Pea and Bean Soup With Sage Crisped Prosciutto (MAFLD & PCOS Friendly)
A creamy, protein-packed soup made with tender chickpeas, lentils, green peas, and savory herbs, finished with pieces of salty, crispy prosciutto for the ultimate cozy comfort meal.
I’m a little obsessed right now with making “creamy” soups without any cream, and this stick to your ribs bean soup is an amazing vegetable based alternative to your standard rotation of heavy winter soups like chowders and bisques.
This Pea and Bean Soup with Crispy Prosciutto is the kind of dish that actually makes you look forward to dinner. It’s comforting and rustic, yet has this refined edge thanks to that crisp, paper-thin prosciutto on top. I like to think of it as a modern, cozy mashup between a creamy split pea soup and a hearty bean stew; rich, velvety, and full of depth.
The end result? Comfort food that feels both familiar and a little elevated, the kind of soup that makes you want to slow down and savor every spoonful. It’s also incredibly nutritious and affordable to make thanks to the fiber and protein packed beans and lentils.
What I love most about this soup is how simple it is to pull together. You don’t need hours or fancy ingredients, just a pot, a handful of pantry staples, and a little patience to let everything simmer together. Canned beans and lentils make prepping a breeze. The peas bring a fresh, slightly sweet brightness; the beans make it creamy and filling; and the crispy prosciutto brings a salty bite to the otherwise mild beans.
I like to cook mine in a Dutch oven so I can crisp the prosciutto right in the same pot before starting the soup. It not only saves on dishes (always a win), but all that salty goodness from the prosciutto seeps into the base, giving the broth a subtle depth that makes the whole thing taste like it has been simmering on the stove all afternoon!
The Metabolic “Why”
When we’re managing MAFLD or PCOS, our primary goal is blunting the impact that glucose has on the liver and body as a whole. Because MAFLD and insulin resistant PCOS patients struggle to process excess glucose in the blood, choosing high-fiber, high-protein sources as our main portion of calories is critical.
By combining three distinct sources of legumes: peas, chickpeas, and lentils, we are creating a massive fiber buffer. This slows the absorption of glucose into your bloodstream, preventing the insulin spikes that lead to liver fat storage and hormonal imbalances. You’ll feel full, satisfied and most importantly, stable throughout your busy day.
The Liver-Hormone Connection
The inclusion of fresh sage and garlic is delicious, but it’s not just for adding flavor here. Sage contains rosmarinic acid, which has been shown to support healthy glucose metabolism. Furthermore, high fiber diets that contain lots of legumes decreases intrahepatic fat. It’s not just roughage! This landmark study supports the fact that those who consumed 40g of resistant starch daily saw a nearly 40% reduction in liver fat.
Metabolic Highlight: The K-Factor
This soup provides nearly 15% of the recommended daily value of potassium, which helps balance salt in the body and supports liver repair by flushing excess fluid from the body, reducing overall liver size and inflammation.
Everything You’ll Need to Make Pea and Bean Soup with Crispy Prosciutto
- Peas: You can use either frozen or fresh, both work beautifully. Frozen peas are my go-to since they’re fresh, tender, and available year-round. They add that bright, springlike flavor that keeps the soup from feeling too heavy.
- Beans: Creamy garbanzo beans or great northern beans are perfect here. They give the soup body and richness without needing cream, and they blend down to make that smooth, velvety texture everyone loves.
- Nitrate-Free Prosciutto: The star of the show! Thin slices of prosciutto get crisped up right in the pot until they’re golden and brittle. Crumble them over the top right before serving for a salty, savory crunch that ties everything together. We’re only using a small portion per serving, everything in moderation!
- Bone Broth: A good quality bone broth gives the soup depth and savory. Bone broth is rich in collagen and amino acids (like glycine) which support gut lining integrity, and helps prevent “leaky gut” from contributing to liver stress.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A staple in the Mediterranean Diet, EVOO is rich in oleocanthal, which helps reduce liver enzymes and systemic inflammation.
