredients, combined with the magic of slow cooking, can create a truly memorable meal. If you try this recipe and love it, please take a moment to leave us your feedback in the comment section below and don’t forget to give it a star rating! Your reviews help others discover and enjoy these recipes. We would also be thrilled if you shared this recipe with your friends and family.
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Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Chicken
Equipment
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Slow cooker
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Chef’s knife
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Wooden cutting board
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 white onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 celery sticks, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound dried split peas, rinsed
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups chopped/shredded cooked chicken
- OPTIONAL: Freshly chopped fresh parsley and ground parmesan, for garnish
Instructions
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Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the minced garlic and dried split peas and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
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Transfer the sautéed mixture to your slow cooker. Stir in the Italian seasoning, chicken broth, and water until well combined.
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Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours, or until the split peas are very tender and have broken down to create a creamy soup.
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Once the soup is done cooking, stir in the cooked chopped or shredded chicken and allow it to heat through for about 10-15 minutes. Taste and season generously with kosher salt and black pepper to your preference.
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Ladle the hot soup into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- Storing in the refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Note that the soup will thicken as it sits; add broth or water when reheating to adjust consistency as needed.
- To reheat: Reheat individual portions in the microwave or larger amounts on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through.
- To freeze: Allow the soup to cool completely. Transfer to a freezer-safe container or bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.