This green pea soup recipe is creamy and delicious. It's made with frozen pea and a few pantry staples. In addition, this soup gets ready in less than 20 minutes. Pure comfort food for cooler evenings.
Table of Content
During fall and winter, I really enjoy making soup almost every evening for dinner. The moment the fall weather sets in, the evenings get cooler. The smile of satisfaction on the kids' faces from a comforting warm soup is priceless.
Since I make soup every day during this time of the year, I try to rely on simplicity rather than long elaborate methods. And, I try to keep my soups lean rather than heavy with cream and butter. This soup has it all.
About this soup
It takes about 20 minutes to make. And, I use milk instead of cream with a dab of butter at the end for flavor. And yet, this soup is rich, creamy, and gloriously smooth, not curdled or bland. Why?
The secret ingredient in this soup is potato. Just a small potato does two good things for us here: It helps the skin of the green peas to blend smoothly, not gritty, and it also helps prevent the milk from curdling. Having said that, do not overcook any soup after you add milk. The acid in the ingredients can cause the milk to curdle.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Green peas - I always have a bag of frozen peas in my freezer every day of the year. So, there's no cleaning fresh peas. Plus, it's more affordable.
- Potato – I prefer potato instead of flour as my thickening agent in this soup. I notice that potato helps the sweet peas blend to a more smooth consistency, giving the pea skin some fiber to blend well.
- Honey – Since I dilute the sweetness of the peas by using potato, adding honey makes it just right. If you prefer, you can omit the honey.
- Parmesan – Adds a slightly nutty flavor to the soup. The first time I used it was by mistake and everybody complimented the soup. So, I had to do it again. Now, it's a must-have ingredient.
- Herbs and greens – You can add some greens to this soup; especially if you want to get your kids to eat greens. I have tried a hand full of spinach as well as a handful of kale. You can also flavor it with herbs such as parsley, mint, or even cilantro. Green Peas have a delicate flavor, so a little goes a long way with herbs.
Step by step instructions
- In a soup pot or stockpot, add the oil. Sauté onions, garlic, and bay leaves until onions are translucent.
- Add potatoes and sauté for another minute (the potato helps the green pea skins blend to a smooth, not gritty puree).
- Followed by the green peas. Season with salt and pepper (if using commercial stock add less salt to the peas now).
- Pour in the stock and simmer for about 5 minutes until the peas are tender.
- Then, add the Parmesan and warm milk.
- Remove the bay leaves and use a hand mixer to blend everything to a smooth puree.
If using a stand blender, cool the soup for a few minutes and be very careful as a hot soup can splash out and cause serious burns. - Finally, add the honey and butter - combine well.
- Check and adjust seasoning and consistency. Add more water if necessary.
- Serve in soup bowls with toasted croutons or bread.
Frequently asked questions
This delicious green pea soup will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. You can also keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Always thaw in the fridge overnight for the best results.
For our family, a side salad or sauteed veggies with some homemade fresh bread on the side makes a complete meal. Try
garlic sesame asparagus, parmesan asparagus, or sesame green beans. Some cheesy baked eggplant slices, lemon rosemary potatoes, or roasted dill potatoes
Absolutely, you can replace the milk with full-fat whipping cream if you want a richer, creamier soup.
No, dried split peas need to be soaked for a few hours and then cooked longer, unlike these frozen peas.
If you want to use split peas, use these recipes instead: Slow cooker or crockpot split pea soup and Instant pot split pea soup.
Salad & bread to serve with soup
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Printable Recipe
Green Pea Soup Recipe
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Ingredients
- 3 cups (450 g) Green peas (1 lb) fresh or frozen
- ½ cup Potato finely chopped (optional - read notes)
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Oil canola or olive oil
- ¼ cup Onion chopped
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 cup (240 ml) Milk
- 1 tsp Honey optional
- 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups (470 ml) Stock chicken or vegetable stock
Instructions
- Add potatoes and saute for another minute (the potato helps the green pea skins blend to a smooth, not gritty puree).
- Followed by the green peas. Season with salt and pepper (if using commercial stock add less salt to the peas now).
- Pour in the stock and simmer for about 5 minutes until the peas are tender.
- Then, add the Parmesan and warm milk.
- Remove bay leaves and use a hand mixer to blend everything to a smooth puree. If using a stand blender, cool the soup for a few minutes and be very careful as a hot soup can splash out and cause serious burns.
- Finally, add the honey and butter - combine well.
- Check and adjust seasoning and consistency. Add more water if necessary.
- Serve in soup bowls with toasted croutons or bread. Garnish with a teaspoon of fresh cream.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
PJ Dean-Thornton
I just love that you put the substitutions/considerations/tips section and how substitutions shape the soup qualities....I LOVE this! I often imagine the qualities I want in a food, and then scan recipes looking for ideas that approach this, guessing how to make my own recipe. In this case, I am trying to create a super fresh, light, springtime sweetpea soup, and this has really helped! For example, I was not sure about potato, because I wondered if it was an ingredient that adds density and warmth...which I do not want. But knowing potato can smooth out the pea-skin texture, etc...I feel like I have a great knowledgeable cook standing beside me as I consider each move.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, PJ Dean, for your lovely comment. I do try my best to make sure my recipes aim at teaching people to cook better not just get past one recipe. I am happy to know you appreciate it. Thank you so much for the comment.