How Many Calories Are in Pea Soup?
A 1-cup (255 g) serving of split pea soup carries 156 calories, and the soup runs 61 calories per 100 g — one of the lightest bowls in the USDA soup file. It is thick, it is filling, and almost none of that comes from fat: 1.8 g in the whole cup.
You'd need to walk about 31 minutes to burn the 156 calories in a 1-cup (255 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off pea soup?
A 1-cup (255 g) serving is 156 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 156 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 31 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 20 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 22 min |
| Jogging | 18 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 35 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (255 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Pea soup quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a whole can
- Ham, meat and canned versions
- Condensed pea soup is a different food
- Sodium is the row to watch, not the calories
- How does pea soup compare?
- Most popular pea soup brands
- Pea soup FAQs
Pea soup quick facts
The number above comes from FNDDS 2707459, "Soup, split pea", the USDA survey record for soup as it is actually eaten: already thinned, already hot, measured by the cup. That matters, because most of the other pea soup records in FoodData Central describe something still in the can. Seven other USDA records cover this food, and they range from 61 to 141 calories per 100 g depending on one thing only — how much water is in the bowl.
The croutons in the photo are not in these numbers. Neither is a swirl of cream or a slice of buttered bread on the side.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup (255 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 61 | 156 | — |
| Total fat | 0.7 g | 1.8 g | 2% |
| Saturated fat | 0.1 g | 0.3 g | 1% |
| Carbohydrate | 10.59 g | 27.0 g | 10% |
| Dietary fiber | 3.8 g | 9.7 g | 35% |
| Total sugars | 2.16 g | 5.5 g | — |
| Protein | 3.55 g | 9.1 g | 18% |
| Sodium | 244 mg | 622 mg | 27% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Two rows you would see on a can label are missing here on purpose: USDA does not publish added sugars or trans fat for this FNDDS record, so guessing them would be worse than leaving them out. The 2.16 g of total sugars per 100 g is the natural sugar of dried peas and any carrot or onion in the pot, and total sugars have no Daily Value to compare against. Cholesterol is 0 mg, and a cup carries 510 mg of potassium, 11% of the Daily Value.
US servings, from one ounce to a whole can
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 17 kcal |
| Half a cup | 128 g | 78 kcal |
| 1 cup | 255 g | 156 kcal |
| One individual container | 440 g | 268 kcal |
| One can, eaten in full | 525 g | 320 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 61 kcal |
The 1 cup, the single-serve container and the full can are USDA household measures for this record. The 1 oz and half-cup lines are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings — useful if you ladle a small taste or split a container with someone.
Notice the gap between the cup and the container. A 440 g microwave tub reads like one lunch, and it is, but it is 1.7 cups of soup and 268 calories, not 156. The whole can, if you eat it standing over the stove, is 320. That is still a modest lunch by most standards, and it is the cheapest 20 g of fiber you will find in the soup aisle.
Ham, meat and canned versions
Pea soup with meat in it is still a light bowl, just not as light. The USDA survey row for split pea soup with meat runs 80 calories per 100 g against 61 for the plain version — a 31% jump per gram, and 48 more calories in a cup.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Split pea, plain | 61 kcal | 1 cup (255 g) | 156 kcal |
| Split pea with meat | 80 kcal | 1 cup (255 g) | 204 kcal |
| Canned, reduced sodium, ready to serve | 71 kcal | 1 cup (253 g) | 180 kcal |
| Chunky split pea with ham, ready to serve | 77 kcal | 1 cup (255 g) | 196 kcal |
| Split pea with ham, prepared with water | 75 kcal | 1 cup (255 g) | 191 kcal |
The two ham lines land within five calories of each other per cup, which is a fair summary of what ham does to this soup: not much, calorie-wise. What it does change is fiber. The plain row gives 3.8 g per 100 g; the meat row drops to 3.3 g and the chunky ham can to 1.7 g, because the peas are diluted by everything else in the pot. Both ham cup weights are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figures, not USDA servings.
Store brands sit in the same band. A cup of Whole Foods Market Split Pea Soup (232 g) is 181 calories, a Tabatchnick pouch (213 g) is 181, and Campbell's Chunky Healthy Request Split Pea with Ham is 65 calories per 100 g — right on top of the plain USDA row.
Condensed pea soup is a different food
This is the number most calorie counters get wrong. Condensed soup in the can has not met its water yet, so per gram it is roughly twice the food.
| Condensed record | Per 100 g | Serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green pea, condensed | 125 kcal | 0.5 cup (128 g) | 160 kcal |
| Split pea with ham, condensed | 141 kcal | 0.5 cup (135 g) | 190 kcal |
Read that against the top of the page: half a cup of undiluted condensed green pea soup is 160 calories, which is more than a full 255 g cup of ready-to-eat split pea at 156. Same food name, half the volume, more calories. If you log "1 cup pea soup" after emptying a condensed can into a mug without adding water, you are under-counting by a wide margin. Add the water the label asks for and the diluted row falls back to 61 calories per 100 g — identical to the survey number.
