Easy Instant Pot Split Pea Soup (with Leftover Chicken Breast!)

Feel like making a hearty, nutritious soup but don't know which one to make? Try this delicious Instant Pot Split Pea Soup that is made with delicious split peas, cooked leftover chicken, and delicious veggies and seasonings that all come together easily in an Instant Pot!

It's not only light but also tastes rich and satisfying. Perfect for a chilly, fall day or evening, or even in the dead of winter. It's comforting and hearty, making it perfect for whenever you want something to make you feel warm and cozy inside.

What's best is that it's made in an Instant Pot that cuts the time it takes to make it in more than half! And easily cooks peas all the way through without having to spend hours simmering them! 

Want to learn how to make this delicious Instant Pot Split Pea Soup? Then keep on reading!

What is an Instant Pot Split Pea Soup?

A split pea soup is a delicious hearty soup that's made primarily with split peas, delicious fresh vegetables like carrots and potatoes, along with some cooked leftover meat like cooked chicken breast, or even some leftover ham.

And instant pot split pea soup is when it's all conveniently cooked in an Instant Pot®, making the process really quick and easy, especially since peas can sometimes be tricky to work with and can take a lot of time to cook all the way through.

This is an incredibly nutritious and tasty way of getting some protein and healthy carbohydrates into your kids in the easiest way possible! It's so easy that you can easily make this for a weeknight dinner!

What Makes This Instant Pot Split Pea Soup Recipe Special?

The recipe itself is fairly easy to make. However, sometimes there can still be a tough ingredient to tackle, even in a straightforward recipe like this one. For me, that was peas.

Even with decent cooking experience I still had a tough time getting the peas fully cooked when I used to make them on a stovetop. It just took what seemed like forever of simmering the peas on low to get it to an eatable softness. And still, sometimes you'd find a hard pea in your mouth.

Now, thanks to magical little kitchen appliances like the Instant Pot that does a lot of the work for you, the recipe is easier than ever, and the peas always turn out super soft.

Soup is one comfort food my family cannot live without. Whether it’s a soothing start to a meal or a meal in itself with a good chunk of homemade bread, it can hold you for a while.

One thing we all make and have regularly is chicken, and leftover chicken is something every family has at some point. This soup is an incredible way to use it to turn it into something everyone in the family will absolutely love!

Packed with high-fiber vegetables like green peas, carrots, and potatoes, this bowl of goodness checks every box in a season like this.

Nutritious? Check. Healthy? Check. Tasty? Double check! And if you like other veggies in your soup as well, simply toss them into this already scrumptious meal. Enjoy this quick, easy, and tasty soup that's low in calories and sodium!

What You Need to Make Instant Pot Split Pea Soup at Home

You need some simple, readily-available ingredients to make this at home. Most of these ingredients you'll probably have in your pantry already. Others, like split peas, are something you can buy and store for later use making this a great backup dinner for busy nights!

Here's everything you'll need to make it at home:

Split Pea Soup Main Ingredients:

• Split peas: First of all, we'll need some split peas to make this delicious split pea soup. You can use either yellow or green split peas as both works beautifully in this recipe.
• Potatoes: Next, we need some hearty potatoes! Any variety of potatoes works well here. I've used homegrown red potatoes, but you can use yellow potatoes (Yukon Gold) as well.
• Carrots: We'll also need some carrots to add a delicious, sweet flavor to the dish that perfectly complements all the other ingredients. (I used homegrown carrots)
• Chicken: I've used some leftover baked chicken breast in this recipe. You can use any type of leftover chicken you might have, including rotisserie chicken. 
• Parsley: We'll also be using some fresh parsley in our recipe to garnish it. (I used homegrown fresh parsley)
• Onion (optional): For a deeper flavor, you can use a yellow onion but that's completely optional. 
• Olive oil: We'll also be using some olive oil to saute our ingredients inside the instant pot itself because we change the settings to pressure cook our delicious soup.

