I make this Green Pea Soup with frozen peas and a few aromatics. The whole recipe takes 20 minutes from start to finish. It's great on its own or with a big green salad.
This is a great gluten-free soup recipe made with frozen green peas and perfect for a dairy-free or soy-free diet. I like to garnish the soup with everything bagel seasoning. It's crunchy and adds a pleasant crunch and flavor.
Jump to:
A Great Gluten-Free Soup
This soup is gluten-free, vegan, and a good recipe for the Phase 2 Kaufmann Diet.
The soup is thick and you can control the thickness by adding more liquid. Commercial soups use cornstarch to thicken their soups, but I haven't eaten corn in many years. Check out the Phase 1 Diet to find out why. I'm sure you'll be surprised! I use lettuce to bulk up this soup a bit and add a little more fiber.
The only way to make a great pea soup is from scratch. Forget the stuff in the can--this soup is all-natural, and has no added sugar, MSG, yeast extract, or questionable ingredients! You're going to love it!
What's the Difference Between Green Split Peas and Whole Peas?
Split peas and green peas are both seeds of the Pisum Sativum plant. Whole green peas are peeled, dried, and split to make split peas.
Dried peas have to cook longer than fresh or frozen peas, so I like to cook frozen whole peas. If I had fresh peas, I would use them in this recipe and you should too. Fresh peas are sweet and really a gift from nature. Unfortunately, there's no chance of getting fresh peas in Key Largo, Florida. We have to use what we have! I got these peas at Publix.
Can I Make This Recipe with Dried Peas?
If split peas are what you have, you can substitute green split peas in this recipe. Follow the recipe using half the amount of split peas. Simmer the peas for 40 minutes with the cover open a little and check if the peas are soft. Continue cooking, until the peas are tender; it could take up to an hour. The older, the peas are, the longer they will take to cook.
What You Need To Make The Soup
- Olive oil: I use pure olive oil to briefly saute the onions and shallot. Use olive oil, avocado oil, or another neutral oil.
- Onion: yellow or white onions work well here.
- Shallot: a milder version of garlic, tastes like a cross between onion and garlic.
- Frozen peas: I make this soup with Publix frozen peas. You can use whatever your grocer has.
- Lettuce: I use Romaine lettuce, which is always on hand. Iceberg and green leaf lettuces would work well too.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley adds flavor.
- Liquid: water or homemade chicken soup or bone broth. You will fare better with water than chicken stock or bone broth from a can or carton.
- Salt: I used sea salt for this pot of soup. Redmond's Real Salt would be a great substitute.
- Black pepper: Use freshly ground black pepper.
- Garnish: I like to finish the soup with toasted sesame seeds and Everything Bagel Seasoning. If you like the taste of sesame, you can drizzle the soup with sesame oil before serving.
How to Make Green Pea Soup
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with a little salt, and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the shallot and cook another two minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Bring the liquid (water or stock) to a boil
- Add the cooked onions, shallot, shredded lettuce, parsley, water or stock, and frozen peas. Season with a big pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower it to a simmer (right below the boiling point). Cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove the cover and let the soup cool for a few minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, a blender or a food processor, blend until smooth. If you're using a blender, blend in two or three batches.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- If the soup seems thin, you can pour it back into the pot and cook it down for a few minutes to tighten it up. Also, if you would like a thinner soup, add a little more stock or water and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
How To Make Vegan Pea Soup
When I have homemade Bone Broth or chicken soup available, I use that for the liquid in this soup. However, you can make this soup vegan. Just use water or vegetable stock for the liquid and follow the directions on the recipe card.
FAQ
My homemade green pea soup recipe is very filling. It has 176 calories and 8 grams of fiber per serving. Soup in a can is high in sodium and could have flavor enhancers, added sugar, and preservatives. This is a much healthier soup, and it tastes better too!
You can store the pea soup in your refrigerator for three days.
Of course! Let the soup cool to room temperature and pour into an airtight container. It should be good for about 3 months. Date the container with a marker so it doesn't get lost in the freezer.
Pea Soup is traditionally garnished with croutons. For a crunchy gluten-free garnish, I garnish my pea soup with Everything Bagel Seasoning and/or toasted sesame seeds. The salty garnish gives a good flavor to the soup. You can also use some fried onions or whole peas.
Recipe for Bone Broth
Check out my Homemade Bone Broth and Old-Fashioned Chicken Soup or Chicken Feet Soup and Bone Broth recipe, which can be used for the liquid in this recipe.
"📖 Recipe"
Homemade Green Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and sliced thin
- 1 shallot peeled and chopped
- 5 cups frozen or fresh green peas
- 2 cups shredded lettuce iceberg or Romaine
- 4 parsley sprigs
- 2 cups homemade bone broth, chicken stock or water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning or toasted sesame seeds (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with a little salt and pepper, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the shallot and cook another two minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the onions and shallots are cooking, bring 5 cups of water or stock (bone broth, chicken, or vegetable) to a boil. When boiling, add the cooked onions, shallots, peas, lettuce, parsley, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove the cover and let the soup cool for a few minutes.
- Using a immersion blender, a blender or food processor, blend until smooth. If you're using a blender, blend in two or three batches.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- If the puree is a little thin, boil rapidly, uncovered, until some of the liquid boils off. If it is too thick, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of liquid and cook for a few minutes.
- Serve hot with everything bagel seasoning.
