One of the easiest recipes ever! This Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Cheese Soup require virtually zero morning prep – just dump and go!
Creamy, cheesy, melty perfection, this Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Cheese Soup is the easiest set-it-and-forget-it soup recipe that you’ll ever make! Add frozen hash browns, diced onion, and ham to the slow cooker with chicken broth and seasoning. Add some cream cheese and shredded cheddar eight hours later, and you’ll have a nice warm meal. It’s so good the next time you make this soup. You’ll be excited about it all day long!
COMFORT IN A BOWL
This recipe is seriously easy, but that doesn’t mean that it lacks flavor! This soup hits all the notes of your favorite restaurant soup, and the best part is that you’ll have leftovers to enjoy again the next day.
Potato soup enthusiasts, don’t forget about delicious Bacon Jalapeno Baked Potato Soup or vegan Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup.
OTHER RECIPES TO SERVE WITH HAM AND POTATO CHEESE SOUP
- Homemade Bread Bowl – Did you know that you can make your own bread bowls for soup and hot dips?
- BLT Salad – Make it a soup and salad night for the whole family!
INGREDIENTS
Broth: You’ll need 32 ounces of chicken broth for this recipe. Remember that low-sodium options can change the flavor of the soup.
Veggies: To keep this soup simple, I use a bag of frozen southern-style hash browns and a scoop of frozen diced onion.
Ham: Again, keep it simple! You can buy diced ham in the deli section of the grocery store or keep this recipe in mind for leftovers after the holidays!
Seasoning: You’ll need garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper.
Dairy: The final touch to this soup is the addition of cream cheese and shredded cheddar to make it creamy, cheesy, and delicious!
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER HAM AND POTATO CHEESE SOUP
STEP ONE: Start with a 6-quart slow cooker. Add frozen southern-style hash browns, diced yellow onion, chicken broth, and diced ham in the bag. Season the soup with garlic powder, dried thyme, and pepper. Stir the contents of the slow cooker.
STEP TWO: Cover the slow cooker and set it to low. Allow the soup to cook for 8 hours without opening the lid. Once the 8 hours have passed, add the low-fat cream cheese to a blender and a ladleful of broth and potatoes. Cover and blend the cream cheese mixture until it is smooth.
STEP THREE: Add the blended cream cheese mixture to the slow cooker with the soup. Next, add in the grated cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Once the soup is ready, taste the seasoning and add salt and pepper. Serve the Ham and Potato Cheese Soup while it’s still hot.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- Pre-shredded cheese and cheese shredded fresh off the block never melts. Your soup will come out perfectly creamy when you make the effort to grate the cheese yourself.
- You don’t need to add a lot of soup when blending the cream cheese into the soup base. Just enough to get the blender mixing will do.
- I like to add a little chopped parsley over the soup, along with some extra cheese and ham once I’ve ladled it into bowls.
VARIATIONS ON THIS SLOW COOKER SOUP
One of the biggest advantages of this recipe is how quickly you can throw it together. You can play around with this soup recipe and keep it super simple. Sometimes, depending on my mood, I like to play around with adding some extra veggies like corn and carrots. Again, I keep it simple and stick with frozen veggies, so prepping this soup is still a breeze! You can also add celery and peas if you’re feeling adventurous.
Sometimes, I top my bowl with a dollop of sour cream and some crumbled bacon. Sure, that’s more of a loaded baked potato garnish, but hey- my soup, my rules.
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT HAM AND POTATO CHEESE SOUP
Allow leftover soup to cool down to room temperature before placing it in an airtight container in the fridge. I love to portion out my leftover soup into smaller containers so it’s easy to reheat for lunch the next day. You can reheat or microwave this soup in a saucepan on the stove. If microwaving, reheat it in intervals, stirring it in between to reincorporate any separated dairy. This soup does not freeze well because of the dairy components, but it will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
OTHER SOUP RECIPES FOR CHILLY DAYS
- Roasted Garlic and Cauliflower Soup
- Skinny Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Beef Noodle Soup
*This post was originally posted on 10/29/2017.
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen southern style hash browns
- 1/2 cup yellow onion diced
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups diced ham
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 8 ounces low-fat cream cheese
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded (see note!)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Dried parsley for garnish
Instructions
- To a 6-quart slow cooker, add the frozen hash brown potatoes, onion, chicken broth, ham, garlic powder, thyme, and pepper. Stir everything together.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- When the cooking time is up, add the cream cheese to a blender, and scoop a ladleful of broth and hot potatoes into the blender with the cream cheese. (You just need enough soup to get the blender moving.) Cover and blend until smooth.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture back into the rest of the soup still in the slow cooker. Add the shredded cheddar and stir until melted.
- Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste as needed. Serve warm with bread and butter.
Angie says
Everyone absolutely loved this! I used Yukon gold potatoes, instead of the frozen hashbrowns
jessica weber says
It was good, but very rich. Yet, kids loved it and we will make it again. We are going to add bacon next time.
K says
Any suggestions for Instant pot?
Jennifer Kimmel says
I haven’t made this in the instant pot yet but it would probably need about 25 minutes at high pressure. Let me know if you try it!
Robin Scott says
I started off using my slow cooker but after leafing it all day, when I came home I found that my child had unplugged it to plug his charger in for his tablet and my soup was not even partially cooked. So in a big hurry, I made this soup with my instant pot and I since I was rushed, I pressure cooked it all,on high. I used raw Yukon gold potatoes and carrots, which only take 4 mins to fully cook at that setting, and so I went with mins on high, then released the pressure naturally. Next I ADDED the cheeses and set it to saute medium, for about 0 mins, and the soup ws done
It was delicious
Side note: I discovered that potatoes fully cook in 4 minutes by making a potatoes salad with my instant pot. Cut the potatoes and put them in the pot and set your raw eggs on top of them in the shell, cover 3/4 with water and set on high forn4 minutes, the eggs are perfectly hard boiled and the potatoes soft yet firm enough to not mush up when mixing
Robin Scott says
Sorry thats supposed to say for cooking minutes for cooking on high pressure, and 10 minutes on saute
Joette says
I’ve made this soup several times in a conventional slow cooker and it’s turned out great every time. I think it’s perfect.
I just got an Instant Pot that includes a slow cooker setting. Any changes I need to make or directions I need to follow?
Thank you.
Aubrey Cota says
Not if you plan on using it in its slow cooker function.
Julie Crawford says
Hello Sarah!
I was curious to know why we couldn’t add the cheese & cream cheese an hour prior to being done like some of your other recipes do? Or at least soften the cream cheese first in the microwave before adding it to the soup? Please be advised. Thanks!
Aubrey Cota says
What you would be trying to avoid here is the creamy products curdling or going sour in a bad way. It’s the reason you would avoid putting this type of ingredient in at the beginning. If you are looking to do it within the last hour of the cooking time, stirring it shouldn’t be a problem but just be sure to be thorough about it so there aren’t any chunks. I prefer last because the soup is hot enough to melt everything pretty quickly without having to pre-soften and blending it maintains the very creamy texture, it allows for added brightness as well.
ALLISON EVARTS says
Made this tonight and it was a big hit. I followed the recipe and it was delicious. Everyone had seconds and it is all gone. Thank you!
Aubrey Cota says
No leftovers, bummer because it’s even better the next day! Thank you, Allison. I’m so glad to hear it was such a hit.
Sharon says
Hello,
Is the ham already cooked or do we use uncooked ham?
Aubrey Cota says
We prefer cooked and already cubed ham as it makes it easier. Please use whichever type you prefer.
Julie says
Fabulous soup! I only had about a third of the cream cheese it called for and it was still very good. I look forward to making it again when i have more. Thanks for this great recipe.
Steph says
I follwed the instructions exactly, except that my hashbrowns had been thawed in the fridge. My “soup” was bone dry after 4 hours on Low. Thoughts on why?
Lisa says
Did you have the lid on? If it fit properly that shouldn’t happen. If it didn’t then your liquid boiled away in the steam. If there is no lid on or no properly fitting lid then you need to be around to keep adding more water to maintain the liquid level.
Jenny says
I’d love to make this but we don’t get frozen hash browns here … is there any way to make it with real potatoes?
Greg DeWolf says
This has become a favorite of mine. Easy, quick, and the added plus of having home smell so good! The soup is to die for and is at least a once a month dinner. With hot buttered sour dough French bread and it becomes a heavenly meal.
plasterer bristol says
This sounds lovely. Going to give this a go. thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
Grandma Kc says
Sarah, I had to come back and tell you — I didn’t get this made while I still had leftover Easter ham but I bought a ham steak on sale last week and made this 2 days ago — AWESOME!!!
Grandma Kc says
Yum! And I still have lots of leftover ham to use up so just printed this one. I love the idea of using frozen potatoes!
Linda says
I love to make slow cooker soups, so convenient, and tasty. I will add this one to my list.