Quick Look at this Recipe
- Recipe Name: Creamy Ham and Potato Soup
- Ready In: 35 minutes
- Serves: 10
- Calories: 275/ serving
- Main Ingredients: Leftover ham, potatoes, cream, milk, and root veggies
- Dietary Info: Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free alternatives
- Why You’ll Love It: This quick ham and potato soup puts your leftover ham to good use! Want more flavor? Keep reading to learn how to make your very own ham stock from scratch!
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Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Ham: Swap cubed ham for cubed turkey or cubed chicken.
- Flour: Swap with gluten-free flour.
- Stock: We used chicken stock to make this recipe less time intensive, but you can make your own ham stock by placing your leftover ham bone in a stock pot with enough water to just cover the ham bone. Let it all simmer for a couple of hours adding salt as you go.
- Milk & Cream: Replace milk with unflavored and unsweetened almond milk and the cream with unflavored and unsweetened Nut Pods creamer.
How To Make Creamy Ham and Potato Soup
Step 1 – Melt 2 Tbs of butter and add onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Let cook until softened.
Step 2 – Add remaining butter and flour and mix together.
Step 3 – Add milk, cream, stock and stir to thicken. Then add potatoes, ham, and seasonings.
Step 4 – Let cook until potatoes are tender. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup
Follow steps 1 and 2 as written and then transfer the veggie and flour mixture into your slow cooker. Add the stock, ham, potatoes, and seasonings and let cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Then add in the milk and cream, give it a stir, and set it on low for 30-60 minutes or until all the ingredients are warmed through.
What To Serve With Ham and Potato Soup
Ham and potato soup is best served with some chopped greens like parsley or green onions. Add some cheddar cheese to make this a cheesy ham potato soup. We love offering a variety of breads and rolls like sourdough slices and dinner rolls to dunk into this cozy soup.
Recipe FAQs
Can you freeze ham and potato soup?
Yes, but the texture will change since potatoes can get grainy and dairy products can separate once frozen and thawed. If freezing is a priority, make the soup without the cream and milk, let cool to room temperature, and then freeze. Thaw in a large pot on warm and add in the milk and cream ingredients. Then stir to combine.
A sprinkling of salt and pepper, cheddar cheese, and a bit of parsley is all you need!
Yes! Simply use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour.
Around 30-minutes. This will depend on the size of your potato cubes. Smaller potato cubes will result in a shorter cook time while larger cubes will result in a longer cook time.
Cooked ham, potatoes, cream, stock, root vegetables, and seasonings.
Replace cream with heavy cream or mash some of the cooked potatoes to add a thicker consistency to your soup.
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Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided (regular or plant-based)
- 1 small sweet yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2-3 celery stalks, sliced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, sub gluten-free 1-to-1 flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups milk, regular or unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup heavy cream, regular or a dairy free alternative like unflavored Nutpods
- 3 cups russet potatoes, cubed
- 3 cups cooked ham, cubed
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 teaspoons Better than Bouillon Ham Base
- optional toppings: fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Sauté Veggies: Bring a large dutch oven to a medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons butter; let melt and swirl to coat the pan. Add onion and move around the pan until fragrant, approx. 1 minute. Add garlic, celery, and carrots and sauté for 3-4 minutes until they start to soften.
- Flour + Liquid: Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and let melt. Add flour and stir to coat the veggies. Adding 1/4 cup at a time, slowly add in the broth, then milk, and then the cream, whisking continuously the whole time.
- Potatoes: Add potatoes, ham, 1/2 teaspoon salt, ground black pepper and Better than Bouillon Ham Base to the soup, stir, cover, and keep at a gentle simmer until the potatoes are soft, but still firm.
- Taste: Taste and add the other 1/2 teaspoon of salt, if desired and adjust any other seasonings, as necessary.
- Serve: Ladle into individual bowls and garnish with chopped green onions, if desired.
Notes
- Gluten Free: swap out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour.
- Leftover Ham: a great recipe for making with leftover ham from the holidays, like our Honey Glazed Ham or Grilled Ham.
- Storage: leftover soup can be kept in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Next Level: if you REALLY want to up your leftover-ham-soup-game, then you can make some ham broth/stock by boiling your leftover ham bone in water (enough to almost cover your ham bone) with a little salt – let simmer for several hours and then use that in place of the chicken broth. You might need to add more salt – but just taste as you go!
Steve says
What would you substitute for the heavy cream to lighten it up, make it less fattening?
Erin says
Right after we list heavy cream, it states you can use an unflavored, unsweetened dairy-free creamer such Nutpods (which is actually what I prefer) – hope that helps!