My curried split pea soup is hearty, healthy, and absolutely delicious! A handful of warming spices is the key to transforming an otherwise ordinary batch of soup into a legit flavor-bomb! This soup is also super easy to make on one pot. Pair it up with a salad or some crusty bread for an amazingly comforting dinner that's simple enough for a busy weeknight.
Not to brag or anything, but split pea soups are one of my specialties. Seriously, my husband is always telling me how he always found split pea soup to be pretty underwhelming, until he tried mine. That's kind of funny because I don't have a split pea soup recipe. I have many! My smoky vegetarian split pea soup, yellow split pea soup, mulligatawny soup, and split pea soup with basmati rice are all delicious, but I think this curried split pea soup is a new household favorite.
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This curried split pea soup is pretty simple, and that's one of the things I love about it. We're really just adding a few spices and some fresh cilantro to what would otherwise be a pretty basic recipe, but those additions totally take the flavor over the top.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Olive oil. Another high heat oil, such as vegetable oil, can be substituted if it's more convenient.
- Onion.
- Carrots.
- Garlic.
- Spices. You will need curry powder, garam masala, ground cumin, black pepper, and ground cloves for this recipe. You should be able to find them all in the spice aisle of your grocery store.
- Vegetable broth.
- Dried split peas.
- Potato. The recipe calls for a Russet potato, but other varieties like red or yellow potatoes will work just fine.
- Lemon juice. A tiny bit of this adds a lot of flavor. Make sure it's freshly squeezed, please — the bottled stuff just won't cut it.
- Salt.
- Fresh cilantro. You can leave this out if you're not into it. Some folks find it soapy tasting!
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Heat up some oil in a pot, then add your diced onion and sliced carrots. Cook the vegetables for a few minutes to start softening them up.
Step 2: Stir in minced garlic and all of your spices. Cook the mixture while stirring for about a minute. Be careful not to let anything burn.
Step 3: Add the broth, split peas, and diced potato. Raise the heat and bring the broth to a boil.
Step 4: Lower the heat and cover the pot. Let the soup simmer until the peas are very soft, adding water if it gets too thick.
Tip: Keep a kettle of hot water on the stove so you can add it to the pot if needed. Using hot water will prevent your soup from cooling down too much.
Step 5: Take the pot off of heat and add some lemon juice, fresh cilantro, and salt to taste, if you think it's needed.
Step 6: Your curried split pea soup is ready to enjoy! I love to serve mine with some crusty bread or vegan naan.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover curried split pea soup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days, or in the freezer for about three months. It will continue to thicken up as it sits and cools. Heating it up will loosen it up a bit, but you may need to add some water to get it back to it's original consistency.
Variations
- Add veggies. Stir in some finely chopped veggies when the soup is almost done cooking. Cauliflower, spinach, kale, and green beans would all work well.
- Make it extra spicy. For some heat, add cayenne pepper to the spice blend, or season the soup with your favorite hot sauce when it's done cooking.
- Add some beans. Stir in a can of chickpeas or lentils when the soup is almost done cooking. This will add some texture and protein to the soup!
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure is!
You can! The flavor will be slightly milder and sweeter.
Absolutely! Use water or vegetable broth to sweat your vegetables in steps one and two.
Nope! But you can, if you'd like. Soaking your split peas will cut down on the cook time for the soup slightly.
More Soups
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📖 Recipe
Curried Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 7 cups vegetable broth
- 1 pound dried split peas
- 1 medium russet potato, diced (about ½ inch)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt, to taste
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion and carrots. Sweat the vegetables for about ten minutes, until they begin to soften up, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the garlic, curry powder, garam masala, cumin, black pepper, and cloves. Cook the mixture for about one minute, until it becomes very fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent anything from burning.
- Stir in the broth, split peas, and potato. Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Lower the heat until the liquid is just cooking at a low simmer, then cover the pot. Allow the soup to simmer, covered, for 45 minutes to one hour, until the peas are very soft (Note 1). Uncover the pot occasionally to check on the heat level and give the soup a stir. You can add some hot water if the soup becomes too thick at any point.
- Take the pot off of heat and stir in the lemon juice. Season the soup with salt to taste, if needed, then stir in the cilantro.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
- Cook the soup to your desired consistency. A shorter simmer time will give you a more textured soup, with some bits of the peas in tact, while a longer simmer time will completely break down the peas and give you a creamer soup.
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This soup has excellent flavor; that being said (with the expiration date on the package of split peas 12.2025), I cooked the soup nearly 2 hours, and noted definite resistance with about half of the peas. Today I am cooking the leftover soup; I’m into the simmer an hour and a half, and still have peas that are al dente. I’d strongly suggest soaking the peas, if you like a smoother texture.
Just absolutely delicious!
Should the soup be covered while simmering? Your photo looks like you blended the soup. Should it be blended?
No need to cover the soup or blend it. Split peas fall apart after you simmer them for a while - that's why it looks like it's been blended.
in the directions you said lentils---you did mean green split peas, right?
Yes - just updated the post to correct that. Thanks for catching it!
We had it tonight and love it. I did add some cubed potato to it. Really tasty.
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know. :)
Curry flavours and soup - two of my favourite things!
Yum!
Nourishing Amelia | Food, Health and Lifestyle Blogger
I totally agree that curry is an amazing way to liven up any dish, especially something like soup! This looks so, so tasty :)