Split Pea (boiled)

Why split pea (boiled) is rated high

Split peas are low only at a very small amount, about 2½ teaspoons (10g), and they bring two groups rather than one: fructans and GOS both build as the portion grows. Larger portions are moderate and much larger portions, such as a bowl of soup or dal, are high. Split peas are dried peas with the skins removed, and drying has already pulled the water out and concentrated everything left behind, which is part of why a modest scoop carries so much. Simmering them for hours, which is what split peas are for, does nothing to the FODMAPs themselves.

What changes your risk

• Serving size about 2½ teaspoons (10g) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high on both fructans and GOS. The low amount is a spoonful, not a serving of soup.
• Where the cooking water goes Both fructans and GOS dissolve in water, so boiling in plenty of water and pouring it away carries some of them off. Split pea soup does the opposite: the peas break down into the liquid and every bit of it is served, which is the worst case for a water soluble FODMAP.
• Canned and rinsed versus boiled from dried Legumes packed in liquid and then drained and rinsed run consistently lower than the same legume boiled from dried, because the liquid takes a share of the GOS with it. That is a real effect on the legume shelf generally, and it is not a way to make a bowl of split peas low.
• Two subgroups means two stacking risks A split pea dish sits alongside other fructan sources such as wheat bread, rye crackers, onion and garlic, and alongside other GOS sources such as chickpeas, lentils and cashews. Either group can add up across one meal on its own.
• The stock and the base Split pea soup is almost always built on onion, garlic and a stock cube or stock powder, all of which are fructan sources in their own right. Even setting the peas aside, that base needs replacing.

Swaps

For the thick, savoury, spoon coating body that split peas give a soup, cook down potato, carrot and zucchini and blend them, which gets you the texture without a legume anywhere in the pot. Polenta, rice, quinoa and buckwheat carry the same warming, filling role in a bowl. For the protein, firm tofu, eggs, plain chicken, plain meat and fish all slot in cleanly, and peanuts, walnuts, macadamias or pumpkin seeds scattered on top bring back the earthy, nutty finish. Build the base on garlic infused oil with chives and the green tops of spring onions rather than onion and garlic. Do not swap in lentils, chickpeas or kidney beans, since those carry the same groups the split peas do.

How to lower the load

Split peas hide in more places than the soup they are named for: dal, pease pudding, thick winter broths, ham and pea soup, and some packaged soup mixes and falafel blends where they stand in for chana dal. Read the ingredient list on dried soup mixes, since split peas are usually listed alongside barley and dried onion, which are fructan sources too. In a restaurant, split pea soup is worth ruling out rather than ordering small, because the peas dissolve into the broth and there is nothing to leave on the side of the bowl. At home, a pot of potato and carrot soup finished with garlic infused oil, black pepper and a little smoked paprika gets close to the smoky, hearty character people actually want from split pea soup.

Common questions

are split peas low fodmap

Only at a very small amount. About 2½ teaspoons (10g) of boiled split peas is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high on both fructans and GOS.

how much split pea is low fodmap

About 2½ teaspoons (10g) is low. Larger portions are moderate and a bowl of soup or dal is high.

is split pea soup ok on the elimination phase

Split pea soup does not suit the strict phase. The peas break down into the broth, so the fructans and GOS that dissolve into the cooking water are served rather than poured away, and a bowl is far past the small low amount.

what can i use instead of split peas in soup

Blended potato, carrot and zucchini give the same thick body, with firm tofu or plain meat for protein and garlic infused oil for the savoury base.