Move over old school split pea soup, there is a new kid in town! Vegan Coconut Split Pea Soup is loaded with luscious warm spices like cardamom and turmeric, blended with creamy coconut milk. Yummy, nutritious, and so easy to make!
There's this little restaurant a few hours north of Los Angeles off of the 101 freeway called, “Pea Soup Anderson's” which, obviously, is known for its pea soup. It has been around for ages (1928 to be exact) and was the most welcome refuge while on a California jaunt a few years back with my healthy partner in crime, Karen.
Pea Soup Anderson's serves 1.5 million bowls of pea soup a year! Which tells me that there are a lot of split pea soup lovers in this world. If you happen to be near Pea Soup Anderson's be sure to order the “travelers special” which is a bottomless bowl of the jolly green goodness. It wasn't terribly hard to knock down at least 2 refills (maybe 3… but ya know bottomless, so who's counting?).
If you happen to live in very far away from Pea Soup Anderson's, like me, and get a hankering for pea soup, go ahead and make my version. No, it's not the classic, but dare I say better?
5 Reasons to Make My Vegan Coconut Split Pea Soup
- Split peas are loaded with protein! Which makes this a plant-based soup that is also a high protein soup #Winning
- Coconut milk blended into split peas is genius #Bragging
- Split pea soup is the breakfast of champions. (No, seriously, this makes the best breakfast!)
- You put lime (in the..) and coconut and you drink the bowl up — so there's that.
- You can make this in the slow cooker very easily, just pop in all of the ingredients set on low for 8 hours or high for 4. No need to soak the split peas! Just allow the slow cooker to do it's magic
- (bonus reason) Turmeric is one of the most potent anti-inflammatories on the planet (just make sure you follow this tip when you use turmeric)! So this soup is really really good for you. Like really, really, really good for you 🙂
I love the combination of protein packed split peas and warm Indian spices. I used cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, and cumin in this vegan coconut split pea soup then blended it all together with coconut milk, mint leaves, and finished with a squeeze of lime juice. Ahhh!! Seriously you guys this is so good! I sometimes will garnish with a few bits of shredded coconut for extra good coconut goodness.
There is something so wholly satisfying about this version of pea soup, I've actually become a bit obsessed with having it for breakfast. It satisfies all of my morning desires and nutritionally is pretty dang awesome for breakfast. Protein? Check. Complex carbs? Check. Delicious Town? You betcha!
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack this is your new go-to split pea soup recipe and I know you are going to love it.
Thanks for reading Abra's Kitchen! If you make this recipe tag #abraskitchen on Instagram 🙂
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Vegan Coconut Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound of green split peas rinsed and sorted
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom or 4 cardamom pods, but remove them before blending
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 4 cups of vegetable stock
- 1 can of light coconut milk
- pinch of sea salt
- 20 fresh mint leaves about a large handful
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, pour 6 cups hot water over rinsed and sorted split peas. Boil for 2 minutes, turn off heat, cover and let sit for one hour.
- After an hour drain split peas and set aside.
- In large soup pot saute onion, carrot, and garlic in coconut oil for 10 minutes until soft. Add all dry spices and stir well (this should begin to smell amazingly good!)
- Add veggie stock, coconut milk, and split peas.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 2.5 hours, or until split peas are tender.
- Once split peas are tender (taste to be sure) place half of the soup in a blender and blend with lime juice and mint leaves. Return blended portion to pot, stir together.
- Serve with an extra sprig of mint and a squeeze of lime.
Notes
Once cooked remove half of the soup, blend, and return to pot.
*Garnish with mint leaves, chopped carrot, shredded coconut, and a squeeze of lime juice (all optional).
Nutrition
Editors Note: This post was originally published on 11/13/14 but has been updated with new photos, nutritional info, and a slow cooker version. Woohoo!
