Frozen peas, a floury potato, onion, garlic, and vegetable stock go in with salt, sugar, and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda. The pot runs on high for three hours, then mint and lemon juice are stirred in off the heat before blending smooth. It serves four with about 10 minutes of prep.

A pinch of bicarbonate of soda goes in with the peas, and it keeps the finished soup vivid green. Peas contain chlorophyll that breaks down in acidic conditions, and bicarb neutralises that reaction over a long cook. Without it, the colour dulls to olive before the pot is ready to blend.

Mint goes in off the heat, after the slow cook and before the blender, not during. Heat destroys the volatile oils in fresh mint, so several hours in a hot pot leaves almost no flavour behind. Stirring it in raw before blending means the soup tastes of mint rather than just hinting at it.

Slow Cooker Pea and Mint Soup

Recipe by Shili MohamedCourse: Dinner, SoupsCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

3

hours 

Calories

267

kcal

Slow Cooker Pea and Mint Soup Recipe with 600g frozen peas, a floury potato, fresh mint, lemon juice, and vegetable stock. Blends smooth in three hours

Ingredients

• Soup

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 large floury potato (such as Maris Piper), peeled and chopped small

• 600g frozen peas

• 1 litre vegetable stock

• 4 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon caster sugar

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon black pepper

• Pinch of bicarbonate of soda

• Garnish

• 4 tablespoons double cream

• 1 teaspoon fresh mint, chopped

Directions

• Peel and chop the potato into small pieces. Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.
• Add the potato, onion, garlic, frozen peas, vegetable stock, oil, caster sugar, salt, pepper, and bicarbonate of soda to a slow cooker. Stir to combine.
• Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, or until the potato is completely tender when pierced with a fork.
• Remove from heat. Stir in the chopped mint and lemon juice and leave to rest for 2 minutes.
• Blend until smooth using a stick blender, or ladle into a blender in batches. Season to taste and serve with a swirl of double cream and chopped fresh mint.

FAQs

Can I use fresh peas instead of frozen?

Fresh peas work but behave differently to frozen. Frozen peas are picked at peak sweetness, while fresh can be starchy or tough depending on the season and variety. If using fresh, pod them just before cooking and check at the two-hour mark since they can go mushy faster than frozen.

Why does this recipe call for a floury potato rather than a waxy one?

A floury variety like Maris Piper breaks down almost entirely over three hours, which is what gives the soup its body without cream. Waxy varieties hold their shape during cooking and will not dissolve into the broth, so the soup stays thin. A floury variety is the only type that reliably works as a thickener here.

Can I make this soup dairy-free?

The double cream only appears at the garnish stage, so skipping it keeps the soup fully dairy-free. Coconut cream swaps in directly and adds a faint sweetness that sits well against the mint and lemon. The blended base is naturally vegan from the first ingredient.

What other slow cooker blended soup fits alongside this one in a weekly rotation?

Two vegetables, one broth, and a creamier finish covers a different night without any overlap in flavour. A slow cooker creamy potato soup on this site builds from potato and broth with no herbs, no citrus, and no blending of peas. Together the two fill the blended-soup rotation from different ends of the vegetable range.

What slow cooker soup works on a night when a richer, non-blended bowl fits better?

On nights when a deeper, more savoury bowl fits the menu, a caramelised onion base changes the register completely. A slow cooker French onion soup on this site builds colour and sweetness over several hours with no blending required. Together the two give a weekly rotation one light and fresh option and one deep and savoury one.