Ready for a super-satisfying soup recipe that’s loaded with veggies, fiber and taste and conforms to your whole food, plant-based lifestyle?
I’m so excited to share this oil-free Split Pea & Sweet Potato Soup recipe with you!
One of the hardest parts of being nutritarian is learning how to cook without oil. This soup recipe is a wonderful way to “get your feet wet” so to speak with a fail-proof recipe that’s super-delicious too!
Let’s dig in…
Soup or Stoup?
In The End of Dieting, Dr. Fuhrman calls the nutritarian plan “a soup and salad” plan. And I promise you, it can really be that simple, especially with a loaded soup like this!
This Split Pea soup is hearty, simple and flavorful. It could definitely be considered more of a “stoup” because it’s very thick, but you can control the liquids to match your preference.
Simple, Whole Ingredients
The “surprise” ingredient that really makes this low-fat, high-fiber soup work is diced sweet potato.
Sweet potato lends a lovely creamy texture and a slightly-sweet taste that rounds out the celery and beans beautifully!
This soup is a great way to get your whole grains and beans quota in for the day!
Oil-Free Cooking 101: Dry Sauteing
You may think it’s strange or even impossible to saute veggies for your soup without oil–I promise it’s so much easier than you think!
For the split pea soup recipe you’re going to “dry saute.” This was a technique that I learned when I attended Dr. Fuhrman’s Culinary Getaway.
The key is to keep your heat setting low and you let the natural moisture released by the veggies do the work for you.
You’ll have to invest a little time up-front with this soup to really layer those flavors but then you can let it simmer until tender.
Split Pea & Sweet Potato Soup
Made from simple whole foods, this vegan, nutritarian and oil-free Split Pea soup will leave you supremely satisfied!
Ingredients
- 32 oz low-sodium veggie broth
- 2 1/4 cups dry split peas
- 2 cups water
- 2 sweet medium potatoes, peeled & diced (equals about 2 cups diced)
- 1 medium onion, diced (equals about 1 cup diced)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced (equals about 1 cups diced)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled & diced (equals about 1/2 cup diced)
- 2 to 3 celery stalks, diced (equals about 1/2 cup diced)
- 1 tsp liquid aminos
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- black pepper (optional, to taste)
Instructions
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Set large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add diced onions and dry saute for about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring every 1 to 2 minutes. Continue to dry saute until moisture is released and onions are tender. Add in 1 tsp liquid aminos to "de-glaze" the onions. Mix well.
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Increase heat to medium and add in diced carrots and celery. Add in 1/4 tsp. garlic powder and ground pepper to taste. Dry saute the ingredients until you see browning on the bottom of your pot (see pictures above for reference), about 10 minutes.
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Add 1 cup veggie broth to "de-glaze" the browning on your pot and mix the veggies well. Add in the diced sweet potato and mix well. Cover your pot with a tight-fitting lid and allow the sweet potatoes to "steam-cook" for about 5 minutes.
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Reduce heat to low and add in the rest of your veggie broth, 2 cups of water, the split peas and the diced red pepper. Cook covered for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the peas are tender.
Recipe Notes
Makes 8 cups and can be stored fro up to a week in the fridge or up to a month in the freezer. To defrost, simply allow to come to room temperature on your kitchen counter, heat and serve.
Split peas does not cook well in a slow cooker, it tends to boil over and you have to be stir and add water often. I love split peas soup though, thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thanks so much for letting our crock-pot readers know! My pleasure!
xo, Kristen
I just made this in the crockpot and it turned out great! I threw all the ingredients into the crockpot raw and added about 6 cups of water. To that I added 3 T No salt Mrs Dash and 3 t sp minced garlic. Yummo!
Hi Patty!
WOW!!! Thank you so much for sharing that this recipe works in the crock pot–I just love it!! Makes it loads easier!!!
Thank you again!
xo, Kristen
How long did you cook all the raw ingredients in the crock pot?
Looks good! How much garlic powder do you add?
HI Kristen,
I am going to make this soup tonight. I’m really looking forward to it,
Could you confirm what size of carton is needed for the veggie stock. I have a 900ml one.
