Homemade Ham and Potato Soup Recipe
Published December 22, 2021. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This hearty homemade creamy ham and potato soup recipe uses simple ingredients and is bursting with delicious comforting flavors. This is a great recipe to use if you have a lot of leftover ham.
If you love soup as much as I do, yes it’s my favorite food, then absolutely check out my amazing beef and barley or ham and bean soup recipes.
Ham and potato soup is essentially an extension of Potato Soup that obviously has some protein in it. This would be a typical southern recipe and I’m almost certain your grandma would have made this. It can also be easily made in a slow cooker or an instant pot.
This delicious soup can also have variations and feature more root vegetables such as turnips or parsnips to add to the heartiness of this recipe. Be sure to customize it to make it work for you and your guests.
Ingredients to Make Ham and Potato Soup
- Ham – This can be leftover cooked ham, deli ham, or a chunk of fresh ham.
- Onions – Small diced yellow onions will work.
- Leeks – This is optional, but it adds great flavor to this.
- Garlic – I use 3 cloves but if you like garlic, you can add in a few more.
- Celery – A few stalks of medium diced celery.
- Carrots – Peel and medium dice a large carrot.
- Potatoes – Use a russet or baking potato.
- Chicken Stock – Use a good chicken stock.
- Heavy Cream – Full fat heavy whipping cream is what I used.
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter so you control the salt content.
- Roux – I did a unique thickening method by whisking in flour into the soup before boiling, but you will need a thickening agent like roux, a slurry, or my method.
- Wine – This is optional, but you can deglaze the onions with some white wine.
How to Make Ham and Potato Soup
Use these easy-to-follow instructions with images to make this delicious ham and potato soup recipe:
Cook the onions in some unsalted butter in a large rondeau pot over low heat until very well caramelized, which will take about 35-40 minutes.
After about 20-25 minutes of the onions caramelizing, add in the leeks and garlic and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.
Deglaze with white wine and cook until au sec, or almost gone. There should be about 1 to 2 tablespoons of wine left.
Add in the carrots and celery and sweat the vegetables on low to medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
Place in the potatoes and then immediately pour in the chicken stock and heavy cream.
Slowly sprinkle in the flour while continuing to whisk until it is completely mixed in. I cannot stress this enough, whisk very well.
Turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil, which will take about 10-15 minutes after you are done whisking.
Once the soup is very thick, add in the ham, salt, pepper, tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and mix in until combined.
Serve the soup and garnish it with crème Fraiche, or sour cream, and chopped chives or sliced green onions.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 1 to 2 days ahead of time, just heat up before serving.
How to Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating and serving.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of ham and potato soup to a medium-size pot and heat over low heat until hot.
chef notes + tips
- You can substitute the yellow onion for a sweet or white onion.
- Substitute the russet potatoes for Yukon gold or red potatoes.
- Feel free to substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock.
- You can exchange the heavy cream for half and half, but you will lose some fat and flavor.
- The white wine I use is almost always chardonnay, but you can use sauvignon blanc or pinto grigio.
- If for some reason your soup does not thicken add in a mixture of 3 tablespoons of cornstarch whisked with 6 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry. Pour this mixture after the soup has been boiling for a few minutes and is not thickening.
- Here is an affiliate link to the Paderno rondeau pot I used, is the 7-quart.
More Soup Recipes
Video
Homemade Ham and Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 peeled and small diced yellow onions
- 1 thinly sliced leek
- 3 finely minced garlic cloves
- ½ cup chardonnay wine
- 3 medium-diced stalks of celery
- 1 peeled medium-diced carrot
- 4 peeled large-diced russet potatoes
- 10 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups large-diced ham
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Tabasco sauce to taste
- Worcestershire sauce to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large rondeau pot over low heat until melted.
- Next, add the onions and cook until very well caramelized, which will take about 35-40 minutes. Stir every 5-6 minutes.
- After about 20-25 minutes of the onions caramelizing, add in the leeks and garlic and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.
- Deglaze with some white wine and cook until it is au sec, or almost gone. There should be a bout 1 to 2 tablespoons of wine left.
- Add in the carrots and celery and sweat the vegetables on low to medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Place in the potatoes and then immediately pour in the chicken stock and heavy cream.
- Slowly sprinkle in the flour while continuing to whisk until it is completely mixed in. I cannot stress this enough, whisk very well.
- Turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil, which will take about 10-15 minutes after you are done whisking.
- Once the soup is very thick, add in the ham, salt, pepper, tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and parsley, and mix in until combined.
- Serve the soup and garnish with crème fraiche, or sour cream, and chopped chives or sliced green onions.
Update to previous review: The missing ingredients are Cheese & crispy bacon!
My husband loves Italian blend, and I like extra shape. Boiling soup in a bowl, top with cheese of choice and Crispy bacon and green onions or chives.