Could anything be more comforting than a bowl of homemade Ham and Potato Soup?
This easy potato soup recipe combines veggies and chunks of ham in a creamy base – it’s pure comfort food.
An Easy Soup with Leftover Ham
Baked ham means leftover ham recipes if we’re lucky! I use the bone for a ham bone soup and make another pot of soup with this recipe.
- This soup uses simple ingredients but is delicious, cozy, and creamy.
- It’s versatile – swap out the potatoes for leftover mashed or scalloped potatoes (reduce simmering time if they’re already cooked) to use up your leftovers.
- It keeps in the fridge for a few days and reheats well for lunches or quick meals.
Ingredients for Ham & Potato Soup
Potatoes – Russet potatoes have a starchy texture and are my first choice in this recipe. You can also use Yukon gold or even use up leftover roasted, mashed, or scalloped potatoes.
Vegetables – Onion, carrot, and celery (mirepoix) add great flavor to the base of this soup. You can also stir in leftover veggies like green beans and carrots are great additions too.
Ham – Leftover ham works well or you can purchase a single ham steak at the grocery store and cube it. Smoked sausage or even ground sausage are great replacements for ham.
Base – The base of this soup starts with chicken broth (because I prefer the flavor) but vegetable broth can be substituted. The addition of light cream adds creaminess while keeping the calories in check. You can swap it out for evaporated milk or even a bit of heavy cream if you’d like. Sour cream adds great flavor.
How To Make Ham and Potato Soup
I often make a crock pot potato soup which simmers all day however this version is quick to prepare for a weeknight meal.
- Melt butter and cook the onions until tender.
- Add remaining ingredients, except dairy (per the recipe below). Simmer over medium-low heat until potatoes are tender.
- Mash some of the potatoes, add cream, and simmer for a few minutes more. Stir in sour cream and serve.
Garnish with fresh parsley if you’d like and serve with a slice of homemade bread or some rolls.
Recipe Tips
- Mash just enough potatoes to thicken, the soup should have some potato and veggie chunks for texture.
- Stir in the sour cream just before serving, simmering can cause it to become grainy.
- Shredded cheddar cheese can be added (about 1 cup). Stir it in just before serving.
Storing Leftovers & Freezing
This Ham and Potato Soup can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
It’s best to freeze this ham and potato soup without dairy. Remove a portion for freezing before adding the dairy. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat leftovers on the stovetop. Stir in the dairy as directed in the recipe.
More Ham Soups
Did you enjoy this Ham and Potato Soup? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Ham and Potato Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 cups diced potatoes about 3 large potatoes
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups diced ham
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 1 rib celery sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- black pepper to taste
- 1 cup half and half
- ½ cup sour cream
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the diced potatoes, chicken broth, diced ham, chopped carrot, sliced celery, minced garlic, parsley, thyme, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Using a potato masher, mash some of the potatoes in the pot, add half and half, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
- Combine the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water, stir into the soup, and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired.
Notes
Cheese can be added along with the sour cream. Remove from the heat and stir in until melted. For a thicker soup, combine equal parts cornstarch and water. Pour a little at a time into simmering soup while whisking to reach desired thickness. For a thinner soup, add additional chicken broth.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Ham, Lunch, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I made this tonight for the first time for my family. It was a hit! My husband and children loved it; even my picky son asked for seconds. It’s creamy and comforting and flavorful and just plain out delicious! I followed the recipe but made some slight alterations based upon what I had on hand. I used Yukon Gold pototoes, 1/2 tsp. dried parsley instead of fresh parsley, and 1/4 cup of the half and half was switched out for 1/4 cup of heavy cream. I also omitted the corn starch because the soup seem plenty thick without it.
I will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this tonight for the first time and we love it! (Made it exactly according to recipe.) Weather’s in the midst of a deep freeze and how lovely to have a filling, comforting, delicious soup. Thank you!
The soup is so good and with a little bit of prep work it’s so easy. We love it and make it regularly!
Really tasty on a cold snowy night! Didn’t use the cornstarch and to me it was perfect.
Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Yummy, I’m glad I found this recipe
getting ready to make this, do you put a lid on the pot?
Yes, this is cooked covered.
Excellent soup! I made it at half the volume because I didn’t have enough potatoes. Added potato flakes at the end to thicken it up. Very flavorful and my husband and I loved it. Thanks, Holly!
Excellent recipe! So much flavor! This soup was absolutely delicious! I doubled the recipe since my husband loves hardy soups and takes to lunch the next day. He said the soup is a keeper! Thank you for sharing your recipe with us!
Made this last night and it was absolutely delicious!!! I’ve been making potato soup for many years and this is the best I’ve ever made!!! My family loved it!!!
Thank you, Jean!
Made this today and we all loved it! Will make again!
Needs to cook a little longer for sure.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Jessica!