Also, how many services does the recipe make? I would like to portion it out correctly.
Many thanks and I love your website 🙂
I don’t have a Traders Joe near me. Can you give me an estimate of how much mierpiox is in in? Like how much carrots, onions, and celery of each is in there do you think? Thanks!
Hi Kitsune!
So, I would say 3/4th cup of each veggies: celery, onion and carrots!
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
xo, Kristen
Home many servings does this make? I am trying to cook for a family of 3 to 4 adults.
I made this tonight and it’s delicious. I added smoked paprika and smoked chile to try to replicate the smokiness of the ham I would have used in the past and it was a good addition.
Great site….thank you for all the wonderful information!
Hi Lynne!
What a great idea to add the paprika and thanks so much for sharing that with us!
I’m so glad you are enjoying the site!
xo, Kristen
So you said Check out what I ate with this delicious soup here! but nothing comes up when I click on it!
What did you eat with it???
Hello, any suggestion on how many servings this makes? It’s just me and my husband but I want to be able to have leftovers! 🙂
Hi Samantha!
So sorry, I’m not sure how much it makes, but I do know that I have leftovers! Next time I make a batch I’ll update the recipe!
Thanks so much for bringing it to my attention!
xo, Kristen
I wasn’t sure if I’d like the sweet potatoes in this but this soup is awesome! Very tasty and just the thing for a cold autumn evening.
Hi Ann!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe–makes me so happy to share good food!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment too!
xo, Kristen
What is Trader Joe’s ? We don’t have one here. Thanks
Hi Barbara!
It’s a grocery chain! You can just sub with whatever brands are in your area!
xo, Kristen
Hi, Kristen.
Your recipe just mentions adding the dry split peas — without cooking them or soaking them overnight first? Are you assuming some prep with these? Thank you!
John
Hi John!
The beauty of split peas is you don’t need to do any prepping, you can just use them as is straight from the bag!
Hope you like the recipe!
Kristen
Is this compliant to eat on the 6 week program. Maybe measure out a 1 cup serving?
I wasn’t sure I, or either of my two girls who are under 5, would like this when I made it. I was soo wrong, though. This is probably one of the best soups I’ve ever had. I never really liked split peas til I had this soup, though I also didn’t really know what to do with them either. My toddler also loves this soup, it has to be strained a little for her, but it’s actually one of her favorite foods now.
Thank you soo much for sharing this recipe!!
Shawna
The only issue I had was the peas were still hard after cooking for an hour. I’m going to add some more water and cook them a little more for tomorrow. Other than that, I added a can of no-salt diced tomatoes. It was nice having a warm bowl.
Debbie
Hi Debbie!
So sorry they weren’t cooked through! Stove tops can vary!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
xo, Kristen
Hi Kristen. Thanks for this recipe; I plan to try it this week. I think your original comments about this were last year and your six-week success you refer to were the year before that, but I noted what you said about Dr. Fuhrman’s comments on soup and salad simplification of Nutritarian lifestyle. Have you tried doing just soup and salad again lately? Fall would seem to be perfect for that. Did you actually feel satisfied without grains? I guess they could be added to the soup. I just got The End of Dieting out of the library again today and am going to look for the reference you refer to about simplifying to soup and salad, because I’d dearly love to get really, really simple, but I always make it more complex for myself. I’m beginning to binge a little just at the time I’m saying I am beginning a six-week again, trying to get the motivation going! Thanks for this recipe.
Hi Joy!
So wonderful to meet you!
You can make this plan as simple as you need to! Yes, you could just do soup and salad just try to make sure the recipes you are using contain the GBOMBS you want daily (greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and raw seeds). You can definitely add in your cup of whole grains to your soup or salad.
Just get back in the game! I’m a big believer in changing strategies and it sounds like the perfect time to do it!
I have not personally only had soup and salad but I definitely have meals that are soup and salad and I know it can be done! Soup is one of the healthiest ways to cook your food (no carcinogens are formed like when you roast or pan fry), so this will be incredible for your health!
