One-Pot Dinner

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup Flavorful, Easy and Cozy Meal 

A one-pot dinner can easily use some leftover meat and bone to make a big pot of flavorful soup.  It is super cozy for snuggling under the blanket during wintertime and enjoy this slow cooker split pea soup.

Total Time: 9 Hours 5 Minutes
Prep Time: 5 Minutes  
Inactive Cook Time: 9 Hours  
Serving: 4

I bet you heard that good things happened because of accidents or mistakes.

This one-pot dinner was made just like that. Before putting it together, I totally forgot to soak the beans ahead of time. But I want to get the soup ready for dinner. In the back of my mind, I thought, "Well, what the hack...let's see what will happen."

After cooking it at high heat in the slow cooker for 4 hours, I thought it should be done. Well, looking into the slow cooker, I saw there was more liquid than it supposed to be. The onion wasn't fallen apart from the slow and low cooking process even though it was finely diced.

I was dragging to put it into the food processor. (Of course, without an immersion blender , it makes it harder and more dishes to clean.)  Disappointment sank in. So, I got to change my dinner plan that night. I left the slow cooker split pea soup cool down in the crock pot and thought that I would continue to cook it the next day.

Before I covered the pot of soup up again, I remember stirring the soup and saw the onion pieces were still intact at the time.

And you know what, the next day when I peeked into the slow cooker, I was amazed the soup's texture was so smooth. I warmed it up that night and added a dollop of sour cream on top, I was in heaven. I didn't need to use the food processor to make more dirty dishes for me to clean.

After that "accident", I thought I would give it another try and repeat what the entire “accident” played out like the first time.  

Therefore, the verdict is that turning off the crock pot and let the soup sit overnight in the warm pot makes a big difference to the texture of this one-pot dinner.  

CHEF NOTES

Cook this one-pot dinner the night before. At least to allow it to come to a boil, turn off the slow cooker and let the soup to stay in the warm pot to cool down overnight. You can either turn on the slow cooker at high heat an hour before dinner or warm up the soup on the stove top.

When you peek into the crock pot, the soup looks very, very thick.  You may think that you need to add some more water.  STOP right there.No, you don’t need to add any more water.  Once the soup is warmed and stirred, you will realize the ratio of the liquid in the soup would be perfect.

If you don't have ham bone, replace it with smoked ham hock.

You don’t have to soak the dried beans.  As long as you let the hot soup stay in the slow cooker overnight and serve it the next night, the beans will come out perfectly.

I find that if you are not too picky or a perfectionist, the soup is definitely ready for dinner after 4 hours on high heat in the slow cooker. But my experiments showed me that having it sitting overnight and cook it again the next day taste much better and with smoother texture. 

The 3 major ingredients of the Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup: Meaty Ham Bone, Diced Onion and Dried Split Peas

One-Pot Dinner Recipe and Directions

Ingredients

1 pound Dried split green peas (rinsed well and discard bad peas)
Meaty Ham bone (from baked ham leftover; you can also substitute it with smoked ham hock)
1 medium yellow onion (finely diced)
1 bag (12-16oz) Shredded Carrots
5-6 Stalks Celery Ribs (diced)
2 Dried Bay Leaves
8 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream or plain yogurt (optional)

Directions

1. Rinse split green peas very well
2. Discard any pieces floating on top of the water
3. Put water and beans into the slow cooker, NOT turning it on, to allow the beans soaked overnight
4. Put the rest of the ingredients into the slow cooker
5. Cook on high heat for 4 hours or low for 8 hours
6. Leave the soup in the slow cooker overnight to cool down gradually on its own
7. Turn slow cooker to high heat an hour before dinner and stir in between to warm up the soup. Otherwise, warm it up on the stove top
8. Add salt and pepper to taste
   
9. Add a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt (optional) and serve 

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