The easiest, yet most flavorful, potato and ham soup recipe. In just twenty minutes, you'll have a delicious dinner to warm you up on those cold winter nights!
COOK + BAKE | Published January 14, 2020
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Can you think of a time (or times) when you've tasted a food that was so outstanding that you can practically divide your life into a time before you experienced it and after? I hope that you have. Today's recipe is one of those life-changing ones for me. Yes, it is just soup, but it is that good!
It was "developed" by a family friend , and I can honestly still remember the day I tasted it for the for the first time. I had bought a container of it at a church fundraiser on my way home from work and sat outside in the sunshine eating it on an abnormally balmy November afternoon. One bite of this soup and I was hooked for life.
The problem has always been that there isn't an official recipe for this soup, because she does what anyone does when they create a recipe.....you add a little bit of this and a little bit of that. She knows what she does but it is hard to translate it to someone else.
OTHER SOUP RECIPES YOU'LL
So without literally standing over this poor woman's shoulder as she makes it, my mom and I have had quite the experiment to get the taste just right. But I think we've finally come up with something quite similar.
Not only is this soup delicious, but it could seriously not be any easier to make and takes almost no ingredients at all. It makes a perfect quick weekday meal served with some crusty bread and can be reheated for lunch as well!
WHAT MAKES THIS SOUP SPECIAL?
The real secret behind this soup is the spices - onion salt and celery seed. There are only four other ingredients in the soup so the flavor is really coming from the spices. If you are a person or have someone in your family who turns up their nose at onions or celery, this is the recipe for you.
You can always adjust the amount of the spices used in this recipe to suit your own taste buds.
A QUICK TIME SAVING TIP
In addition to getting the general recipe for this soup, I was also able to pick up one of the most useful kitchen tips ever for quickly cutting evenly sized potatoes for dishes like this. The secret is to use a French fry cutter to slice potato "sticks" of equal widths and then you can cut them the opposite direction into cubes with a knife.
I always enjoy saving time when preparing recipes, but what is really great about using the French fry cutter is that you're potatoes all cook the same because they are the same size.
A GREAT USE FOR LEFTOVER HAM
Making this soup is a great way to use up some leftover ham. I often just cut ham into small chunks when the meal is done and stick the right amount in a ziploc bag to put in the freezer for when I've got time to make the soup.
If you don't have any leftover ham, you can also easily use the individual boneless ham steaks you can buy at the market or canned chunk ham (although in my opinion the canned ham has a different flavor).
So here is the recipe.....
HAM AND POTATO SOUP
Makes about 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups (32 ounces) chicken broth (I prefer Swanson broth)
- 6 or 7 average sized Russet potatoes, cut into evenly sized cubes
- Small carrot
- 1 1/2 cups ham, cut into chunks
- 2 teaspoons onion salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
- 3 cups milk
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1: Boil the potato cubes in the chicken broth for 10 to 15 minutes until they are tender.
STEP 2: Grate about half of the carrot into soup. Then add the chunks of ham, onion salt, celery seed, milk, and butter to the potatoes and broth. Stir to combine. Add the butter and stir until melted. You can add salt and pepper to taste.
STEP 3: Serve immediately or allow it to cool and refrigerate until you're ready to eat.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this recipe if you try it!
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