Creamy Yellow Pea Soup

Name: Creamy Yellow Pea Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American, British, East European, Greek, Nordic
Ingredients: 3 1/4 cups yellow pea (whole); 3 cubes vegetable stock; 1 tbsp turmeric; 2 large onion, one halved, one chopped; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 cup oat milk (or more, if you prefer a runnier soup); 3 cloves garlic; 1 tbsp paprika; 1 dash salt

A quick and easy recipe on how to make creamy yellow pea soup by using ready cooked whole yellow peas

by Cory Varga

Updated 24 December 2024

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How would you like to taste a vegan food from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome? I present to you, the delicious, creamy yellow pea soup, a dish which has been eaten since antiquity. This soup is mentioned in Aristophanes' The Birds.

Are you interested in the history of this legume? Me too, that's why I'm going to tell you a little more about it. It's actually really fascinating and it's nice to trace back the origins of your food.

Where does pea soup come from?

It is believed that peas could have originated in the region that spans from the Near or Middle East across to Central Asia. It's hard to pinpoint the exact location but it may have been northern India, Burma, or Northern Thailand.

What's super interesting is that some archaeologists found peas dated at 9750 BCE. Other digs around Iraq uncovered peas that were dated between 7,000 and 6,000 BCE. [1]

Turns out, the Greeks and Romans were cultivating peas about 500 to 400 BCE and some shows that back then you could find vendors in Athens selling actual pea soup. That's pretty crazy and awesome.

Creamy yellow pea soup in a bowl with a spoon next to it

Cream soup or soupy soup?

I absolutely love a soulful creamy soup. Make it into yellow pea soup and I'm happy. Why do I love using whole peas and cooking them first, instead of using split peas? Let me tell you about the versatility of using whole yellow peas.

By cooking the yellow peas first, you have control over how creamy you want your soup to be. You can add your liquid bit by bit. If you like a runnier soup, that's totally ok, simply add more oat milk or vegetable stock to it.

I love proper creamy soup (think more saucy than soupy). So I put just 3 cups of vegetable stock and 1 cup of oat milk. That does the trick for me.

Yellow pea soup in a rustic bowl with spoon

But here's the funny thing. After one night in the fridge, this soup becomes proper thick, more like mashed potatoes rather than soup. You'd never guess this was ever a soup. Seriously.

So now you have two options: you either add a little oat milk or vegetable stock when heating up on the hob or, you use it as a side dish to your wholegrain rice. It becomes more like a fun yellow pea curry sauce, without the crazy spices. It's mild and filling and great for your stomach.

How to make creamy yellow soup?

Cook the whole yellow peas in a pressure cooker. I usually cook 500 grams of whole peas in around 8 cups of water. Add an onion, halved into the pot. Add 3 cubes of vegetable stock. It takes around 20-25 minutes for the whole yellow peas to be cooked in the pressure cooker. It doesn't matter if you overcook the peas, it's, in fact, better if they are a little mushy.

Heat up a little olive oil in a frying pan. Add the chopped onion and fry for around 3 minutes. Add the garlic, the turmeric and the paprika. Mix in the frying pan for about a minute until the onion is fully covered in spices. Set aside.

Delicious whole yellow pea soup

When the peas are fully cooked, drain them but save their water. The water if full of taste and yumminess and you will be using it for the soup.
Add the cooked peas into a large pot. Add the spices on top and 3 cups of the pea water.
Using a handheld blender, whizz the pea, the water and the spices until creamy. Add 1 cup of oat milk and whizz again until fully blended.

As previously mentioned, sometimes this much liquid is more than enough to create the perfect creamy yellow pea soup. However, if you prefer it a little runnier, continue adding more oat milk/vegetable broth, as needed, until the soup reaches the required consistency.

This recipe has been developed entirely by Yuzu Bakes. Any resemblance with other recipes is purely coincidental.