Split peas normally take 45 minutes to an hour of simmering before they are tender enough for soup. In this hearty, nourishing soup split peas are first ground in a blender or coffee mill. This drastically reduces their cooking time, down to as little as 10 minutes. It can be prepared whenever you need a quick, hot meal. As a matter of fact, this soup is so easy to make that even children can learn to prepare it with little or no supervision. Plus it’s absolutely scrumptious!
First you need a blender or coffee mill. If you don’t have one then you can’t prepare this recipe. Blenders are one of the most useful kitchen machines one can own. Watch yard sales and thrift stores until you find one in good condition. Discount Department stores often have them inexpensively too. Better yet, ask for one as a gift for your birthday or another holiday.
Almost Instant Split Pea Soup Mix
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup split peas
- 1 tablespoon soy bacon bits
- 1 tablespoon dry onions
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons broth powder or 2 bouillon cubes
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon thyme
- Pinch Ground Red Pepper or Red Pepper Flakes
Directions
Measure the split peas and pour them into a blender. If you’re using a coffee mill then process the split peas 1/4-cup at a time. A blender can handle the whole half-cup at once. Process the split peas until they grind down into a grainy powder. This takes a full minute of blender time, sometimes up to 2 minutes.
Do not try to grind more than 1/2-cup of split peas at a time. More than that is too big a load for your blender and will overheat the motor.
After you turn the blender off do not remove the lid right away. Let the split pea dust settle first. If you open the blender up as soon as you’re done grinding then a big cloud of split pea dust will rise from the blender and cover everything on the counter with a light dusting of peas. It’s easily removed with a damp dishcloth but even easier to prevent in the first place.
After letting the dust settle pour the split pea powder into a small sandwich bag. Add the remaining ingredients to the sandwich bag. Seal it with a twist-tie or its plastic zipper. Label the bag as suggested below and store on the pantry shelf to use as needed. Make several at once for the most time and work savings.
Split Pea Soup Mix
Date
Add 3C water & 1T margarine.
Simmer 10-15 min.
To Prepare
In a 2-quart saucepan combine 1-packet of your Instant Split Pea Soup Mix, 3-cups of water and 1-tablespoon of margarine or vegetable oil. Stir the mixture so the split peas don’t clump up. Place the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. When the soup is thick and the pea puree is tender it’s ready to serve.
When served with toasted bread or cornbread and perhaps a glass of fruit juice, this makes a hearty meal for 1 person. It also makes 2 moderate servings that can be a nice meal with egg salad sandwiches or rice cakes plus carrot and celery sticks on the side.
In the winter I especially like this soup with hot chocolate. The flavors just seem right together.
Since this soup is so popular at my house, and so cheap besides, I make up 5-batches at a time which takes 1-full pound of split peas. If you have it once a week for lunch then a pound of split peas will make about a month’s supply at 30¢ to 40¢ per batch, depending on the cost of peas and margarine or oil.
Yayyyy, a way to make split pea soup that doesn’t require a full load of split peas, and freezing the leftovers. This is a much thriftier way of using split peas, who don’t have family members who like it, or who may have only one or two members of the family. Thank you again Miss Maggie, this soup along with the wheat biscuits will be wonderful on chillier days ahead!
Oh Yay! That’s a problem I’ve faced too. I love, Love, LOVE split pea soup. I can easily eat it every week. My kids though, they get sort of tired of it if I serve it too often. With this recipe I can have it quick and easy any time I want. If you drink milk, you can add a little bit to the soup right before serving. This gives it a creamier texture. If you dont’ drink milk then dairy-free creamer would work too. So glad you find it useful Karoline 🙂 I’m trying to get up more of my fall recipes as the weather starts to change.
I made four bags of this soup this morning. I love split pea soup and this was so easy to put together. Thank your for this recipe.
*Big Grin* I’m so glad Pat. It’s funny, when I came up with this recipe I was absolutely delighted with myself. I mean, I felt like I had figured out something good. It was cheap, easy, time saving, hearty, healthy and good tasting. I told my guys all about it and they looked at me like “What’s the Big Deal?” They were uninterested and couldn’t figure out why I was so happy about it. Now I look at my blog, and in less than 12-hours I have 2 other women, peers, who are just like I was. “Woo Hoo, what a cool idea. This makes pea soup so easy!” I cannot even describe how vindicated I feel now. My guys are a cooperative bunch, but they just don’t get why this would be so satisfying to me.
Thanks so much for the feedback. Any frustration I was feeling is gone now, washed away with gratitude. My readers are the abolute BEST!
I just made a test run of this soup mix this morning. I followed instructions EXCEPT, I can’t totally leave a recipe alone, I have this “thing” about making it my own. So, here’s the adjustments I made for my own personal taste. I cut back on the black pepper, and thyme, by about half. I also added only one tsp chicken bouillon and added 1/2 tsp Goya ham seasoning, for a hammy, smoky flavor. To add creaminess, I dissolved some instant milk in about 1/2 cup of water, and then followed the rest of the instructions as given. WONDERFUL Soup! couldn’t have come at a better time since the weather is definitely cooling off here in the south (at least in my part of it) having this for lunch and have made four packets for the future. Thanks so much miss maggie! 🙂
My pleasure Karoline. 🙂 I can’t leave a recipe alone either. I have adapt all of the to my own personal taste, and my pocket book too. So happy you enjoyed this one. It’s a real time saver too.