Quick Pea and Ham Soup in Under 15 Minutes

Written by on in Easy Soup Recipes, Easy Soups with Meat, Vegetable-based soups
A white bowl containing pea and ham soup
Image credit: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en

People often assume that making soup takes a lot of preparation and that the ingredients take a long time to cook to get a decent flavour. However, there are ways that you can make a quick soup in under fifteen minutes without resorting to making a soup from a packet. This really simple pea and ham soup takes less than fifteen minutes to make and it is a fantastic way of using up your leftover ham and ham stock.

This is a light lunch on its own or a hearty lunch when served with a large chunk of warm bread. This will make enough for two bowls of soup. If you have more ham and stock left, simply make more and freeze for a later date. You can also make this soup in a soup maker. Here is how to make a 15-minute pea and ham soup.

Preparation time 5 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes
Servings 2
Vegetarian/ vegan recipe No
Dairy-free recipe No
Gluten-free recipe Yes, without croutons or with gluten-free bread

Ingredients for Pea and Ham Soup

  • 2 cans of garden peas in water
  • 2 thick slices of leftover ham chopped into chunks
  • 1/2 onion finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup of ham stock
  • 100 ml double cream
  • 1 oz (large knob) butter
  • Black pepper

Instructions for Pea and Ham Soup

  1. On medium heat, melt the butter in a pan and add the chopped onions.
  2. Drain two cans of garden peas.
  3. Once onions are softened, add peas to the pan and add enough boiling water to just cover the peas.
  4. Simmer for two minutes and then add the ham stock.
  5. Cook for a further two minutes before adding most of the cream and black pepper to season. Save a little cream for serving.
  6. Blend the ingredients in a blender to the consistency you want and then transfer back into the pan.
  7. Add the ham and cook for another two minutes to warm through the meat. 
  8. Transfer the soup to bowls and add a swirl of cream for decoration.
  9. Serve with warm crusty bread or croutons.

Cooking Tips for Making This Quick and Easy Soup

  • If you do not have any leftover ham and ham stock, then there are alternative ingredients you can use. Instead of ham stock, you can use vegetable or chicken stock. As an alternative to leftover ham, you can add either sliced ham from a packet, chopped bacon or pancetta pieces.
  • Pea and ham is one of the most popular soup varieties, so it is a good choice if you are serving multiple people from a catering soup kettle.
  • It is easy to make this soup using a soup maker. Read our guide on adapting recipes.
  • Try experimenting with different flavours by adding more pepper or adding ingredients such as chopped mint, oregano, or parsley to the soup.
  • If you like our quick pea and ham soup, you might also enjoy our Polish grochowka, fennel and pea soup and pea and mint soup recipes.

14 Comments

We love to hear from our readers. Please write a comment with your thoughts or ideas!