Split Pea Soup Seasonings:

• Seasonings: First of all, we'll need our most basic seasonings: salt and black pepper to perfectly season our hearty soup. 
• Garlic powder: Next, we need some garlic powder because it'll add a delicious depth to the dish and make everything taste even better.
• Mrs. Dash seasoning: This is another one of my favorite seasonings because of just how perfect of a mix of onion powder, marjoram, oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper, lemon juice powder, etc it is. I highly recommend not skipping this one, and it's a great mix that I use in many other recipes like my Instant Pot Beef Stew. 
• Chicken bouillon: To get the perfect chicken broth, I've used the Better than Bouillon paste in this recipe.
• Bay leaves: For the perfect aroma and flavor, we'll also be adding some bay leaves to our soup.
• Fresh or frozen dill: You'll also need some dill! Luckily, you can use either fresh or frozen dill in this recipe.

Instant Pot: Of course, you'll need an Instant Pot to make this delicious soup. I highly recommend buying one since it will make your life so much easier and help you make tasty dinner recipes a lot faster! 

How to Make Instant Pot Split Pea Soup (Step-by-Step)

This is a delicious recipe that I'm sure you're going to fall in love with. Instant Pot soup recipes require very little effort to prepare. Here's how to make it step by step:

How to Prep Veggies and Chicken For Split Pea Soup

First of all, we need some cooked chicken. I shredded a leftover large chicken breast.

Before making the soup (or even the night before) you can season one breast with garlic salt, black ground pepper, and Mrs. Dash seasoning and bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 F (204 C) or use any leftover chicken (or any meat, really) from last night's dinner.

Next, let's prep our veggies. Rinse, peel, chop and shred vegetables. I grated half of the carrots and sliced the second half. Rinse yellow split peas well. Pull apart (or shred) chicken breast meat into small pieces.

How to Make Split Pea Soup in an Instant Pot

Let's get started in cooking our split pea soup! Turn your Instant Pot on and press the sauté setting. The time will show 20 minutes on the display, but you only need to sauté for about 5 minutes or so.

Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, add (diced onion, optional) carrots and sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Then add shredded leftover large chicken breast and sauté for another minute or so.

Next, sprinkle all the dry seasonings: sea salt, black ground pepper, Mrs. Dash seasoning, and garlic powder, and sauté for an additional minute constantly stirring the mixture.

Finally, add 8 cups of cold water, chopped potatoes, carrots, rinsed yellow split peas, 3 to 4 small bay leaves, and 1 tbsp. of chicken bouillon paste into the instant pot.

Stir all together to combine. Turn the sauté cycle off.

How Long to Cook Split Pea Soup in Instant Pot

Click on Soup/Broth button, set the pressure cooker to high pressure, and reduce the cooking time to 15 minutes. Close the instant pot with the lid, and turn the valve to the sealing position.

The heating will start automatically. This takes about 15 minutes and the light will say “ON”. Then the instant pot will beep when heated and a 15-minute cooking time will start.

While the soup is cooking rinse and chop about a ½ cup of fresh parsley and 1 heaping tablespoon of dill.

After the soup is done cooking the timer will beep. Using a kitchen glove turn the valve to “Venting”. Do not lean over the instant pot or the coming out steam will burn your face.

After the steam is released, open the lid, turn the instant pot off, and add dill and parsley. Close the instant pot lid again and let the fresh ingredients steam through for about 5 minutes or so while the instant pot is still off.

Remove the lid and serve the soup warm. Your delicious Instant Pot Split Pea Soup is ready to be served!

Serve with any of the homemade bread recipes of your choice or my favorite crusty bread recipe. If you like your soup on the thicker side, you may use an immersion blender to cream your soup a little.

Recipe Variation Ideas for Instant Pot Split Pea Soup

This recipe is absolutely perfect as is, but if you're looking to change things up, here are a few great options: 

Meat: You can change up the meat in this dish to not only change the flavor and spice things up but to also use any leftovers you might have. Another great option apart from chicken is some leftover ham such as some thick diced ham or smoked ham hock for a delicious smoky flavor. 

Vegetables: You can add any other veggies you make like into this soup. It's incredibly versatile and just about everything goes well in it including celery, thyme, a little lemon juice, etc. 

Vegan: For a vegan option, skip the chicken and you'll still have a delicious hearty soup.

