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 | Updated December 2, 2025
COOK + BAKE | Updated December 2, 2025
Homemade soups are the best way to use up so many supper leftovers.
Mashed potatoes form the base for a creamy chowder, a handful of veggies can be thrown into a broth, and small amounts of meat become "enough" when mixed with other soup ingredients. Using them in this way allows those leftovers to be repurposed into a brand new, flavorful meal.
This particular recipe was developed by a family friend and just one bite had me hooked for life. While she was happy to share the ingredients, there was no written recipe. She'd been making it so long, she just "knew" the right amounts to put in.
After experimenting with quite a few batches, my mom and I finally came up with the right combination for a very similar soup that you're sure to enjoy. Not only is it delicious, but this one-pot recipe couldn't be any easier to make and takes almost no ingredients at all!
Read on for a recipe perfect for a cold winter's day (or anytime of the year when you've got some leftover ham!)
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 comes a lot from these two.
Typically in soup recipes, you'll find celery and onions included. But the husband of the soup's creator didn't like eating those two ingredients, so she had to find another way to include their flavor.
What results is a really flavor packed broth that nicely compliment the potatoes and ham. Feel free to adjust the amount of the spices used in the recipe to suit your own taste buds.
Oftentimes, you may not have fresh celery in the refrigerator so the substitution makes this soup easy to prepare without an extra trip to the market.
What You'll Need
For your convenience, a printable recipe option appear further down in this article. Here is a brief overview of what you'll be needing.
- Chicken Broth - The potatoes are boiled in broth rather than water to add extra flavor. I prefer Swanson brand or use my own homemade stock
- Potatoes - Yukon Gold potatoes will hold their shape well in this soup because of their moisture content, but feel free to substitute whatever type of you have on hand.
- Grated Carrot
- Chunks of Ham - This soup is a great way to use up leftover ham. Cut it into small chunks and freeze until the time is right. You can also use an individual boneless ham steak from the market, packaged ham cubes, or canned chunk ham.
- Onion Salt
- Celery Seed
- Whole Milk - Provides creaminess to the soup.
- Unsalted Butter
- Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
How to Make Potato and Ham Soup
STEP 1: Prepare your ingredients by washing and cubing the potatoes into small half inch size pieces, grating the carrot, and cutting the ham into bitesize chunks.
STEP 2: Boil the potato cubes in the chicken broth for 10 to 15 minutes until they are fork tender.
STEP 3: Add the grated carrot, chunks of ham, onion salt, celery seed, and milk to the potatoes and broth. Stir to combine. Then add the butter and stir until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste, if you'd like.
STEP 4: Simmer the soup about 5 minutes until everything is warmed through. Top with some parsley and serve immediately with some crusty bread or allow it to cool and refrigerate it until ready to eat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions that have been asked about preparing this ham and potato soup recipe. If you don’t see your question answered here, feel free to send me an email and I’ll be happy to help.
HOW LONG DOES THIS SOUP LAST?
You can refrigerate the soup in an airtight container for up to three days for the best flavor.
Heat the remaining soup on the stove until warm, but avoid bringing it to a boil. Stir it often to avoid sticking.
CAN THIS SOUP BE FROZEN?
I personally do not recommend freezing soups that have a milk base because they tend to separate and become grainy.
DOES IT MATTER WHAT TYPE OF POTATOES ARE USED?
The suggestion above says to use Yukon Gold because they hold they shape better when boiled. But it really doesn't matter what type of potato you use. I most often make it with Russet potatoes because they are what I have on hand. You can also try red potatoes.
CAN YOU SKIP THE SEASONING AND USE ONIONS AND CELERY?
I'm sure that you can prepare a similar soup using the actual vegetables over their seasonings, but I have never done it to know how much of either to include. The best part of this soup is the intense flavor that comes from using celery seed and onion salt. You aren't going to find that it is the same taste if you substitute the ingredients, but I'm sure it would still be delicious.
DO POTATOES HAVE TO BE PEELED?
Peeling potatoes for soup is a matter of preference, but I prefer them peeled because the skin can remain a bit tough and alter the texture of this soup.
Cooking dinner doesn't have to be time consuming or complicated. This soup makes a quick weeknight meal your family with enjoy without much time spent preparing.
Other Soup Recipes You Might Find Tasty
- Creamy Broccoli and Cheese
- Potato Corn Chowder - A thick and creamy soup full of flavor and my #1 way to use up leftover mashed potatoes!
- Creamy Chicken Noodle - Uses frozen veggies and cooked in a Crock Pot so it couldn't be any easier
- Cream of Celery Soup - Skipped the canned condensed soup and try making your own homemade base.
- No-Waste Homemade Chicken Stock - Made from leftover chicken bones and vegetable scraps!
HAM AND POTATO SOUP
Just four ingredients and some spices combine to make this easy flavorful soup perfect when you have ham leftovers.
Makes 4 - 6 servings
PRINT RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups (32 ounces) chicken broth
- 6 or 7 average sized potatoes, cut into evenly sized cubes
- Small carrot
- 1 1/2 cups ham, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 2 teaspoons onion salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
- 3 cups whole milk
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- Salt and pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1: Boil the cubed potatoes in the chicken broth for 10 to 15 minutes until tender.
STEP 2: Grate the carrot into the broth, then add the ham, onion salt, celery seed, and milk. Stir to combine. Add the butter and stir until completely melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
STEP 3: Simmer the soup about 5 minutes until everything is heated through and then serve.
DOES THIS RECIPE SOUND GOOD?
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