I have a question about split pea soup in a crock pot.

[Ruth n Jersey]

I make split pea soup and lentil soup quite often. I always soak the peas over night. The last time I made it I had my crock pot out and wondered if I could use it for the soup. I checked online and noticed that they didn't mention soaking the peas. Has anyone made pea soup in a crock pot without soaking the peas? If you did how much water did you use when making the soup? They suggest cooking on low for about 8 hours. Also is there a difference between a crock pot and a slow cooker? I usually have a soup night once a week. It would be nice to put it on at night and have it all cooked by morning.

 

[retiredtraveler]

We don't soak the peas. The split peas cook (relatively) quickly. The ratio of water to peas is 4-1. I know of no difference between a crock pot (we always call it a crack pot) and a slow cooker. I thought they were the same thing, different names.
We make bean soup fairly often and those we soak overnight.

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

Thanks retiredtraveler. I'll give it a try.

 

[Mrs. Robinson]

My mom used to always soak split peas but if you buy them in a package,you will notice that they no longer require that. Same with lentils. I haven`t made split pea in the crockpot or slow cooker (same thing) but I`m sure it would be great!

 

[RadishRose]

Never soaked dried peas or lentils before cooking.

"Crock pot" is just the brand name of a slow cooker that came out using a crockery liner. I've never used it for peas or lentils.

 

[Camper6]

I make split pea soup and lentil soup quite often. I always soak the peas over night. The last time I made it I had my crock pot out and wondered if I could use it for the soup. I checked online and noticed that they didn't mention soaking the peas. Has anyone made pea soup in a crock pot without soaking the peas? If you did how much water did you use when making the soup? They suggest cooking on low for about 8 hours. Also is there a difference between a crock pot and a slow cooker? I usually have a soup night once a week. It would be nice to put it on at night and have it all cooked by morning.

I would soak them. You can't go wrong doing that. You don't want the peas to be hard in a soup.

Here's another tip with soup. Use your hand blender to mash about 1/4 of the soup. It makes a much smoother base.

With beans I usually mash about 1/2 of the pot.

I have a slow cooker. Two temperature settings. Low and High.

Yes it is nice to have it cook while you are sleeping.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I've never made split pea soup in a crock pot but I would give the peas a little head start by adding boiling water/stock to the crock pot at the beginning.

I think that using boiling liquid would be similar to using the quick soak method where you cover dried beans with boiling liquid and let them set for an hour before cooking.

Good luck!

 

[Marie5656]

What about black eyed peas? I remember years ago I made some from scratch and they had to be soaked. I also remember picking out the bad ones. I figure, New Years is coming, and got to have some. For luck and all. Though I will probably just buy a can of them or something. :sentimental:

 

[SeaBreeze]

It's been a long time, but whenever we made any split peas or beans in the crock pot we soaked them overnight and then dumped out that water. I don't remember how much water we ended up using, but we usually made a thicker version, not really a thin soup.

 

[NancyNGA]

I never soak any kind of dried beans---even big old pinto beans. Just cook them longer probably---boiled on the stove. Never takes more than a couple of hours. Can't imagine anything taking 8 hours, but I've never used a crock pot.

Guess I never had the patience, or planned far enough ahead to do any soaking.

 

[retiredtraveler]

I never soak any kind of dried beans---even big old pinto beans. Just cook them longer probably---boiled on the stove. Never takes more than a couple of hours. Can't imagine anything taking 8 hours, but I've never used a crock pot.

Yes. If you're boiling on the stove, you can cook a lot quicker. But to me, it's too much checking the pot in a short period. You have to keep checking the stove, and can't leave the house with something on the stove.
We use a slow cooker because we can just let it go all day, run errands, and only check it every couple of hours to give it a stir and check on liquid level.