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    Home » Soups

    Split Pea Soup with Bacon

    Published: Nov 14, 2021 · Modified: Jan 3, 2023 by Petra Kupská

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    Creamy split pea soup smelling of garlic and dried marjoram. The recipe comes from the Czech Republic, where it is called "hrachova polevka". It often appears on the Czech Christmas table as part of the festive menu.

    Yellow split pea soup.
    Table of Contents hide
    ➜ Pronunciation
    ➜ Ingredients
    ➜ Instructions
    ➜ Serving
    ➜ Useful Tips
    Split Pea Soup with Bacon

    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

    Czech split pea soup hrachová polévka 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.

    Making Czech split pea soup - hrachova polevka.

    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.

    Pouring heavy cream in split pea soup.

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

    Frying bacon strips in a pan.

    ➜ 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

    Czech split pea soup.

    ➜ 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.

    More Czech soups:

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

    Tried this recipe?

    Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest. Subscribe to my newsletter. Send me any question about Czech cuisine to my e-mail. I love hearing your feedback!

    Czech Split pea soup recipe

    Split Pea Soup with Bacon

    Creamy split pea soup smelling of garlic and dried marjoram. The recipe comes from the Czech Republic, where it is called "hrachova polevka". It often appears on the Czech Christmas table as part of the festive menu.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 330kcal
    Author: Petra Kupská
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: Czech
    Keyword: Czech Christmas, Legume Recipes

    Ingredients

    • 1 and ½ cups yellow split peas (300 g)
    • 5 cups broth (1.2 l) beef, chicken or vegetable
    • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
    • 2 cloves of garlic
    • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper ground
    • 1 tsp salt
    • ½ cup heavy cream (120 ml) fat content 30 % and more
    • 4 ounces sliced bacon (110 g) optionally, smoked meat or sausage
    • 6 handfuls bread croutons

    Instructions

    • 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 the peas are tender. This step usually takes 30-40 minutes.
    • Blend the soft peas with an immersion blender, but not until smooth. The soup should be creamy but with a coarser texture.
    • Add the grated garlic and dried marjoram. Rub the marjoram between your fingers before adding.
    • 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.
    • Cut the bacon slices into strips and fry them in a pan in melted lard until almost crispy.

    Notes

    • SERVING: Serve the split pea soup warm, add a spoonful of fried bacon to the plate 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.
    • 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.
     

    DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

    Conversion chart

    Nutritional Estimate pro portion

    Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 928mg | Potassium: 545mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 791IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg
    Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.
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    More Czech Soup Recipes

    • Beef Tripe Soup (Czech Drstkova polevka)
    • Fresh Tomato Soup Recipe
    • Cold Strawberry Soup Recipe
    • Bohemian Beef Noodle Soup

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sarah

      May 11, 2022 at 7:34 pm

      5 stars
      This soup was delicious and very easy to make. I didn't need to add any extra salt because the chicken broth I used was salty enough. The garlic and the marjoram added a really great flavor. I recommend that everyone makes this soup!

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        May 16, 2022 at 7:01 am

        Thank you, Sarah, for your lovely feedback! 🙂

        Reply

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    Hi there, I’m Petra, a self-taught home cook and a Czech mom of two teen boys with more than 20 years of cooking experience. I am here to share traditional recipes from the Czech Republic, a small country in the very heart of Europe.

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