Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup

Make the best Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup without breaking a sweat! This super easy recipe requires minimal hands on time to produce a flavorful, delicious soup the whole family will love.

Slow Cooker Recipes are always a hit in our home, especially ones that require minimal effort. There is nothing better than coming home at the end of the day to a warm meal after a long day out. We especially love crockpot recipes that are made from scratch and don’t include a ton of processed canned items.

This creamy, yet healthy Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup is the perfect way to warm up on a cold day. We love this crockpot ham recipe for a few reasons. It is incredibly easy to do, requires very little hands on time, and results in a delicious dinner to satisfy the whole family. It is also loaded with veggies (and beans if you choose to add them) for a nutritious meal you can feel good about serving.

This soup is a favorite way to use up leftover ham from a holiday dinner. We had so much ham leftover from our Christmas dinner that I just had to put it to use in this leftover ham recipe. You really can’t beat re-purposing leftovers to create something new that won’t bore the family is always a great idea!

Ingredients in Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup

• Potatoes: peeled and diced Russet potatoes. I use about 5 cups worth of diced potatoes which is roughly 5 medium sized potatoes. A little more or a little less won’t affect your soup too much so don’t worry too much.
  
  
• Ham: I use about 1 1/2 cups ham but this can easily be adjusted to suit what you have on hand.
  
  
• Veggies: Chopped onions, carrot and celery. I use about 1 small onion, 2 medium carrots, and 2 ribs of celery.
  
  
• Chicken broth: or vegetable broth can be used. I use a low sodium chicken broth so that I can control the salt content since ham adds to the saltiness of this dish. Alternatively, you can also use water and flavor it by making the soup with the ham bone in it.
  
  
• Seasoning: Onion powder, bay leaves, salt and black pepper.
  
  
• Butter and Flour: used to make a roux to thicken the soup. You can replace these ingredients with cornstarch slurry for a gluten free recipe. See the note section of the recipe card for details.
  
  
• Milk: Adds creaminess to the soup. I opt for milk (whole milk, 2% or even skim milk) because it has less fat and is also an ingredient we always have. If you like a creamier soup, you can add heavy cream instead.
  
  
• Optional: fresh herbs like fresh parsley for garnishing.

Note: Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Ham and Potato Soup in the Slow Cooker

1. Add ingredients to the slow cooker: Add potato, ham, onion, carrot, celery, chicken broth, onion powder, bay leaves, salt and pepper into the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or until potatoes are tender.

2. Mash some potatoes: Use a potato masher to mash some of the potatoes, if desired. This helps to make a thick, broth but you can skip this step if you desire.

3. Thicken the broth: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add flour (See notes below for a gluten-free version)*. Whisk together to form a roux and then add the milk. Continue whisking until the milk thickens. If using, stir in the grated cheese.

4. Make it creamy: Add the saucepan ingredients into the slow cooker and stir together. Cook in slow cooker on high for another 20-30 minutes. Re move bay leaves, ladle into bowls and serve.

Substitutions and Additions to Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup

• Replace the flour roux for a cornstarch slurry. If you wish to make this soup gluten-free, this can easily be done with a simple substitutions of the roux for a cornstarch slurry. The instructions for how to do this are in the notes section of the recipe card.
  
  
• Make it a ham, potato and bean soup recipe by adding white beans. A great way to make this soup extra nutritious is to add some beans to it. White beans such as Great Northern beans, navy beans, cannellini beans or similar can be added. In order to keep it simple without adding to the cook or prep time, canned beans are the best way to go.
  
  
• Use a different potato variety. Yukon gold potatoes or red potatoes can be used in place of russets.
  
  
• Use the leftover ham bone. To add delicious flavor to the broth, add the leftover ham bone to the soup.
  
  
• Switch up the seasonings. Add your favorite herbs like thyme, rosemary, parsley to the soup or spices like chili powder for a bit of heat.
  
  
• Use heavy cream instead of milk. I almost always use milk in my creamy soups as its a healthier option and also an ingredient we always have on hand. If you prefer a richer, creamier soup, you can definitely use heavy cream instead.
  
  
• Add more grated cheese. Cheesy ham dishes are always delicious and you can definitely bring in more cheesy flavor to this dish. There is already cheese added into the soup but to up the flavor, you can sprinkle the soup with more grated cheese before serving.

Can you prep this ham and potato soup in advance?

To make things easier the day you make this soup, you can have most of the “hard” work out of the way from the night before.

I like to pre-chop all my ingredients and store them in the fridge. Chopped potatoes should be stored in a bowl with cold water. The onions, celery, carrots and ham can be chopped and placed in an airtight container overnight.

Then all you have to do in the morning is pop the potatoes, ham, and veggies in the slow cooker with the seasoning and broth and off you go.

What to serve with this soup

This soup is hearty and delicious on its own with some crackers, but we also love to serve it up a fresh side salad like a Radish Cucumber Salad or Healthy Caesar Salad and some bread or biscuits. For quick bread and biscuit recipes that are ready in less than an hour, my go-to recipes include my 45-minute Easy Dinner Rolls, Cheddar Chive Biscuits, and Zucchini & Cheese Drop Biscuits (a great way to get more veggies in).

How to store and reheat leftovers

Once the soup has cooled to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge. It will last for a few days stored this way.

To reheat the soup, stove top is the best method. Ladle the soup into a saucepan and heat it over medium low heat until it is warmed through. The soup can also be heated up in the microwave for a great leftover lunch you can take to work.

I find the soup is even more delicious the next day!

I hope you enjoy this Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup recipe as much as I do! It’s a great recipe to use up leftover ham and the best part is it requires very little effort on your part!

-Cathy

You may also like these other favorite soups made in the slow cooker:

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Chicken Pot Pie Soup (Slow Cooker)
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili