Traditional Pease Pudding Recipe From The North East
Pease pudding is a traditional dish from North East England, made from slow-cooked yellow split peas softened and mashed into a thick savoury mixture.
In the North East, it’s not just a recipe. It’s something you grow up with. Simple to make, filling and easy to serve with main meals, family suppers and in thick sandwiches wrapped for later.
This pease pudding recipe shows you how to make it properly on the hob, whether you cook it on its own or the traditional way while boiling a ham. It’s simple, filling, and far better homemade than the tubs sold in supermarkets.
Pease Pudding In Brief
Pease pudding is made by simmering yellow split peas with onion until soft, then mashing them until thick and smooth.
It can be eaten hot or cold and is commonly served across the North East with ham, gammon, or spread into stottie sandwiches.
What is Pease Pudding?
Pease pudding is a savoury dish made from yellow split peas, cooked slowly until soft and mashed into a thick smooth paste. Despite the name, it is not a dessert but a traditional everyday dish across North East England.
In the North East, it’s part of everyday food rather than something reserved for special occasions. It’s filling, practical, and made from ingredients that store well, which is exactly why it has lasted for generations.
Most families had their own version. Some cooked it alongside a boiling ham so the peas absorbed the flavour of the broth, while leftovers were often spread thickly into sandwiches the next day.
If you enjoy traditional regional dishes, you might also like these traditional recipes from North East England
Origins of Pease Pudding
Pease pudding has been eaten in Britain for centuries and grew from older dishes such as pease pottage, a thick stew made from dried peas simmered slowly in one pot.
Split peas stored well in cold pantries and could be turned into a filling meal with very little else added, which made them especially useful in working kitchens.
The dish also became common among sailors during the seventeenth century because dried peas travelled well on long sea journeys and were often eaten alongside salted meat.
Today, pease pudding is still strongly associated with North East England, particularly alongside ham and stotties.
Why is it Called Pease Pudding?
The word “pease” comes from the old Middle English word for peas. Pease pudding was originally a type of savoury pease porridge made using dried split peas rather than fresh garden peas. Despite the name, it is not a sweet pudding. Older British puddings were often savoury dishes cooked in cloths or pots rather than desserts.
Pease pudding is also known as pease pottage or pease porridge. The invention of a pudding cloth made it easy to cook a joint of ham and the dried split peas together. This is probably why it became known as pease pudding.
Pease pudding is popular in North East England and also known as Geordie Hummus.
You can find variants of pease pudding in other countries. In Germany the name is erbspüree. In Greece fava is similar but uses split yellow beans instead of peas.
What Does Pease Pudding Taste Like?
Pease pudding has a mild earthy flavour with a soft thick texture somewhere between mashed peas and hummus. It is gentle rather than strongly seasoned, which is why it works so well with salty meats such as ham or gammon.
Served warm, it feels hearty and comforting. Cold, it becomes thicker and makes an excellent sandwich filling.
Equipment You’ll Need
- Sieve
- Large Saucepan
- Measuring Jug
- Scales
- Wooden Spoon or Potato Masher
- Optional: Muslin cloth for cooking the peas with ham.
How To Make Pease Pudding (Step-by-Step)
Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full printable version with exact measurements.
1. Rinse the split peas
Put the yellow split peas into a sieve and rinse them under cold running water until the water runs mostly clear.
Some packets recommend soaking split peas overnight before cooking. This can shorten the cooking time slightly, but I don’t usually find it necessary for pease pudding.
2. Add everything to the pan
Place the rinsed split peas into a large saucepan with the peeled onion, water, and stock cube. Leave the onion whole so it can easily be removed later.
3. Simmer Gently
Bring the pan to a gentle simmer and cook the peas slowly until soft and beginning to break down. Stir regularly as the mixture thickens because pease pudding catches easily towards the end of cooking.
I found a plain saucepan worked better than a non-stick pan, which tended to catch more as the pease pudding thickened. A heavier pan and regular stirring gave a smoother result.
This usually takes around 90 minutes, although older split peas can take longer.
4. Watch The Liquid Level
Split peas absorb more water than you might expect as they cook. You will see the mixture gradually getting thicker.
If the mixture starts looking too thick before the peas are fully soft, add a little extra water and stir well. Add more water as needed.
The finished consistency should be thick, soft, and spoonable. The peas should be soft and mushy.
5. Mash the Pease Pudding
Remove the onion once the peas are tender. Mash the peas with a wooden spoon or potato masher until smooth.
6. Season And Serve
Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve warm with ham or gammon, or leave to cool and spread thickly into sandwiches or stotties.
Traditional Ham Method
If you are boiling a ham, you can cook the split peas in the same pan using a muslin cloth. Tie the peas and onion loosely in the cloth, leaving room for the peas to swell as they cook, then simmer in the ham broth until soft.
Remove the cloth, tip the peas into a bowl, and mash as above.