Sodium is the row to watch, not the calories
A cup of pea soup is 8% of a 2,000-calorie day and 27% of the sodium Daily Value. That is about a quarter teaspoon of table salt in one bowl, before crackers. Eat the 440 g container and you are at 1,074 mg, close to half the day.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans put the ceiling at 2,300 mg of sodium a day for adults, and canned soup is one of the top contributors in the American diet. The good news is that the fix is on the shelf: the reduced-sodium canned row is 166 mg per 100 g instead of 244, which works out to about 420 mg in a cup — a third less sodium for 24 more calories. If you are watching blood pressure numbers, that trade is the easy one to make.
Meanwhile the fiber row quietly outperforms everything else on the label. A cup delivers 9.7 g, 35% of the Daily Value, against 18% for protein. Dried peas are a legume, and MyPlate counts them in both the vegetable and protein groups for exactly this reason. Very few 156-calorie foods hand over a third of a day's fiber.
How does pea soup compare?
| Soup | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Split pea, plain | 61 kcal | 1 cup, 255 g | 156 kcal |
| Split pea with meat | 80 kcal | 1 cup, 255 g | 204 kcal |
| Canned, reduced sodium | 71 kcal | 1 cup, 253 g | 180 kcal |
| Green pea, condensed | 125 kcal | 0.5 cup, 128 g | 160 kcal |
Our take: for weight loss, the plain split pea row is the pick — it is the lightest of the four per gram at 61 calories per 100 g, and the fiber makes a cup sit heavier than the calorie count suggests. For a meal rather than a starter, the version with meat at 204 a cup is worth the extra 48 calories, because the protein climbs and the bowl actually holds you. Buy the reduced-sodium can if you eat soup more than once or twice a week; the calorie difference is trivial and the salt difference is not.
Most popular pea soup brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Othentic Pea Soup | 97 cal |
| Campbell's Chunky Healthy Request Split Pea with Ham | 65 cal |
| Tabatchnick Split Pea Soup | 85 cal |
| Tabatchnick Organic Split Pea Soup | 89 cal |
| Whole Foods Market Split Pea Soup | 78 cal |
| Stockmeyer Pea Soup | 73 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Pea soup FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of pea soup?
A 1-cup serving weighs 255 g and carries 156 calories, based on the USDA survey record for ready-to-eat split pea soup at 61 calories per 100 g. That cup also brings 9.1 g of protein, 9.7 g of fiber and 27 g of carbohydrate, with only 1.8 g of fat.
How many calories in split pea soup with ham?
About 196 calories in a 255 g cup of chunky ready-to-serve split pea with ham, which runs 77 calories per 100 g. The condensed version prepared with an equal volume of water is close behind at 75 per 100 g, or roughly 191 calories a cup. Ham adds fat, not many calories.
Is pea soup good for weight loss?
At 61 calories per 100 g it is one of the lighter hot meals you can log, and a cup is only 156 calories while supplying 9.7 g of fiber, 35% of the Daily Value. Fiber and volume together make it filling. Watch the sodium and the bread that usually comes with it.
How much protein is in pea soup?
A cup gives 9.1 g of protein, 18% of the Daily Value, from 3.55 g per 100 g. The version made with meat is higher at 5.57 g per 100 g, or about 14 g in a cup. Split peas are a legume, so the protein comes with fiber rather than saturated fat.
How much fiber is in split pea soup?
9.7 g in a 255 g cup, which is 35% of the 28 g Daily Value, from 3.8 g per 100 g. Canned versions are thinner on fiber: the chunky ham can holds 1.7 g per 100 g and the reduced-sodium can 1.9 g, because there are fewer peas per spoonful.
Why is canned pea soup so high in sodium?
A cup carries 622 mg of sodium, 27% of the Daily Value, while supplying only 8% of a 2,000-calorie day. Salt does the seasoning work in a soup with few strong flavors, and it preserves the can. The reduced-sodium record is 166 mg per 100 g instead of 244, about 420 mg a cup.
Does condensed pea soup have more calories?
Per gram, yes: condensed green pea soup is 125 calories per 100 g against 61 for ready-to-eat, and condensed split pea with ham is 141. Half a cup of undiluted condensed green pea is 160 calories, more than a whole cup of the prepared soup. Add the water before you log it.
How many calories in a bowl of homemade pea soup?
A restaurant-style bowl of about 1.5 cups (383 g) works out to roughly 234 calories, our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure. Homemade varies with the ham hock and the cream: a plain pot lands near 61 calories per 100 g, and a meaty one near 80.
Similar foods
- Carrot — 53 cal per cup chopped
- Onion — 46 cal per cup sliced
- Papaya salad — 190 cal per plate
- Broccoli — 55 cal per cup chopped
- Sweet Potato — 103 cal per medium, baked
- Bamboo Shoots — 41 cal per cup sliced
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the bowl and BodyPal counts the soup for you, croutons and all.