Please let me know how it goes!
xo, Kristen
We eat just soup and salad all the time for dinner! The Fuhrman salad dressing recipes usually contain nuts, and I add a few instead of croutons on top of the salad as well, which adds satiety. Also make sure your salad is huge! I also eat generous portions of soup so I appreciate really large recipes like this one or I double the smaller ones. No measuring – just two large bowls!
This recipe was amazing! For anyone curious to know if it will work in the instant pot, it does! I sauteed the onion, celery, and bell pepper in the instant pot for 5 minutes and then added in the carrot, sweet potato and split peas along with about 5-6 cups veggie broth (I added a little more as a cautious measure to prevent it from burning). I cooked on high pressure for 20 minutes and let it naturally release for 15 minutes and then released the rest of the pressure. The split peas did not hold their shape as much as stove top and I probably could have gone with the called for amount of veggie broth but delicious nonetheless.
I made this this week and love it. I did change a bit…I increased both carrots and celery to 1 cup. Added more aminos and garlic for a seasoning spike and some more water
as it was very thick.
I am someone who tries to eat too low on Nutritarian, so I needed to know the calories on this. I get 220 calories per cup, 10 servings the way I made it.
I eat one cup over steamed veggies and large salad for dinner.
Am I just imagining I saw her puree some of this soup? I did about 1/2 of it, lightly, and added back in, great. But now I cannot see where she did this. . .If she does, it needs to be added to the printed instructions here.
Good over steamed or roasted veggies to make “bigger” to get your cooked veggies in. I count this as a starchy veggie/grain allotment and do not eat any more of that for the day. And for “normies”, can add shredded cheese or croutons etc.
Hi Linda,
Thank you so much for taking the time to rate the recipe and share your notes!
I love learning new ways to make this recipe and I love that you blended up some of the soup. I’ve never done that before but I bet it makes an even creamier soup!
xo, Kristen
Finally found a soup that my husband (not a soup fan) loves!
Oh that’s so wonderful to hear, Samantha! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
xo, Kristen
I’m a little confused about the serving sizes. For example if I’m following the Red 7 day plan, how much of this would be one dinner serving?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Natasha,
I’m so happy to hear that you’re following the 7 Day Salad Cleanse! My usual portion size for this soup is 1 1/2 cups, but feel free to go up to 2 cups if you’re extra hungry!
Best,
Kristen
This recipe yields 8 cups. Is 1cup = 1 serving?
Hi Celine,
Thanks so much for sharing the veil for all of us!
I usually will eat a 1 1/2 cup portion and 2 cups when I’m more hungry!
It all depends on you, a 1-cup portion is a great place to start!
Kristen
I didn’t have any split peas, so I added lentils instead. It’s not thick or cream as it looks on the original recipe, but it’s delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Absolutely delicious soup!
SO happy to hear that, Kelli!
This is a BEAUTIFUL and inspiring site! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with the world!
Man! I’m doing a fridge/ eating overhaul this weekend:)
Oh, thank you so much for your kind words, Cristine!
If you do a fridge makeover please message it to me on Facebook or Instagram–I love seeing them!
xo, Kristen
I made this today in the crock pot, was delicious! I added about a cup more water (until the liquid just reached the highest layer of veggies) and cooked it on high for 4 hours.
Hi Hayley! I’m so happy to hear that this can be made in the crock pot and thanks so much for including the method–this will be useful for so many!
I’ve made this soup three times in the past couple of months because it’s so tasty, even edging out my previous vegan split pea recipe. Do you have a rule of thumb as to when to dry saute versus water saute?
Hi Kate!
YAY! So happy to hear this has become one of your favorite soups! Dry sautéing was something I learned about at Dr. Fuhrman’s Culinary Retreat that I attended back in 2017. One of the chefs there used it as a technique that gave a more concentrated flavor, but honestly if you prefer water sautéing feel free to do that!
Thank you so much for taking the time to review the recipe!
xo, Kristen
Hi This soup i exactly what I was looking for. I read it makes 8 cups but how many cups per serving? Thank you
Hi Celine! So happy to hear that you enjoyed the soup! I usually have 1 1/2 cups for a portion or up to 2 cups if I’m extra hungry!