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Dutch

Erwtensoep

Non-vegetarian

A very thick Dutch winter soup of green split peas, pork, celeriac and leek, served with slices of smoked sausage. A good snert is said to hold a spoon upright.

Erwtensoep is a Dutch soup from Netherlands, ready in about 2 hours 50 minutes and made with green split peas (dried) and pork belly. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Pot of thick Dutch split pea soup with sliced sausage
Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor / Wikimedia Commons · public-domain
Prep
20 min
Cook
2 h 30 min
Total
2 h 50 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
740

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the split peas, water, pork belly (opens in a new tab) and bay leaves (opens in a new tab) in a large pot. Bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then simmer gently, partly covered, for about an hour.

  2. Step 2

    Add the onion (opens in a new tab), leeks (opens in a new tab), carrots (opens in a new tab), celeriac (opens in a new tab) and potato (opens in a new tab) and simmer for another hour, stirring often from the bottom so the peas do not catch.

    • 60 min
    • low heat

  3. Step 3

    Lift out the pork, cut it into small pieces and return it to the pot. Slice the sausage and warm it in the soup for 15 minutes.

    • 20 min
    • low heat

  4. Step 4

    Season with salt and pepper (opens in a new tab) and stir in the celery (opens in a new tab) leaves. The soup should be very thick; add water if you prefer it looser. Serve with rye bread (opens in a new tab) on the side.

    • 2 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Netherlands · Well documentedMore food from Netherlands
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups · Main courses
Cooking method
Simmered, Slow-cooked
Taste
savoury, earthy, smoky
Diet
Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · High-protein
Without the optional extras: No gluten ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Budget-friendly · Freezer-friendly · Make-ahead · Batch cooking
Cook more with
Green split peas (dried) · Pork belly · Kielbasa (smoked Polish sausage) · Onion · Leek · Carrot
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Stock making

Allergens

  • May contain: Milkfrom rye bread
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom rye bread
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom rye bread
  • May contain: Soyfrom rye bread
  • May contain: Sesamefrom rye bread
  • May contain: Mustardfrom kielbasa (smoked polish sausage)
  • Contains: Celeryfrom celeriac, celery
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom kielbasa (smoked polish sausage)

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

740 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 620 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 16%
  • Carbohydrate 34%
  • Fat 49%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy740 kcal119 kcal
Protein30.5 g4.9 g
Carbohydrate64.1 g10.3 g
Net carbohydrate43.3 g7 g
Sugars6.2 g1 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre20.7 g3.3 g
Fat41.1 g6.6 g
Saturated fat13.9 g2.2 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol66 mg11 mg
Sodium1025 mg165 mg
Salt equivalent2.6 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1154 mg
Calcium
125 mg
Iron
5.7 mg
Magnesium
88 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
199 µg
Vitamin C
11 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
1 µg
Folate (DFE)
45 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: potato, celery, rye bread.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Erwtensoep is traditionally made a day ahead – it thickens and tastes better after a night in the fridge.

Common mistakes

  • Not stirring: split peas sink and scorch easily in the last hour.

Serve with

  • Serve with rye bread topped with smoked bacon and mustard.

Food safety

  • Simmer the pork belly until tender (well above 71 °C); cool the soup in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours — thick soups hold heat a long time.

Storage

  • Keeps 4 days refrigerated or 3 months frozen.

Reheating

  • Reheat slowly with a splash of water, stirring, until bubbling.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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