Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

ham & potato soup

(3 ratings)
Recipe by
Helene Mulvihill
Magnolia, TX

We created this recipe to make use of the ham bone after the holidays. The only ham bone soup recipe we had was pea soup and my kids wont eat green soup. NOTE: The longer you boil the bone, the more broth you can make. I have doubled this recipe by simmering the bone overnight for 8 to 10 hours adding more water as needed. Taste will dictate the water needed for your soup. ALSO: Use flakes according to taste.

(3 ratings)
yield 10 +
prep time 1 Hr
cook time 6 Hr

Ingredients For ham & potato soup

  • 1 lg
    leftover ham bone
  • 2 to 3 gal
    water, more or less as needed
  • 2 md
    onions
  • 1 lg
    bunch of celery, washed and chopped (including leaves)
  • 4 lg
    carrots, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp
    black pepper
  • 6 lg
    carrots, chopped
  • 6 c
    leftover ham, chopped
  • 12 to 16 lg
    boiling potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 can
    evaporated milk
  • 6 Tbsp
    bacon fat reserve
  • 1 lb
    bacon, fried and set aside
  • 1 to 3 c
    instant potato flakes, dry
  • shredded sharp cheddar cheese to taste
  • chopped green chives to taste

How To Make ham & potato soup

  • 1
    Boil ham bone in water for 3 to 4 hours.
  • 2
    Remove bone from broth, strain fluid back into stock pot.
  • 3
    IF needed add water at this time to make sure you have at least a gallon of fluid at this point.
  • 4
    Add aromatics, Onions, Celery, first 4 carrots and black pepper. Boil for 2 hours or until vegetables are disolved.
  • 5
    Lower heat to simmer and add next 6 carrots.
  • 6
    Wait about 10 minutes after adding carrots, then add chopped potatoes and ham.
  • 7
    cook until carrots and potatoes are softened (about 15 minutes) turn heat off.
  • 8
    in fry pan, fry bacon, remove and set on papper towels. Dispose of all but 4 to 6 Tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add half cup of broth from soup to bacon pan to dredge pan, then add this bacon broth mixture to the soup. (yum)
  • 9
    add evaported milk to soup, stir.
  • 10
    Add 1 cup potato flakes to soup, remembering that they will thicken over time. allow 5 minutes for flakes to set. If you want the soup thicker, add another half cup at a time, stir thoroughly and wait a few minutes between each addition to see how thick it becomes. Remember: You can always add more flakes, but you can't take any away :-)
  • 11
    Serve in bowl with crumbled bacon, shredded cheese and chopped chives.
  • 12
    You can freeze this soup in 1 gallon bags then defrost and reheat in crock pot. It seperates when chilled or frozen so I use a crock pot and stir it often to reset into creamy thick soup.
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