Read more: Northumberland ham broth recipe
Tips and Variations
- Use ham broth instead of water for a richer flavour.
- Some people prefer pease pudding completely smooth, while others leave a little texture.
- You can eat it hot or cold depending on how you are serving it.
- If the pease pudding thickens too much after cooling, stir in a little hot water before serving.
Pease Pudding Pie Variation
Some people also use pease pudding almost like pastry in savoury pies. Mixing pease pudding with egg creates a topping that bakes until golden and surprisingly crisp around the edges.
I recently tried a version layered with steak, gravy, peas, and potato, using pease pudding mixed with egg for both the base and topping. It held together far better than I expected and made a hearty filling pie.
Pease Pudding Recipe
Pease Pudding
Equipment
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Large pan
- 1 Measuring Jug
- 1 Measuring scales
- 1 Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 200 g yellow split peas
- 750 ml water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 onion
Instructions
- Rinse the yellow split peas under cold water until the water runs mostly clear.
- Add the split peas to a large saucepan with the peeled whole onion, water, and stock cube.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for around 90 minutes, stirring regularly as the peas soften and thicken.
- Add a little extra water if needed during cooking, as split peas absorb a lot of liquid.
- Once the peas are soft, remove the onion and mash until thick and smooth.
- Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve warm with ham or gammon, or leave to cool for sandwiches and stotties.
Notes
- Some packets recommend soaking split peas overnight, but I do not usually find this necessary for pease pudding.
- Stir regularly towards the end of cooking as the mixture thickens and can catch on the bottom of the pan.
- A heavier plain saucepan worked better for me than a non-stick pan.
- Pease pudding thickens further as it cools.
What to Eat With Pease pudding?
Pease pudding is traditionally served with boiled ham or gammon and is especially popular spread thickly into stottie sandwiches.
It also works well with:
- Saveloy dip, a North East bread roll filled with saveloy sausage and pease pudding
- Cold pork and pickle
- Sausages and bacon
- Crusty bread
Homemade pease pudding keeps well in the fridge, making it useful for sandwiches and leftovers through the week.
How Long Does Pease Pudding Keep?
You can keep pease pudding covered in the fridge for around 3 days.
As it cools it becomes thicker, so you may need to stir in a little warm water before serving.
Can You Freeze Pease Pudding?
Yes. Pease pudding freezes well.
Allow it to cool fully before freezing in airtight containers. Defrost overnight in the fridge and stir well when reheating.
FAQs About Pease Pudding
Pease pudding is made from yellow split peas cooked slowly with onion and water until soft and thick.
It can be eaten both ways. Many people serve it hot beside ham or gammon, while leftovers are often eaten cold in sandwiches.
No. Mushy peas are usually made from marrowfat peas and have a looser texture. Pease pudding is made from yellow split peas and is thicker and smoother.
Not necessarily. Soaking split peas overnight can shorten the cooking time, but many traditional recipes cook them without soaking.
Pease pudding has a mild earthy flavour and a texture similar to thick hummus or mashed peas.
Pease pudding is traditionally served with ham, gammon, or spread into stottie sandwiches.
Yes. Pease pudding is strongly associated with North East England, where it is commonly served with ham and stotties and still appears in many traditional local meals.
Pease Pudding Rhyme
As a child I was very familiar with the nursery rhyme about pease pudding: The rhyme goes:
Pease pudding hot, pease pudding cold,
Pease pudding in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old.
and is often sung as part of a clapping and singing game.
The rhyme has been sung for generations and is often remembered as part of childhood clapping games and nursery rhymes.
More Traditional North East Recipes
- Pan Haggerty
- Northumberland Ham Broth
- Stottie Cake
- Singing Hinnies
- Leek Pudding
- Traditional North East recipes roundup
If you enjoy traditional North East recipes, you might also like my free Cook Like a Geordie recipe book filled with classic regional dishes and everyday favourites from North East kitchens.
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Have you ever tried Pease pudding? Let me know below.
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This is fascinating! I Had never heard of pease pudding… i love yellow split peas so chances are I would love ths too!
I think it is very much a North East thing but definitely worth a try. Let me know if you make it, would love to know what you think
I’m wondering if I would like the taste of this now. I have bad memories from childhood of being served this by my grandparents and hating it. I wasn’t allowed to leave the table until my plate was empty
Tastes to change as you get older but memories like that wouldn’t help. Its much nicer when its home made
I can honestly say i had never heard of pease Pudding before! Thanks for sharing #CookBlogShare
I think it is very much a north east thing
My parents were born city of London 1916. Frequently made pease pudding.
Whilst cooking bacon joint I checked store cupboard for some peas to eat with it.
Coming from the north east if England it’s ready available but I going to try it for myself. It’s become very popular with slimming world using it as a pie crust which I have had and was fabulous
I would never have thought of doing that, will have to give it a try!
