French Canadian Pea Soup

French Canadian Pea Soup, also known as soupe aux pois, is a simple, hearty soup made with yellow split peas, ham, vegetables, and savoury herbs. It’s thick, filling, inexpensive to make, and especially good during the colder months.

This is also a great recipe for using leftover ham after a holiday dinner. As the split peas cook, they soften and break down naturally, giving the soup its creamy texture without needing cream.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This is the kind of old-fashioned recipe that makes a big pot with simple ingredients. It’s warm, comforting, and satisfying enough to serve as a full meal.

It also freezes very well, so you can make a large batch and save portions for another day.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
3 onions, chopped
2 cups grated celery
3 pounds dried yellow split peas
12 cups chicken broth
12 cups water
3 pounds or more cured ham, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup grated carrots
1 tablespoon dried summer savoury
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
Salt, to taste

How to Make French Canadian Pea Soup

1. Cook the Vegetables

Melt the butter in a very large pot over medium-high heat.

Add the chopped onions and celery. Cook until the vegetables soften and the onions become translucent.

2. Add the Peas and Ham

Add the yellow split peas, chicken broth, water, ham, and carrots.

Bring everything to a boil.

Cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and let the mixture sit for about 1 hour. This gives the dried peas time to soften before the final cooking.

3. Simmer the Soup

Return the pot to the stove and bring it back to a boil.

Add the summer savoury, bay leaf, and black pepper.

Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer until the split peas are very soft and begin to break down. The soup should become thick and creamy.

Stir occasionally, especially as the soup thickens, to prevent anything from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

4. Adjust the Thickness

French Canadian pea soup can be served quite thick or a little thinner.

If it becomes thicker than you like, simply stir in a little extra water or chicken broth until it reaches the consistency you prefer.

For an extra-smooth soup, you can briefly use an immersion blender, but this is optional. The peas naturally create a creamy texture as they cook.

5. Season and Serve

Remove the bay leaf.

Taste the soup before adding salt because cured ham and chicken broth can already contain quite a bit of salt.

Serve hot with crusty bread or sliced baguette.

What Kind of Peas Should You Use?

Yellow split peas are the traditional choice for this style of French Canadian pea soup.

Green split peas will also cook properly, but they will give the soup a different colour and slightly different flavour.

There is normally no need to soak split peas overnight for this recipe.

What Kind of Ham Works Best?

This soup is perfect for leftover cooked or cured ham. Holiday ham, picnic ham, ham shank, or other cooked ham can all work well.

You can also add a leftover ham bone while the soup cooks for even more flavour. Remove the bone before serving and add any usable pieces of meat back to the soup.

Avoid strongly sweet-glazed pieces of ham if possible, since flavours such as pineapple or very sweet glazes can change the traditional savoury flavour of the soup.

About Summer Savoury

Summer savoury gives the soup an extra herbal flavour that works particularly well with peas and ham.

If you have it, it is worth using. The soup can still be made without it, but the flavour will be a little different.

Storage

Allow leftover soup to cool before transferring it to an airtight container.

Keep it refrigerated for up to about 5 days.

The soup also freezes very well. Store cooled portions in freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze for up to 6 months.

Keep in mind that pea soup usually becomes much thicker after refrigeration. When reheating it, add a splash of water or broth until it returns to your preferred consistency.