Split pea soup is one of the first things we tried making when we got a slow cooker 5 years ago.  We made a basic recipe with carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, and thyme, and it was okay, but only Daniel really liked it.  I thought it was boring.

Then I spotted a recipe for split pea curry and decided that was the direction to take.  I used the seasoning from that stove-top recipe with the cooking directions from the slow-cooker recipe, made a few tweaks, and here’s the result: a soup that’s both nourishing and interesting!

It’s vegan and gluten-free, so it’s perfect for serving to people with a range of dietary restrictions.  It’s got so much protein, you won’t need any animals in the meal!

This recipe fits in a 6-quart slow cooker and makes at least 16 main-dish servings. It’s perfect for “planned leftovers” you can take for lunch or freeze for later! If you have a smaller cooker or want less soup, make a half batch.

• 4 cups (2 pounds) dry split peas
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 medium onion
• 12 cups vegetable broth
• 4 tsp yellow curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 4 cloves garlic
• Dash of cinnamon
• Dash of ground cloves
• 2-4 cups coconut milk, if desired
• Cilantro, if desired

Peel sweet potato (if you like–I usually remove just the roughest parts of the peel) and dice it and the onion. Rinse peas.

Mix peas, sweet potato, broth, curry, garam masala, cumin, coriander, and lemon juice in the slow cooker.

Cook on High for 5 hours. Check consistency of soup. If peas are not soft enough, or if you would like a more liquid soup, stir in 1 cup water and continue cooking for another hour.

When soup has reached desired consistency, crush the garlic and stir it in, along with cinnamon and cloves. If you want to add coconut milk to the entire batch of soup, stir it in as well. Cook until bubbling, then keep it warm until ready to serve.

The other option with coconut milk is to let each person stir her preferred amount into her own bowl of soup.

Top with cilantro, if you like it.

Store leftover soup in glass jars in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (with coconut milk) or even as long as 10 days (without coconut milk).  Or freeze a quart to thaw later when you need a quick meal.

Check out this slow-cooker recipe collection!  Visit Hearth & Soul for more recipes and household hints!  Get lots of tips on cooking healthy meals conveniently in my latest article at Kitchen Stewardship!