I confess I make this every week now. Being born and bred in the North East it was a very familiar food in Ibbotsons butchers who sold lovely ham and pease pudding stottie cakes (flat bread) or with roast pork. My nanna in Sunderland used to make wonderful stotties. That was 50 years ago and I came across it recently on Weight Watchers. I didnt realise how good it is, I thought it was just a sandwich filler but its more than that. I first used Waitrose yellow split peas which took a while to cook but then found Tandoor Dal in Asda which are bigger perhaps they are split beans but the result is the same and take less time to cook. Add a bay leaf and vegetable stock or even as is traditional a ham joint. Definitely worth a try.
ooh nice tip, will have a look for the tandoor dal when the supermarkets get back to normal. I hadn’t realised Weight Watchers were using now but I can understand that is its so low in fat.
I was born in Northumberland and remember my Mother making pease pudding so I decided to try it. It was as good as I remember, a very distant memory. I cooked the split peas in muslin at the same time as I cooked the ham and it turned out to be extremely tasty.
So glad you enjoyed it. It is really hard to find pease pudding if you do not live in the northeast but so easy to make
I recently found tinned pease pudding in Asda, and it is very good. It is already on my next shopping list.
I can buy it in Niagara Falls, Ontario!
My family were from London and Norfolk. I ate this regularly as a child, loving it and have made it often myself. No connections to the North-east.
That’s interesting, I have never seen it outside of the North East. It should be more widespread
Perhaps the NE is its last redoubt, but It was much more widespread: look, there’s the Pease Pottage motorway services on the M23, at the opposite end of the country to you. I was disappointed not to find any pease pudding on sale there when I visited 🙂
oooh that is interesting, I wonder why its now only local to the North East
Coming from the North East and now living in Turkey (18 years) l miss the ham and pease pudding stotties, this brings memories flooding back. l’ve made enough to feed an army, just hope it freezes.
I hope you enjoyed it. It should freeze perfectly in freezer bags
I add some butter, salt and pepper when mashing. Makes it tastier and creamier and less prone to dry out. Delicious
Never thought of adding butter. Will try that next time I make it. Thanks for the tip
i was brought up on it and now at 75 i still eat it, always use the water from boiling a ham.
never put onion in before gives it s nice flavour, nice on crackers with some shredded ham.
I have never tried it on crackers, I bet that is tasty
Always had pease pudding with our boiled bacon in South London as a kid and have continued throughout adulthood. Was sold cold in a slab years ago, You would get as much as you wanted. Or cooked at home in muslin with the boiled bacon and carrots.
Yes, you can only get little pots of it now. It is delicious with boiled bacon.
I grew up with peas pudding. We had it with Corned beef and cabbage. My mother was from St Johns Newfoundland
Ham with peas pudding in a sandwich is traditional any buffet you go to in the north east you will find it. I like it hot with boiled bacon, beetroot and chips. Makes a nice dip with crudités.
A Northumbrian living in Spain. I am vegan and this is second heaven to me on toasted sourdough. The saltiness from the broth is comfort on toast!!!
Thank you for the simple recipe. It’s on repeat and freezes well too so I can make a big batch.
So glad you are enjoying it
Perfect pease pudding but top tip – do not put the lid on the pan (stupid me…)! The water does not evaporate and I had to eventually ladle it out and then cook the remainder off. The end result after blitzing with a hand blender is a beautiful thick sliceable pease pudding! I did soak my peas overnight but as Alison said, it’s not really necessary. Great simple recipe – thanks Alison! Now I just need to learn how to make a stottie…..
Glad you enjoyed it and managed to prevent a disaster with the water! Luckily I also have a stottie recipe!
Hi,
I’m originally a Tynesider now living in Northumberland – so not too far from home. I make pease pudding throughout the year but always as part of a New Year’s Day feast for my family, usually at least 12 of us. It’s so nice with a whole gammon and Grandad’s homemade chips. I also serve home made bread rolls, corned beef pie (of course), homemade mince pie, mustards, and pickles. There’s usually a bowl of salad – just to ease the conscience! washed down with a decent cider or beverage of choice. My brother has lived in Hampshire for 62 years and still this in the only time he can enjoy this Geordie Fare.
What a lovely tradition, I will have to try this myself
A very well known dish in the North East of England, my delightful nan used to make it for us when she stay along with brawn (I want quite as keen on that) and hundreds of minced meat pies cooked on random saucers. Great memories so I’m going to give your recipe a go!
What lovely memories. Plate pies were definitely all the rage, there are so many lovely combos. Let me know if you try it
I live in America and never heard of pease pudding, but I’ve cooked split peas so that
it is like a paste then use it as a sandwich spread. Yummy. I don’t, however, combine it with meat so it’s more of a vegetarian dish.
Just like mother used to make!
I am glad you enjoyed it
I also put some streaky bacon in while cooking and it turned out beautiful
That sounds good, glad it turned out well