This simple but wholesome plant-based pea soup is filling, savoury and punchy when topped with zesty cashew basil pesto.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This simple but wholesome plant-based pea soup is filling, savory and really pops when topped with zesty cashew basil pesto – scroll to the bottom for the full recipe card with exact measurements.
- Olive oil
- Brown onions
- Garlic
- Dried yellow split peas
- Vegetable stock
- Coconut milk
- Fresh basil
- Raw cashews
- Lemon
- Salt
Instructions
Follow along with this step-by-step guide to make your Yellow Split Pea Soup with Basil Pesto. You’ll find all the exact times, temperatures, and measurements in the recipe card below.
Step one: Rinse the split peas, then heat olive oil in a large pot and sauté onions and garlic until soft.
Step two: Add the peas and stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the peas are tender.
Step three: Stir in coconut milk, remove from heat.
Step four: Puree the soup until smooth.
Step five: Ladle soup into bowls and top each serving with a dollop of cashew basil pesto.
Yellow Split Pea Soup with Basil Pesto (Vegan)
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil approx. 28g
- 2 yellow onions diced; about 2 cups or 284g total
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 ½ gcup dried yellow split peas approx. 500g
- 8 ½ cups vegetable broth approx. 2 liters
- 1 ⅔ cups canned coconut milk well shaken; approx. 400ml or 381g total
Cashew Pesto
- 1 bunch fresh basil approx. 1 packed cup or 25g
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil approx. 56g
- ⅓ cup raw cashews approx. 45g
- ½ lemon juiced; approx. 1 tbsp or 14g juice
- ¼ tsp salt approx. 1.5g; optional
Instructions
- Rinse the split peas in a fine mesh strainer under cold water.
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced yellow onions and cook for 2–3 minutes, until translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the rinsed split peas and vegetable broth to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 25–30 minutes, or until the peas are soft and breaking apart.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the coconut milk. Blend the soup directly in the pot using an immersion (stick) blender until smooth and creamy. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
- In a food processor, combine the basil, garlic, olive oil, cashews, lemon juice, and salt. Blend until mostly smooth—some small chunks are fine for texture.
- To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a generous spoonful of cashew pesto. Optionally, drizzle with extra olive oil or a squeeze of lemon.
Gareth Tan Yiam Leem says
To die for! Thank you
sarah says
Perfectly done, so delicious, thank you!
Hong Nguyen says
Made this for my family and they really liked it
Tine says
this taste way better than i expected!! thank you for this recipe!