The best vegan split pea soup recipe! This vegetarian split pea soup is brightened up with fresh dill and topped with crispy, blackened onions. YUM!
Hello, Rhubarbarians! Today you’re getting a reminder of just how DELICIOUS split pea soup can be. None of that boring stuff here.. this soup is sooooo tasty.
Try our rich and flavorful Instant Pot veggie barley soup!
This Danish version of split pea soup was created by Laurie and Kirstin of The Family Dinner. Kirstin is thrilled to have the recipe shared here on Rhubarbarians, and even shared with me her recipe for Danish apple cake from their book, The Family Cooks. Go check out more of their amazing recipes!
I made a few tweaks, making this a vegan split pea soup recipe. I am totally blown away by this one. SO delicious! The addition of dill adds brightness, while the crispy onion topping adds richness. I adjusted the recipe just a bit to make it vegan, and it will now be one of my go to soups!
More vegan soup recipes you will love:
Vegan posole with black beans and poblanos
Vegan asparagus soup with pistachio cream
How to make vegetarian split pea soup taste amazing
It doesn’t take a lot of work to make a delicious vegetarian split pea soup, but it does take a bit of time to build some great flavor.
First, you’ll want to cook the onions until they are nice and brown. At LEAST 15 minutes. The longer these cook, the more they will caramelize and add flavor. 15 minutes over medium high heat is just enough time to make them golden and flavorful, but not yet jammy.
Add all of your vegetables, along with some fresh herbs and let it all simmer for about an hour on the stove top. This lets all of those flavors marry together with the golden onions and will develop a rich soup.
Pro tip: If you can’t find celery root, you can substitute it for rutabaga, turnip, or parsnip!
Fresh dill and crispy onions on top are EVERYTHING
DON’T SKIP THIS STEP! This vegan split pea soup is great on it’s own, but definitely don’t skip the fresh dill and crispy onions on top! It just makes this the most flavorful split pea soup you’ll ever have.
To make the crispy onions, all you need to do is slice a couple of onions and saute them over fairly high heat until they are blackened and starting to crisp. This should only take about 10-15 minutes. I like to do this while the soup is simmering and put them to the side until the soup is done.
Add them to your soup with chopped fresh dill. Soooooo good.
Vegan split pea soup recipe
The best vegan split pea soup recipe! This vegetarian split pea soup is brightened up with fresh dill and topped with crispy, blackened onions. YUM!
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 1/4 medium celery root, diced*
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups dried green split peas, rinsed
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 4 Tbsp chopped fresh dill, divided
- 2 medium yellow onions, sliced
- salt and pepper
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and saute until golden, about 15 minutes.
Add the next 6 ingredients, through thyme, and half of the dill. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer over medium low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until peas are soft and soup is fragrant.
Meanwhile, saute the sliced onions in a skillet over medium high heat until blackened and crispy. Remove from skillet and set aside for topping.
Season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with crispy onions and fresh dill.
*If you can't find celery root, you can substitute it for rutabaga, turnip, or parsnip!
I hope you and your family love this green split pea soup! Don’t forget to give me a tag on Facebook or Instagram with #Rhubarbarians 
If you’re looking for a group of people cooking vegetarian recipes through the seasons, join us on Facebook in our vegetarian and vegan recipes group!
Hope you have a great Spring, friends!
Trish
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Cass says
I decided to try coating and frying the onions, almost like onion rings. It was such an incredible addition! The soup itself was “stand at the fridge at 2am and eat out of the tubberware” good! I highly recommend!
Patricia Bozeman says
Those onions sound fantastic! I’m so glad you loved this soup. 🙂
Julia says
Those onions look incredible! And I love onions and dill together. Such a delicious and cozy looking soup!
Patricia Bozeman says
Thanks Julia! It’s a fave this time of year for sure. Let me know if you give it a try.:)
Sarah says
I just made this tonight and it is so good. I love the addition of dill to the soup. It was also my first time using celery root! I’m thinking this soup would be good with some added lemon juice as well to brighten it up even more.
Patricia Bozeman says
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it! I agree, lemon juice would be amazing. 🙂
Sandra says
This looks gorgeous!
Nellie & Bellie (@miznelliebellie) says
Love how simple this recipe is to pull together! Thanks so much for sharing!
Jasmin says
You made the right thing sharing this spring soup on your blog – and the pics are amazing and simply yummy…