Slow Cooker Split Pea & Ham Soup with Baden-Württemberg
- michel1492
- 11 minutes ago
- 6 min read
The Put-It-in-the-Pot Soup That Tastes Like You Worked Much Harder
There are recipes you make once because they sound interesting, and there are recipes that quietly become part of the household.
This split pea and ham soup is the second kind.
I have made versions of it for years because it asks very little of the cook: split peas, a good meaty ham bone, onion, carrots, water, and time. Put everything into the slow cooker in the morning and several hours later the peas have nearly dissolved, the ham is falling from the bone, and the cooking liquid has become thick and wonderfully savory.
But, of course, I'm the Spicekeeper. I couldn't leave it entirely alone.
The addition I make at home is a tablespoon of Baden-Württemberg, our German Pepper Herb Seasoning. That one spoonful has become such an important part of the soup that I don't really think of it as an addition anymore. It's simply how I make split pea soup.
Why Baden-Württemberg Works Here
Split peas have a wonderfully earthy flavor, but they're also naturally mild. Carrots and long-cooked onions add sweetness, while a smoked ham bone contributes salt, richness, and smoke.
What the soup needs is something to connect them.
Baden-Württemberg is built around black pepper, mustard, bay leaf, garlic, onion, rosemary, sage, thyme, and a quiet touch of nutmeg. The black pepper and mustard give some definition to the richness of the pork. Rosemary, sage, thyme, and bay deepen the earthy character of the peas, while garlic and onion reinforce the soup's savory foundation.
Nutmeg plays a much quieter role. You aren't supposed to taste it and think, "nutmeg." Instead, its warm aromatic character rounds out the peas, carrots, herbs, and pork.
That's one of the things a well-built seasoning blend can do. Sometimes its job isn't to make a dish taste like the seasoning. Its job is to make the ingredients already in the pot taste more complete.
Slow Cooker Split Pea & Ham Soup
Yield: 6–8 servings Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 7–8 hours on LOW or 4–5 hours on HIGH Slow Cooker: 5-quart or larger
Bloom Classification
Low Bloom • Water + Rendered Pork Fat
Why the Bloom Works
This recipe is a little different from many of our Bloom Method recipes.
Baden-Württemberg normally benefits beautifully from blooming in butter, oil, bacon fat, or sausage drippings. Here, however, we're deliberately trading that separate blooming step for the simplicity of a true slow-cooker meal.
During the long cook, fat and gelatin render from the ham while the seasoning slowly hydrates in the cooking liquid. Black pepper, mustard, rosemary, sage, thyme, bay, garlic, and onion gradually work their way into the peas rather than sitting on the surface of the finished soup.
Could you bloom the seasoning first? Absolutely.
Do you need to dirty another skillet to make a delicious pot of soup? No.
Sometimes good cooking is knowing when an extra step matters and when you can leave it out.
Ingredients
2½ cups dried green or yellow split peas (500 g)
7 cups cold water (1,656 mL)
1 meaty smoked ham bone, approximately 1½–2 pounds (680–907 g)
1 large yellow onion, divided and finely chopped (200 g)
2 whole cloves (about 0.3 g)
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped (120–150 g)
1 tablespoon Oak City Spice Blends Baden-Württemberg German Pepper Herb Seasoning (approximately 7–9 g)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, only if needed after cooking
Croutons or crusty bread, for serving
Method
Prepare the peas. Pick through the split peas and discard any stones or discolored peas. Rinse thoroughly under cool running water and drain.
Make the cloves easy to find. Before chopping the entire onion, cut off one substantial wedge. Press the two whole cloves firmly into the onion wedge. Finely chop the remaining onion.
Fill the slow cooker. Add the rinsed split peas, 7 cups (1,656 mL) water, ham bone, clove-studded onion wedge, chopped onion, carrots, and 1 tablespoon (7–9 g) Baden-Württemberg to a 5-quart or larger slow cooker.
Cook. Cover and cook on LOW for 7–8 hours or HIGH for 4–5 hours, until the peas are very tender and the ham pulls easily from the bone. Keep the lid closed as much as possible during cooking.
