Potato Ham Chowder
A warm and filling chowder that’s incredibly creamy and rich, perfect for those chilly winter nights!
I hope you’re not getting tired of all these soup recipes I’ve been posting lately. I promise you, once the new year hits, it’ll be salad/quinoa galore here at Damn Delicious but until then, let’s talk soup.
Now I don’t know about you guys but chowders are one of my favorite kind of soups. They’re so incredibly creamy and rich, perfect for those chilly nights sitting in front of a fireplace and slurping on a bowl of soup. Now I don’t actually have a fireplace but a girl can dream, right?
No, but really, this soup is a wonderful way to use up your leftover Christmas ham but if you don’t have a giant 16-lb ham nearby, you can always use a ham steak as well. And don’t forget that crisp crumbled bacon for that added smokiness. After all, bacon is always needed as a garnish, right?
Potato Ham Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 slices Jones Dairy Farm Sliced Bacon, diced
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn kernels
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ cups milk, or more, as needed
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 7-ounce package Jones Dairy Ham Steak, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in corn and thyme until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in potatoes.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 12-15 minutes.* Stir in ham, salt and pepper, to taste. If the chowder is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately, garnished with bacon, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Jones Dairy Farm. All opinions expressed are my own.
This chowder is awesome! It’s my go to recipe when I have left over ham and want a nice creamy potato and ham chowder. I would love if I could find out the nutritional information on it! Thanks for the great recipe!
I wish ever recipe publisher included nutritional information. My Fitness Pal says 372 calories per serving if 2% milk is used. Here’s highlights per serving:
372 calories
Sat fat 9.7 g
Sodium 315 mg
Carb 29.2 g
Sugar 11.6 g
Protein 19.9 g
This one is a keeper – sooooo good!!! I used about 1 3/4 to 2 cups of 2% milk and the rest whole milk and garnished with the bacon and some Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, shredded. I didn’t have scallions or would have included them in the garnish. Great recipe!
Can Ii use instant mashed potattoes instead of fresh? All ou and snowed in!
What’s the bacon for? And why use unsalted butter…and then add salt to the recipe? So I went ahead accordingly – and it was still perfect!
: )
Delicious recipe, I put the bacon in right after the potatoes, just so the flavor could blend with the broth. I also let it simmer for about 45 minutes after adding the ham. I will be saving this recipe for the future.
I now know this recipe by heart! One of the best soup recipes out there!
Yummy ham chowder! I love the flavor of the thyme and the overall taste is so good. I used the leftovers from my Easter ham. Very easy and quick delicious chowder.
Very tasty, quick and easy. Too much thyme for my taste and I used have the suggested amount. Great way to get rid of the Christmas ham though.
I made this last night and usually rely on reviews and always intend to write for great recipes (which all the recipes on this site I have tried are great), but forget. This one is a winner, my husband asked for a chowder for dinner tonight, so looked through the recipes and found this one. Super easy to make and very tasty. My kids who are not “soup” people, even ate it and liked it. My younger son gave it a 9/10!! This is big!! Its a pity there was not much left for leftovers. Will definitely make again..
This is a really delicious recipe! The only minor changes I made are as follows: cooked the onions in the bacon grease so as not to waste all that delicious flavor. I also add a can of creamed corn. My kids love this recipe and ask for it all the time. Making a batch as we speak. Thanks a bunch!
Hi Chungah!! I love your recipes and I made this one recently. It is outstanding! I did add a jalapeno just to spice it up. We served it with buttered-cornbread. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
I made this last night and it was excellent!
I added about a cup and a half of barely steamed frozen broccoli at the same time as the ham, and used ham bits pan fried in bacon fat instead of thawing a pound of bacon for just the topping, and it was fantastic!
Great way to use leftover ham from this weekend.
as it me or was there No instructions on when to add ham and potatoes : (
Maura, please refer to step 3 and step 4.
Step 3: Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in potatoes.
Step 4: Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 12-15 minutes.* Stir in ham, salt and pepper, to taste. If the chowder is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.
My family and I love this soup, but I have a hard time getting it to the thickness that I’d like it. I have to double the recipe due to our large famy, and I always have trouble getting it to the thickness that I’d like. Any tips for this? I start off slowly with the milk, but it seems like when I have added about 5 cups of milk, the thickness is gone!
Try using corn starch as a thickener instead – it’s a little easier to use compared to flour (plus gluten free for people like me). Mix it with a little cold milk or water before pouring it in. You can do little by little so you get to your desired thickness!
I made this for dinner tonight and my family loved it. My husband said that’s the best chowder he’s ever had and he wish that I had made a double batch. Crispy bacon topping it was delicious and it just added that extra crunch to the smooth chowder. We will have this again
Great soup my wife loves it
Hi, Chungah! I love, love your recipes and use them all the time. I did make this soup with two tiny changes: I added some fresh thyme (bc I grow it fresh on my deck) and 1 (finger) ounce of velveeta (I know…. I know… LoL). It was amazing and I am certain it is just as good without my small changes. I wish you much success! I see your recipes (and also pin them!) on Pinterest all the time with rave reviews. THANK YOU so much for your wonderful recipes!
This is always one of our go to recipes!! So hearty and comforting on a brisk day! We like to use leftover ham after a big holiday.
LOVE THAT!!!! 🙂
Made this for dinner last night. It was cold and snowy so this was perfect. It turned out delicious!! We added extra bacon, corn and potatoes so we also had to add more milk. It is very filling and like I said, perfect for a cold winter day!! Thanks Chung-ah!
Made this for the first time last night. This chowder is perfect for the cold weather. Very filling and easy to make. Just have to remind myself to get the preo work done hefore I start making it. My som loved it and he’s a picky eater.
Love this soup! Have made it a zillion times with leftover ham! I have this link saved on my phone!
Love it!