This made from scratch Cheesy Ham and Potato Chowder is thick and creamy and the perfect way to breathe new life into your leftover ham. Bacon, carrots, onion, and potato make this one hearty and delicious soup!
Do you make a ham for the holidays and tend to have leftovers? Well, this soup along with Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche are great for using up bits and pieces of leftover Easter or Christmas ham. Serve with some Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins and you’ve turned a little bit of leftovers into another filling meal.
This Cheesy Ham and Potato Chowder has lots of fantastic flavor and it all starts with bacon. Hard to go wrong when you start with bacon.  🙂
The bacon grease gets used to cook some onions and carrots. I love the extra flavor the bacon grease adds and you know we southerners don’t like to put anything to waste!  🙂
Flour, milk, and water are added plus Better Than Bouillon for flavor, along with garlic powder and white pepper. Some diced russet potatoes are added and simmered until soft.
The ham and cheese gets added just before serving. The cheddar cheese is what really makes this soup as delicious as it is. It’s hard to resist cheesy goodness. Plus it helps give the soup a really thick and hearty consistency.
All said and done, you can have this Cheesy Ham and Potato Chowder on the table in under 30 minutes.
Be Sure to Try These Other Chowder Recipes:
Watch the short video below to see how easy this recipe is to make.
Cheesy Ham and Potato Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 medium yellow or sweet onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons better than bouillon
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 cups diced ham
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cook diced bacon in a Dutch oven until crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Leave about 3 tablespoons bacon grease in the Dutch oven.
- Add onion and carrots to bacon grease and cook over medium heat until soft.
- Sprinkle flour over onions and carrots. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Gradually stir in milk and water. Add Better Than Bouillon, black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder and potatoes and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
- Turn heat to low and stir in ham and cheese until cheese is melted. Sprinkle bacon on top. Serve.
Nutrition
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Originally published March 29, 2017
So delicious that I had to take to work and share
Nice recipe, came out good. Did a few things different; I had some ham stock from cooking the hambone to get the meat off, so I used that instead of water/Better than Bouillon. Made a double batch, and I threw a couple cans of corn with peppers in there, gave it some nice color, and I had a cheesy ham n’ corn chowder, mighty tasty.
Followed the recipe exactly and my family loved it, very hearty and excellent for a cold day!!
Best recipe yet for leftover ham. Very flavorful, hearty and the ultimate comfort food. I made a double batch and am going to see how freezing works.
Yum so amazing wouldn’t change a thing.
This is a wonderful chowder, perfect for a cold winter da, it’s now in my fall/winter rotation.
Amazing as directed! Would not change a thing. Thank-you!
This was wonderful for ham leftovers. I topped it with a dollop of sour cream which made it like loaded baked potato. I will make it again for sure.
Good soup…. We just added one stalk of celery….
Easy recipe, fast the very repeatable
Great for cool afternoons!
Soup was delicious I also tweaked the recipe by using chicken stock instead of bouillon and extra sharp cheddar it was amazing! I also used the leftover ham from Easter which was a little on the sweet side and a lot more than the ingredients called for but definitely a repeat
OMG! This is definitely a favorite in this horse! Comfort food on steroids. Add some Juffy cornbread muffins and you have a meal!
How do I make this in a slow cooker?
Can this be frozen?? Wondering if it would separate after thawing. TIA.
i don’t have any Better Than Bouillon, Is it okay i can use chicken bouillon cube?
I have substituted with bouillon before and it worked just fine, although it isn’t as flavorful as BTB and it is more salty than BTB so I wouldn’t add salt. Good luck!
I used sharp cheddar myself, and I went with beef better than bouillon as a personal preference, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. Served this in some homemade bread bowls, and it was absolutely fantastic, this has earned a permanent place in my recipe book, thanks for the delicious meal!