Pull out the Instant Pot and make this hearty, vegan Southwestern Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Potatoes for dinner tonight! 140 calories and 2 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP. Thank you to The Little Potato Company for helping me share this recipe with you.
Southwestern Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Potatoes Recipe
Up until a couple of days ago, I was thinking that I had overdone it on the soups in the past several months. I was bracing myself for a dinnertime revolt from my family. To be fair, homemade soups have shown up on our dinner table A LOT – at least once a week – since school started in September. They’re quick, easy, usually economical and can be packed with all sort of healthy ingredients.
But when my 13-year old went back for his third (!) helping of this vegan soup, I knew I had won him over. Typically, he likes his soups with some sort of meat – chicken, sausage, shrimp – but he barely even noticed that this was a meatless meal. The beauty of a really hearty soup!
These days when I want to make soup using dried beans, peas or lentils, I pull out my Instant Pot because it makes short work of any dried pulses. As I was staring into my pantry at 5pm (an all too familiar scenario), the bag of green split peas caught my eye.
I didn’t have any ham on hand, but plenty of my favorite Creamer potatoes from The Little Potato Company and a cupboard full of spices. By 6pm, I had a pressure cooker full of piping hot vegan split pea and potato soup, flavored with southwestern spices.
Often I serve The Little Potato Company’s Creamer potatoes whole or halved because their small size makes them perfect for throwing straight into recipes. Convenience is the key! For example, they’re fantastic roasted with onions and blue cheese, rolled up in grilled zucchini, or boiled and tossed with pesto. That being said, their creamy texture really lends them to soups and stews as well. As the potatoes cook and soften, they release some of their starch, which helps to thicken the broth.
The result? A creamy, hearty soup without the cream!
How to make Instant Pot split pea soup with potatoes:
• First, rinse the split peas in a sieve and pick out any stones.
• Using the Saute mode on the Instant Pot, cook the onions, carrot and celery until they start to soften. Stir in some minced garlic and the spices. Cumin and paprika add some southwestern flavor, backed up by some chipotle peppers
• Switch off the Saute mode, then add the vegetable broth, water, diced Creamer potatoes, split peas and diced tomatoes. Give the mixture a quick stir to combine.
• Put the lid on the Instant Pot, close the steam vent and set to 22 minutes on HIGH pressure using Manual mode. It will take about 15 minutes for the pressure to build before the 22-minute cook time kicks in.
• Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the rest using quick release.
• Give the soup a good stir and season to taste. Serve, garnished with minced cilantro.
Other recipes with Creamer potatoes:
Mediterranean Roasted Potato Nachos {Cookin’ Canuck}
Skillet Salmon Potato Hash {Cookin’ Canuck}
Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese, Roasted Potatoes & Asparagus {The Lemon Bowl}
Savoury Herb Potato & Tomato Baked Egg Skillet {Nutrition in the Kitch}
Southwestern Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2 small carrots diced
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cups water
- 1 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- 2 chipotle peppers seeded & minced
- 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from chipotle can
- 1 cup green split peas
- 12 ounces Little Potato Co. Creamer potatoes diced (I used Blushing Belles)
- 3 tablespoons minced cilantro
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode and add the olive oil.
- Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin, oregano and salt. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the broth, water, tomatoes, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, split peas and potatoes.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot, close the steam vent and set to HIGH pressure using the Manual mode. Adjust the time to 23 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 20 minutes to come to pressure.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the pressure the rest of the way.
- Season to taste, serve and garnish with cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company. All opinions are my own. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Lori says
Hi Dara, this soup looks fantastic! I don’t have an instant pot and don’t plan to get one so I was wondering if this woodwork equally well in a pressure cooker? What do you think? Thanks for the great recipe!
Dara says
Hi Lori, Instant Pots are simply electric pressure cookers (with some other functions added on), so you could definitely use a regular pressure cooker! I don’t have exact times for that because I haven’t tested this recipe in something other than an Instant Pot. You would have to saute the onions, etc. in a saute pan first, then add to your pressure cooker. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Jack Smith | BBQRecipez.com says
MMMM just like my Mom makes.
Kat says
Very flavorful and hearty! We left out the hot peppers and adobo sauce and it was very good.
AK says
Excellent recipe! I loved it! I had to add quite a bit more salt at the end but everything else I followed to the letter and it came out great! Packed it with brown rice for lunches for the week!
Mark Thorne says
Hi,
This is a really nice recipe! I left the seeds in the peppers for a little added heat, and added sweet paprika along with the Chipotle peppers, but I considered using smoked paprika.
Thank you
Lynn S. says
I tried this out and really liked ! – my first soup in our new Instant Pot. Our 17 year old son loved it and was surprised when I told him it was a split pea soup base. (The green is hidden.) I doubled the recipe in 8 quart pot which worked out wonderfully with plenty leftover to freeze or share.
This recipe did have some kick to it, which is why I only gave a 4 star, but if you like spicy I think you would rate 5 star. I used chipotle peppers from the can, so they went in with seeds and all… maybe about 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped up a bit with the sauce with them.