Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, this hearty vegan split pea soup is deliciously creamy, full of with plant-based protein and bursting with flavor.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven, add the onion, carrot, celery, leek and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, the spices, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the wine, give a good stir, and let it simmer until it's nearly evaporated.
Add the broth, the split peas, the herbs and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, cover with lid and cook for about 35 minutes stirring occasionally. But the cooking time may vary, so it might take between 30 and 40 minutes.
When the split peas are done and tender, stir in the onion powder (optional, for more flavor) and adjust the seasoning to your taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. You might want to adjust the texture as well adding an extra touch of broth for a thinner soup, or you might want to partially blender the the soup if you prefer a creamier texture.
Serve with crusty bread or croutons. I also like an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper for flavor. Enjoy!
Notes
Broth: start with 5 cups of broth and check at the end if you are happy with the consistency. The soup should be quite thick, but you might add an extra touch of broth at the end if you prefer a thinner consistency, it's a no brainer (while it's hard to do the opposite - reducing the broth - at the end of cooking!).Seasoning: adding salt at the beginning of cooking can result in over-salted soup, so if you use a vegetable broth that tastes quite salty on its own, it’s important to adjust the seasoning at the end and not at the beginning as you never really know how strong the salt from the broth is. Cayenne pepper/wine: skip it if a touch of heat or alcool is not your thing, or if you're feeding children.Nutrition facts: the nutrition values are for one portion and are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. Please see my disclosure policies.