Are you looking for a simple and delicious one-pot meal? This curried split pea soup is really quick to put together for a healthy dinner that is vegan and gluten-free!
Here are a few reasons why I love this soup.
- Budget-friendly: split peas, carrots, and fresh greens are affordable no matter what season.
- Vegan: Eating vegan is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint.
- Prebiotic: Split peas are prebiotic, making this soup perfect for gut health.
- Healthy meal: For a complete meal serve this soup with homemade naan or rice.
A Simple Curried Pea Soup
While I wrote the recipe as a one-pot meal, I really recommend making it in a slow-cooker or instant pot. That’s because split peas can take a long time to cook. While split peas should only take 1 hour to soften, they can take longer if they are old. And if you bought them at a grocery store it’s hard to know exactly how old your peas are?!
The best way to cook peas is to make this soup in a slow cooker or instant pot! Here’s how to adapt the recipe.
Slow cooker:
- Add everything except the leafy greens, salt, and lime juice to the slow cooker. You can saute the vegetables in advance if you want, but I’m usually too lazy in the mornings.
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, then add the greens and cook for another 15 minutes.
- Add the salt and lime juice right before serving.
Instant Pot:
I don’t actually own an instant pot, but my mom does! So this is how she makes pea soup.
- Set the instant pot on the saute function and fry the onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger for 2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the soup ingredients, except for the leafy greens, salt, and lime juice.
- Turn off the saute function and choose the manual pressure cook option.
- Set the time for 18 minutes on high pressure. Then let it manually release before stirring in the greens, salt, and lime juice.
Curried split pea soup
Curried split pea soup is a quick and easy one-pot meal. Delicious healthy, affordable, vegan, and gluten-free! See the section above for details on how to cook this soup in a slow-cooker or an instant pot.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: South Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 cups dried split peas
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, diced
- 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tsp of cumin seed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 Tbsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 6 cups of water
- 1 bunch of fresh greens (kale, chard, or spinach)
- 2 tsp salt, to taste
- 1 lime, juiced
Toppings (for each bowl)
- A spoonful of coconut cream
- Cilantro
- Sriracha
Instructions
- Older split peas can take a while to cook. I recommend soaking split peas in advance or cooking them in a slow-cooker or instant pot. See the section above for more details.
- Heat the oil in a large pot. Add in onions and carrots, saute for 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, ginger, and cumin seed, saute until fragrant. Then add in the remaining spices and saute for another minute.
- Pour in the water. Drain and rinse the soaked split peas, then add them to the pot as well.
- Bring to a boil and simmer until the peas are soft (about 1 hour).
- Wash and chop the greens into bite-sized pieces. Add them to the pot after the peas are cooked, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Add in the lime juice and salt, to taste.
- Serve with coconut cream, cilantro, and hot sauce.
Notes
- I always make my dishes kid-friendly… because I have kids! The spices in this meal are fairly mild, if you like things spicy, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of curry powder with the greens. Just don’t add the curry powder with the rest of the spices because it is often salted. Salt will prevent the split peas from softening, even in an instant pot.
- While I like my soup chunky, my kids like it smooth. For a pureed pea soup, use an immersion blender after the greens have finished cooking.
- Recipes should be able to vary based on what is in season. Carrots and onions are usually always available (at least where I live). Use whatever greens are available: chard, collards, kale, or spinach.
- While you don’t have to use cultured coconut cream, I recommend it! Who couldn’t use a dose of probiotics?
Keywords: pea soup, curried soup, vegan, gluten free, grain free, nut free, soy free, prebiotic, winter, fall
The kids are ok with soups in general, but this one they really cheer for when they see it coming onto the table!
★★★★★
Wow! They must be adventurous eaters!
Very delicious. I used stir-fry rice noodles instead, and I add some shimeji mushrooms. It came out delicious. Make sure to caramelize well the Brussels sprouts ❤️
★★★★★
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!