Split Pea Soup with Bacon

Creamy split pea soup, fragrant with garlic and dried marjoram, is a traditional Czech dish known as "Hrachová polévka." It often graces the Christmas table in the Czech Republic as part of the festive menu.

The soup is made from dried peas, which are peeled and split in half. Peas processed in this way can be easily cooked and are ideal for creating quick and filling meals.

MY TIP: Try also this Czech green pea soup (hrášková polévka); it tastes fantastic!

➜ Pronunciation

The Czech name of this soup is "hrachová polévka." To give you an idea of how to pronounce this Czech word, I have recorded a short audio clip for you.

➜ Ingredients

For split pea soup, you need:

• Yellow split peas; buy a packet that says it doesn't need to be pre-soaked. I would recommend checking the peas for dirt and then rinsing them in water.
• Broth; beef, chicken, or vegetable. It can be cold or hot.
• Dried marjoram; a typical Czech spice!
• Garlic; fresh
• Black pepper; ground
• Salt
• Heavy cream; containing at least 30 % fat
• Bacon; sliced. Optionally, smoked meat or sausage.
• Lard; or table oil

Next, get the bread croutons ready. You can eat the soup without them, but it will be missing something.

✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

➜ Instructions

STEP 1: Pour the broth into a pot and add the split peas. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover the pot and let it simmer until peas are tender. This step usually takes 30-40 minutes.

STEP 2: Blend the soft peas with an immersion blender, but not until smooth. The soup should be creamy but with a coarser texture.

STEP 3: Add the grated garlic and dried marjoram. Rub the marjoram between your fingers before adding.

STEP 4: Add heavy cream to the soup—mix, salt, and pepper. Put the soup back on the stove. Bring it to a boil and then immediately set it aside, do not cook any further.

STEP 5: Cut the bacon slices into strips and fry them in a pan in melted lard until almost crispy.

➜ Serving

Serve the split pea soup warm, add a spoonful of fried bacon to the bowl and throw in a handful of bread croutons. Add these to the soup just before serving; otherwise, they will get soggy.

The soup is filling, and it can perfectly serve as a lighter stand-alone course. In our house, we traditionally eat it as a Czech Christmas soup.

Read: What do Czech eat at Christmas

➜ Useful Tips

• Instead of bacon, pan-fry cubes of smoked meat or sausage cut into slices.
• If you want to have the soup on the table quickly, be careful to use split peas, which do not need to be soaked beforehand.
• The soup is thickened by blending the peas, contains no flour, and is thus naturally gluten-free.

Also try Czech Pučálka, sprouted peas fried in a pan.

More Czech soups:

• Sauerkraut soup – with sausage
• Clear garlic soup
• Goulash soup