Creamy, sweet, and savory, this Mildly Spicy Pea Soup with Jalapeño and Mint is a delicious new take on Pea Soup! Easy to make ahead with frozen peas and reheat for weeknight dinners!
My new version of a Creamy and Mildly Spicy Pea Soup is seriously delicious taking a traditional dish and turning it up with new ingredients and flavors! What makes it Zesty, you ask? Well, read on…
My first encounter with Pea Soup was making it in a Catering Cooking Class I took in New York years ago. It was so simple, fresh, creamy and tasty. However, since my husband has some crazy aversion to peas, I hadn’t made it for years. I decided it was time to try it again recently. But, this time, I wanted to change it up, kick it up, and after looking at the jalapeños and mint in my garden, I decided that would be an interesting combination! The result? Amazing and delicious Spicy Pea Soup!
BTW, I LOVE soup! Here are some of my other favorite easy soup recipes!
- 5 Ingredient Chunky Chicken Vegetable Soup
- 5 Ingredient Chicken Tortilla Soup with Kale
- Creamy Chicken Tomato Soup
- Detox Cabbage Soup
- Golden Lentil Soup
- Creamy Carrot and Kale Soup
- Hearty Skillet Creamy Mushroom Soup
Just a mild little kick in this Spicy Pea Soup, not sweat-inducing heat
You might be saying to yourself, ‘what?! jalapeños with my peas??’ But the amount in this recipe is not overwhelming, it will just give you this wonderful secondary warmth in the back of your mouth, not an initial spicy hot kick to the tongue. You still get the freshness and spring flavor of the peas to start, but then you get that slight spice and warmth that makes you want to go back for more. The jalapeños are really what perk up and breathe new life into this Pea Soup recipe.
Plus Mint for the Perfect Sweet-Savory Warmth
With this combination you get the sweet spring flavor of the peas with the cool fresh mint, followed by the peppery kick from the jalapeño that leaves a wonderful warmth (not spicy-hot) feel in your mouth. Its the ultimate combo of sweet, cool, and hot all blended together for the perfect Zesty Pea Soup.
Quick note! This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase from them. This commission is what helps me keep this blog afloat :). But, I also share these links because I have used the products, genuinely love them, and want you to know exactly what I used.
PREP-AHEAD TO MAKE YOUR ZESTY PEA SOUP COOKING ‘KIT’
You are busy, so these are the steps you can do a day or two in advance to prepare food ahead! (See the recipe below for more details)
- TIP: If you worry about getting pieces of slightly crunchy onion in your soup even after it’s blended, USE FROZEN ONIONS! When they cook, they have more water content from being frozen, so they cook very soft right from the start, but still give you all the flavor. Just be sure to cook off any excess water in recipes.
- You can buy frozen onions, but I like to make my own, because it’s cheaper and so easy. Simply dice the onion the day before and place it in a freezer bag in the freezer over night.
- The only other thing that could be prepped in advance is to finely dice the jalapeño. You need 2 tablespoons, which I find is about 1 fat 3-inch jalapeño.
TIME TO COOK YOUR ZESTY PEA SOUP
- In a medium saucepan, add a teaspoon of olive oil, then add the frozen peas, frozen onion, and fresh jalapeño. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the peas and onions are thawed, stirring frequently.
- Warm the vegetable broth up in a sauce pan (it does not need to be brought to a boil, just warmed) and then add it to the peas. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- After cooling a bit, comes the blending! This is when you will add in the fresh mint. You can blend to your heart’s desire, so taste as you go to see if you like some texture or want it more smooth. If you need to do this in batches because it is too much liquid, that’s fine too, just make sure you blend the same ratio of peas to broth so you get the smooth consistency you want each time.
- After you blend to the perfect texture and consistency, you will pour the soup back into the saucepan, then whisk in the Half and Half as well as the cornstarch slurry. Bring back to a simmer (do not boil) and cook for 5 minutes stirring to make sure no clumps form as the sauce thickens.
Taste for seasoning and add Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste.
Serve in bowls and garnish with fresh mint and other toppings you love, such as croutons or sour cream.
ENJOY!
😍 Carrie
Zesty Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups Frozen Peas about 2, 10oz packages
- ½ cup Onion, diced and then frozen
- 2 Tbls Jalapeño, finely chopped, no seeds about 1, fat 3″ jalapeño
- 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
- 4 Tbls Fresh Mint, gently sliced
- 2 Tbls Corn Starch
- ¼ cup Cold water
- 1 cup Half and Half
- Salt, to taste
- Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste
Instructions
Prep Ahead
- Dice the onion and place the onion in a bag in the freezer over night.
- Seed the jalapeño, then dice it.
Make the Pea Soup
- In a medium sauce pan, add a teaspoon olive oil, then add the peas, frozen onion, and jalapeño. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the peas and onions are thawed, stirring frequently,
- Warm the vegetable broth up in a sauce pan (it does not need to be brought to a boil, just warmed) and then add it to the peas. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Move the soup pot off the hot burner and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then, transfer the soup to a blender and add the mint. Blend until completely smooth.
- Make the slurry by adding the corn starch to the cold water.
- Pour back into the sauce pan, and whisk in the Half and Half as well as the corn starch slurry. Bring back to a simmer (do not boil) and cook for 5 minutes stirring to make sure no clumps form. The sauce will thicken a bit.
- Taste for seasoning and add Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste.
- Serve in bowls and garnish with sour cream or plan yogurt and fresh mint.
Adrienne says
Looks so good!
Carrie Tyler says
Thank you so much, Adrienne! I hope you love it as much as I do 🙂 Carrie
Kristy Murray says
Pea Soup is one of my all time favorites. It reminds me of my mom as she would make it every Fall. And what a great idea to heat it up a bit with jalapeños. The flavors you’ve brought into your pea soup sound fabulous. I can’t wait to try it for myself. Thanks for posting!