- Sage, Garlic and Bay Leaf: These herbs quietly infuse the soup with that comforting, “something’s been simmering all day” aroma. Simple, classic, and essential. But also liver friendly thanks to the rosmarinic acid.
How to Keep Your Pea and Bean Soup Creamy and Velvety, Not Watery
Peas and beans both release a bit of liquid as they cook, and if you’re not careful, you can end up with something more like broth than that thick, spoon coating texture you’re after. The trick is to build body and creaminess without adding heavy cream or tons of starch.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to partially blend the soup. I like to puree about half of it with an immersion blender right in the pot. Blending the soup thickens everything up while keeping enough whole beans and peas for texture. It’s the best of both worlds: creamy, but still hearty.
Another tip is to let the soup simmer gently, uncovered, for the last 10–15 minutes of cooking. This helps some of the liquid evaporate and concentrates the flavors naturally. You’ll notice the broth go from thin and brothy to rich and silky, that’s exactly what you want.
And don’t worry about it getting too thick, if that happens, just splash in a bit more broth to loosen it back up. The goal is a soup that’s hearty and spoonable, not watery or dense.
Tips for Using Canned Beans and Lentils
If you’re using canned beans or lentils, which, let’s be honest, is how most of us make this kind of soup on a busy weeknight, there are a few small steps that make a big difference in texture and flavor. Canned beans are super convenient, but they’re usually packed in a starchy, salty liquid that can make your soup taste a little muddled if you skip the rinse.
Start by pouring your beans or lentils into a colander and giving them a really good rinse under cold water until the liquid runs clear. This removes the excess starch and sodium, and it helps keep your soup tasting clean and bright rather than overly salty or heavy. It’s also a great best practice for those of us struggling with MAFLD who may be sensitive to sodium and carbohydrates already.
If you have the time, you can also let them drain for a few minutes before adding them to the pot. It’s a small step, but it prevents extra water from sneaking into your soup and thinning out that creamy consistency we’re going for.
If you want to take it one step further, toss the drained beans or lentils into the pot before you add the broth and let them sauté for a couple minutes with the aromatics. This little trick wakes them up, helps them absorb more flavor, and gives your soup that rich, “cooked from scratch” taste.
If you enjoyed this recipe for Pea and Bean Soup, help support this project by leaving a star rating and a comment! You can also check out these other easy, healthy soup ideas!
- Cream Of Broccoli Soup (5 Ingredients Only)
- Creamy Tomato Soup With Miso
- Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho (Spanish Cold Soup)
Pea and Bean Soup With Crispy Prosciutto
Equipment
- Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot
- immersion blender or standard blender
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil sunflower oil can be substituted for additional hepatoprotective vitamin E.
- 6 slices nitrate-free prosciutto
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- small handful fresh sage leaves, about 4-5, chopped
- 1 can low-sodium chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
- 1 can brown lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen or fresh shelled green peas
- 5 cups good quality bone broth low sodium vegetable stock can be substituted
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon of oil in the Dutch oven over medium high heat and add the prosciutto slices. Fry the prosciutto until crispy- it should only take a few minutes since they are so thin. You can also air fry them at 400F for 3-4 minutes.
- Drain the prosciutto on paper towels and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add in the green onions and garlic.
- Sauté the green onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Sprinkle in the sage and sauté for another 1 minute.
- Add in the chickpeas and lentils. Sauté them with the green onion mixture for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the bone broth, bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Remember that the prosciutto and canned beans can be quite salty already so you may not need to salt your soup so heavily.
- Simmer the soup for 20 minutes, adding the peas into the soup during the last 5 minutes to keep their bright green color.
- Blend half of the soup with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy, leaving the other half with whole beans and peas for texture.
- Ladle the hot soup into individual bowls and crumble the crispy prosciutto slices over each serving. Serve hot.
