Gather your mise en place; get together all of the equipment needed for the recipe and gather your ingredients.

Measure out the oil, stock, peas, ham, bay and cloves.

Dice the onion, carrots and celery.

Mince the garlic and the thyme.

Using the saute function on the instant pot, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Saute until the carrots, celery, and onion begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Deglaze with 6 cups chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pot to ensure that any browned bits are dislodged.

Add green split peas, thyme, salt, pepper, cloves, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Then add the ham hock on top of the other ingredients.

Secure the lid and set pressure to cook on high for 30 minutes. The machine will take about 20 minutes to come to pressure before it begins its countdown. Once finished, natural release the pressure for 15 minutes, then safely quick-release the remaining pressure.


Remove the ham hock from the instant pot and separate the meat from the bone. Discard bones, tendons, and excess skin. Shred the meat and stir back into the pot with the soup. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust, if needed.

The soup will thicken substantially as it cools, so the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth can be used to thin as desired. Serve warm.