Check the consistency. Around the 6-hour mark when cooking on LOW, check the soup. If it has become thicker than you prefer, stir in hot water, ½ cup (118 mL) at a time, until it reaches the consistency you like.
Remove the ham. Lift out the ham bone and the clove-studded onion wedge. Discard the onion wedge and cloves. When the ham is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone, discard the bone and any excess fat, and chop or shred the meat.
Finish the texture. Stir the soup vigorously. The split peas should have largely broken down on their own. For a smoother soup, use an immersion blender for just a few pulses. I prefer to leave some texture rather than puréeing it completely.
Return the ham. Stir the chopped ham back into the soup and allow it to heat through.
Taste before seasoning. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Taste before adding any salt. Ham bones vary considerably in saltiness, and your soup may not need additional salt at all.
Serve. Ladle into warm bowls and serve with croutons or a thick slice of crusty bread.
Best With
Crusty sourdough or rye bread
Buttered toast
Homemade croutons
A simple green salad with a sharp vinaigrette
Roasted cabbage
A cold-weather lunch when you want something substantial without spending the afternoon at the stove
Blooming Notes
If you want an even deeper version, you can give Baden-Württemberg a Medium Bloom before assembling the soup.
Warm 1 tablespoon (14 g) butter, bacon fat, or neutral oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat.
Add 1 tablespoon (7–9 g) Baden-Württemberg and stir for about 20–30 seconds, just until fragrant. Scrape the seasoned fat into the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients.
The difference is subtle but noticeable. Blooming develops a rounder, more integrated herbal flavor, particularly from the black pepper, mustard, rosemary, sage, and thyme.
For an ordinary weekday pot, I use the easy method and put everything straight into the slow cooker.
For a pot I'm deliberately fussing over, I bloom it. Both work.
A Few Things Worth Knowing About Split Pea Soup
You don't need to soak split peas. Unlike many dried beans, split peas can go directly into the soup after sorting and rinsing.
Don't panic if the soup looks thin early in the day. Split peas continue absorbing liquid and breaking apart as they cook. The transformation happens gradually.
The soup gets thicker after refrigeration. Consider that a feature rather than a problem. When reheating, add a splash of water or broth until the consistency returns to where you like it.
A ham bone isn't just there for the meat. The long cooking time extracts flavor and gelatin from the bone and connective tissue, which contributes body to the soup. That's part of what makes a ham-bone soup taste different from one made by simply stirring diced ham into cooked peas.
Wait before reaching for the salt. A smoked ham bone can contribute a surprising amount. Seasoning at the end gives you much more control.
The Spicekeeper's Note
There is something satisfying about a recipe that doesn't demand constant attention.
You put a handful of ordinary ingredients into the slow cooker, walk away, and let time do most of the work.
That's also why I like Baden-Württemberg in this particular soup. It doesn't turn split pea soup into something else. The peas still taste like peas. The ham still tastes smoky and rich. The carrots and onions still provide their familiar sweetness.
The seasoning simply fills in the spaces between them.
And sometimes, that's exactly what a seasoning should do.
Further Reading: Getting More From Your Slow Cooker
If you're new to slow cooking, a few good resources can make these wonderfully simple meals even easier.
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service — Slow Cookers and Food Safety A useful guide to safe slow-cooker preparation, including keeping ingredients refrigerated until cooking, thawing meat before it goes into the cooker, keeping the lid in place, handling leftovers, and safely reheating food.
University of Maine Cooperative Extension — Split Pea Soup A straightforward educational recipe that includes both stovetop and slow-cooker methods. Their slow-cooker guidance is especially useful for understanding the cooking window for dried split peas.
One Last Slow-Cooker Tip
Resist the temptation to keep lifting the lid.
A slow cooker works through steady heat and the steam trapped beneath its cover. Every peek releases some of that heat. Unless the recipe tells you to stir or check something, leave the lid alone and let the cooker do what it does best.
Then come back when the kitchen smells like dinner.
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