How to Store Leftover Instant Pot Split Pea Soup

You can store any leftovers you might have in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Just warm it on the stove on medium heat before serving.

Alternatively, you can also freeze this delicious soup in the freezer for up to 2 months! Just allow it to thaw overnight before reheating it on the stovetop.

More Soup Recipes You'll Love

• Instant Pot Vegetable Beef and Bean Soup Recipe
• Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Rice Soup Recipe
• The Best Zuppa Toscana Soup with Homemade Sausage
• Red Borscht (Red Beet Soup)
• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe Card

Easy Instant Pot Split Pea Soup (with Leftover Chicken Breast!)

Valya's Taste of Home

This Instant Pot Split Pea recipe is delicious, nutritious, and comforting! The step-by-step instructions make it easy for even first-time instant pot users!

4.88 from 16 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

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Chicken Split Pea Soup Ingredients

• ▢ 1 large chicken breast cooked
• ▢ 1.5 lb. – carrots
• ▢ ½ tbsp. – sea salt
• ▢ ½ tsp. – black ground pepper
• ▢ 1 tsp. – Mrs. Dash seasoning
• ▢ 1 tsp. – garlic powder
• ▢ 8 cups – cold water
• ▢ 2 lbs. – potatoes
• ▢ 1 cup – yellow split peas
• ▢ 4 small – bay leaves
• ▢ 1 tbsp. – fresh or frozen dill
• ▢ ½ cup – fresh parsley

Read More

Instructions

 

How to Prep Veggies and Chicken For Split Pea Soup

• ▢
  First of all, we need some cooked chicken. I shredded a leftover large chicken breast.
• ▢
  Before making the soup (or even the night before) you can season one breast with garlic salt, black ground pepper, and Mrs. Dash seasoning and bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 F (204 C) or use any leftover chicken (or any meat, really) from last night's dinner.
• ▢
  Next, let's prep our veggies. Rinse, peel, chop and shred vegetables. I grated half of the carrots and sliced the second half. Rinse yellow split peas well. Pull apart (or shred) chicken breast meat into small pieces.

How to Make Split Pea Soup in an Instant Pot

• ▢
  Let's get started in cooking our split pea soup! Turn your Instant Pot on and press the sauté setting. The time will show 20 minutes on the display, but you only need to sauté for about 5 minutes or so.
• ▢
  Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, add (diced onion, optional) carrots and sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Then add shredded leftover large chicken breast and sauté for another minute or so.
• ▢
  Next, sprinkle all the dry seasonings: sea salt, black ground pepper, Mrs. Dash seasoning, and garlic powder, and sauté for an additional minute constantly stirring the mixture.
• ▢
  Finally, add 8 cups of cold water, chopped potatoes, carrots, rinsed yellow split peas, 3 to 4 small bay leaves, and 1 tbsp. of chicken bouillon paste into the instant pot.
• ▢
  Stir all together to combine. Turn the sauté cycle off.

How Long to Cook Split Pea Soup in Instant Pot

• ▢
  Click on Soup/Broth button, set the pressure cooker to high pressure, and reduce the cooking time to 15 minutes. Close the instant pot with the lid, and turn the valve to the sealing position.
• ▢
  The heating will start automatically. This takes about 15 minutes and the light will say “ON”. Then the instant pot will beep when heated and a 15-minute cooking time will start.
• ▢
  While the soup is cooking rinse and chop about a ½ cup of fresh parsley and 1 heaping tablespoon of dill.
• ▢
  After the soup is done cooking the timer will beep. Using a kitchen glove turn the valve to “Venting”. Do not lean over the instant pot or the coming out steam will burn your face.
• ▢
  After the steam is released, open the lid, turn the instant pot off, and add dill and parsley. Close the instant pot lid again and let the fresh ingredients steam through for about 5 minutes or so while the instant pot is still off.
• ▢
  Remove the lid and serve the soup warm. Your delicious Instant Pot Split Pea Soup is ready to be served!

Notes

For this recipe, I’ve used homegrown carrots, potatoes, and parsley, but store-bought produce will work perfectly as well. Also, I used frozen dill, but if you have fresh dill it works best.

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