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You are here: Home / BITES / Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

November 4, 2020 By Steven 9 Comments

I doubt this soup could be any easier to prepare, nor could it be any more delicious. The smoked turkey legs add so much flavor to this soup it is a little mind-boggling. I used to make split pea soup with a ham bone or smoked ham hocks. Then one day I tried it with turkey legs and I was hooked. Split pea soup with smoked turkey has all other split pea soup recipes beaten, hands down. The best part is that this split pea soup recipe is very healthy and nutritious. It is high in protein, vitamins, and minerals, while low in fat, sodium, and cholesterol.

The smoked turkey gives this split pea soup recipe an amazing smokey flavor!

Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

Turkey legs can be greasy tasting and have a lot of weird tendons and connective tissues in them, which is a turn-off for many people. However, they have a tremendous amount of flavor. Adding the turkey legs to the slowly simmering split pea soup makes them very tender, and helps eliminate any of the weirdness we associate with turkey legs.

I remove the turkey legs after about an hour of simmering and shred them. This removes all of the weird connective tissues and other inedible parts. What’s left behind in the split pea soup is an incredible smoky flavor. The best part is you now have a delicious shredded turkey that you can garnish the soup with. Therefore, you can eat as much or as little of the turkey meat as you want. Customizing your split pea soup and make it your own.

Spilt Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup Ingredients

  • Onions, Celery, and Garlic: The aromatics are the base for any good soup. They impart tremendous flavor as well as having great antioxidant nutritional benefits.
  • Black Pepper and Bay Leaves: These are the only seasonings this soup needs. The smoked turkey legs have so much flavor, I don’t even add salt. However, I suppose not all turkey legs are as well seasoned as the ones I buy, so you may need to add salt.
  • Carrots and Potatoes: I like to add a little oomph to this split pea soup recipe. The carrots and potatoes add some starch and help round out the soup as a complete meal.
  • Split Peas: High in protein and fiber while low in fat. They are either green or yellow and I used the green variety in these photos. If I make split pea soup with yellow split peas, I like to add a little turmeric to the recipe to enhance the color.
  • Chicken Stock: I make a pretty amazing Instant pot chicken stock. However, store-bought stock works great in this recipe, as well as vegetable stock.

Here is my recipe for Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey Legs

Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

Spilt Pea Soup
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4 from 28 votes

Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

Split pea soup with smoked turkey, carrots, and potatoes. Great flavors and a simple recipe, it doesn't get much better.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
I would be so happy if you followed me on Pinterest!Follow @SipsNibblesBites
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Split Pea soup
Servings: 10
Calories: 466kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Garlic Crushed and chopped
  • 1 1/2 Cups Onion Diced
  • 1 1/2 Cups Celery Sliced
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Black Pepper Ground
  • 3 Bay Leaves
  • 3 Cups Carrots 1/2-inch dice
  • 3 Cups Potatoes 1/2-inch dice
  • 2 Smoked Turkey Legs Whole, skin removed
  • 2 Quarts Chicken Stock
  • 1 Pound Split Peas

Instructions

  • Heat a heavy-bottomed soup pot with a lid over medium-high heat.
  • Add all ingredients except chicken stock and split peas. Once the ingredients sizzle, turn heat to low, cover the pot and let them sweat for 15-minutes.
  • Add the split peas and chicken stock, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1-hour. Stirring occasionally.
  • Once the potatoes are soft, mash them with the back of a spoon to help thicken the soup.
  • After 45-minutes, remove the turkey legs and let cool slightly. Shred the turkey legs and discard the bones and connective tissues.
  • Serve the soup with warm crusty bread and top it with the shredded turkey meat.
Nutrition Facts
Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey
Amount Per Serving
Calories 466 Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Fat 14g22%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 102mg34%
Sodium 417mg18%
Potassium 1215mg35%
Carbohydrates 41g14%
Fiber 13g54%
Sugar 10g11%
Protein 43g86%
Vitamin A 6556IU131%
Vitamin C 6mg7%
Calcium 79mg8%
Iron 5mg28%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Spilt Pea Soup

Thank you for visiting my Food Blog. I hope you like my recipe for Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey.  Please come back again soon! Bon appetit! Steven

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Filed Under: BITES, NIBBLES, SOUPS, Thanksgiving Tagged With: Split pea soup, Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Olley Thompson

    November 6, 2020 at 9:49 am

    5 stars
    I looked at this split pea soup recipe yesterday and I made it this morning, it is so delicious and very easy to make. The smoked turkey is much better than using a ham bone, great eating. Thank you, Steven

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    • Steven

      December 11, 2020 at 5:14 pm

      Thank you, Olley, I appreciate the comment. I think the smoked turkey legs are amazing in soups that we normally use ham bones in. This split pea soup recipe has so much flavor from the turkey, and there is lots of meat on a turkey leg, so it’s the best of everything.

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  2. Anna

    December 18, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    Snowed in, it was the perfect day for this split pea soup recipe!

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    • Steven

      December 19, 2020 at 4:08 pm

      Thank you, Anna. I’m glad you tried this recipe, I love this split pea soup, rain, shine, or snow!

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      Reply
  3. Mary K Hindman

    January 8, 2022 at 11:27 am

    Okay I’m a novice when it comes to home made soups. I have a package of dried split peas and assume that I need to cook them first.

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    • Steven

      January 9, 2022 at 9:04 am

      Hi Mary, Thanks for the question. The dried split peas cook very quickly, so no need to cook them first. They will cook and soften with the other ingredients. I hope this helps, cheers! Steven

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  4. Mikki Lusquinos

    August 16, 2022 at 2:14 pm

    I made pea soup this way a few times because my niece doesn’t eat red meat and I wanted to find a good pea soup she could enjoy. I pretty much use all same ingredients as you do except the last time I made it i added 2 things not here and man did it come out good! Sumac (just threw some in) You have to try adding it and see what you think. 🙂 cheers Mik

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  5. Steven

    December 12, 2020 at 9:43 am

    Thank you for sharing my split pea soup recipe!

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