French Canadian Split pea Soup Is an absolutely amazing winter (or any time) soup.
It has a hearty taste to it that will really stick to your ribs and keep you warm and full in those hard winter climates. It is also super delicious. I usually make this soup after I make a Canadian Pork Cottage Roll as the extra broth from that makes an amazing stock base.
It is extra easy to make French Canadian Split Pea Soup Instant Pot happen. So let’s get to it.
What is a French Canadian Split Pea Soup?
French Canadian Split Pea Soup is a yellow (or green) dried bean soup that is boiled down. You add pork meat, broth, and vegetables to make a truly delicious soup.
The History of this soup, like many cuisines, is somewhat murky. Most legends point to the version with carrots and ham coming from Quebec and actually being an adjusted recipe from Samuel de Champlain’s ship when he sailed to Canada from France.
Split pea’s themselves were used by the Ancient Greeks and Romans in 400 BC! The Greeks have their own version of the soup, which can include mint, peppers, and feta, which is pretty different from the French Canadian one.
Can I cook French Canadian Split Pea Soup in an Instant Pot?
Of course! This is the easiest method of making French Canadian Split Pea soup and takes almost no effort. Especially if you are using the broth from the Canadian Pork Cottage Roll.
How to Soften Split Peas that just won’t soften?
Sometimes depending on many things like the hardness of your water, how old the split peas are, or your cooking agent is too salty – No matter HOW long you cook your split peas, they are still crunchy and hard and just won’t soften.
No worries the solution for this is beyond simple!
Simply add in about a teaspoon of Baking Soda while it is cooking. With all the other flavors in this soup, it won’t change the taste too much and you don’t need to worry about soaking. You can always leave this until later to see if your peas soften, but if they don’t remember your Baking Soda hack!
Do I Need To Soak My Split Peas?
Split peas cook pretty fast for a legume so it generally is not needed.
If you find that you are continuously ending up with hard peas in your soup, you can try the baking soda trick and soaking them in advance as another option. You can also try soaking your split peas in some plain water. I never soak, and if they end up hard a sprinkle of soda fixes everything.
Do I need to Use Yellow Split Peas?
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Yellow is generally considered the traditional French Canadian style, but the green ones look exactly the same at the end of the day.
It will still be a mostly yellowish-looking soup even if you use the green and the taste is identical.
Can I make Canadian Split Pea Soup with No Instant Pot?
Of course, simply follow the same recipe below but use a large stockpot on the stove.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat. Put on a lid with a small gap and simmer for at least 3 hours or until the peas are tender.
Final Tips for How to Make French Canadian Split Pea Soup in Instant Pot
This French Canadian Split Pea Soup is beyond easy to make when you make a Pork Cottage Roll first, but easily quick and fast when you pop everything in your Instant Pot.
Extras can be frozen to eat at a later point in time (roughly 6 months in the freezer)
French Canadian Split Pea Soup Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried Yellow (or Green) Split Peas
- 2 cups diced Pork Cottage Roll meat ( or Diced ham, or even some chopped up bacon works)
- 3 medium carrots, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp savory
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 cups leftover Pork Cottage Roll Broth
- salt & pepper to taste
- parsley garnish if desired
If not using Pork Cottage Roll Broth
- 2 cups water (not needed if using leftover broth)
- 4 cups chicken broth (not needed if using leftover broth)
Instructions
- Wash all vegetables and chop them into pieces.
- If you are using the leftover Pork Cottage Roll broth, simply add all ingredients into the Instant pot broth except water and additional broth.
- If you are starting from scratch add water and chicken broth into the Instant pot, then add all additional ingredients
- Cover Instant Pot and set to - Manual - High Pressure and 15 minutes. Let it Cook.
- Allow it to natural release when it is finished. About 15 more minutes. Open lid.
- Remove bay leaf. If you used ham bone, remove that too.
- If the split peas are still quite crunchy after cooking, add a tsp of Baking Soda. As mentioned above this can happen for a number of reasons.Re-cover Instant Pot set to - Manual - High Pressure and 5 minutes. This may take a while to get to pressure because of the large amount of liquid. Repeat until desired texture of peas is achieved.
- The soup will be pretty thick and chunky. You can use a potato masher to smash all the vegetables if you want a thinner version. You also can CAREFULLY put the very hot liquid in a blender or use an immersion blender to mix it up. WARNING AGAIN... the soup is VERY HOT and it is very easy to splash it everywhere. I generally use the potato masher if I am doing this. The soup is just as great when it is thick and chunky though.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Salt will probably not be needed as the pork broth usually gets quite salty.
- Garnish with parsley if desired.