As always, recipe first, story second…as it should be.
Vegan WFPBNO Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups low salt vegetable stock
- 2 medium russet potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1 cup dried split peas
- 1/2 cup dried navy beans
- 1 teaspoon mesquite liquid smoke
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Dice the potato and carrots. I’ve found the best combo is do a very fine dice of one potato and one carrot, then chop the other into chunks. Fancy types call it a peasant dice.
- Pour the 4 cups of stock into the Instant Pot. You can use water but it’ll have less flavor. To cut the cost, use 4 cups of water and a cube of vegetable bullion.
- Add the split peas and navy beans.
- Squirt in the liquid smoke to the pot.
- Put in the nooch. I normally load up on the nooch but the recipe doesn’t really need it.
- Set the Instant Pot for 20 minutes. I do a manual release but if you have the time a natural release will also work.
Warm and filling soup that my 3 and 1 1/2 year olds both loved
I never ate soup. Growing up on the Gulf Coast of Texas, it was never cold enough to eat soup with regularity. Sure, we’d occasionally have tomato soup if we had grilled cheese. Other than that, we never ate soup.
Since going vegan, I’ve started eating soup.
So, I’ve been playing around with a bunch of different soups. One of the ones that’s gove over better than any of the others is my split pea soup. I guess technically it’s split pea, navy bean, potato, and carrot soup. But you get the idea.
Dry Ingredients: The thing I’ve found that works best is doing two different dices. I like my soup to have a lot of flavor but also a lot of texture. So, I do a really fine dice on a potato and a carrot to add a ton of flavor. The chunky dice allows the soup to have a chunky texture as well. As for the beans, I love Camellia’s Beans. They have a crazy good assortment if you’re interested in starting on an Instant Pot bean and soup journey. Don’t soak the beans but do give them a quick rinse and make sure there aren’t any rocks or other junk in the beans.
Wet Ingredients: The recipe calls for veggie stock but you can totally use water if you choose. The liquid smoke adds a TON of smoky flavor that I associate with split pea soup. Honestly, it’s a lot of the flavor that people get when adding ham hocks or other such animal products. You won’t miss it in this recipe. If you like it spicy, add a tablespoon of sriracha before cooking.
Cooking Tips: After everything is added, make sure to give it a really good stir. This does help it cook evenly. Once it’s done and the pressure has released, take your ladle and give it a thorough stir to mix the ingredients.
Serving Tips: I strongly recommend tossing in some croutons or some really crusty bread that’s cut up. It’ll help if the soup is, well, soupy. It’ll also add some texture as well. You can add salt, pepper, or sriracha at this point to add flavor as well. I found my picky eater liked his soup in a bowl but with bread cut in strips to dip in. My youngest enjoyed it when I put a slice of bread cut into smaller squares and poured the soup over it. It was easy for him to eat and he loved it.
