Warm up in the most comforting way… a big bowl of this cheesy ham chowder, made easy in the slow cooker! Perfect for a busy weeknight!
Have some leftover ham? This cheesy ham chowder is the most mouthwatering solution! Even if you don’t have any leftover ham, it’s perfect to make on a chilly weeknight, and hearty enough to feed your whole family!
This post was brought to you by the makers of Promised Land Dairy. I received compensation to write this post through the Far From Ordinary Milk program. All opinions expressed are my own.
Okay I know that it’s not officially Fall until September 22nd, but it’s after Labor Day, which makes it unofficially my favorite season… Fall! I can’t get enough of the comforting meals like this cheesy ham chowder.
On a chilly day, there’s nothing better than cozying up to a big bowl of thick, creamy chowder! The best part about this version? It’s made in the slow cooker!
Just add the first several ingredients to the slow cooker, cover and cook on low, and walk out the door! When you come back home for dinner, all it takes is a mere 20 minutes before it’s 100% ready to go.
One thing I love about this ham chowder is that it’s deliciously creamy, but with no heavy cream! Whole milk and some sour cream give it all the creaminess it needs, while also cutting down on fat and calories.
Over the next couple of months, there are a few holidays where you might serve ham, and inevitably have a bunch of ham leftover right?
I know every time I serve ham, I’m left with SO much. After some ham sandwiches, and these puffs, I’m usually stumped as to what to do with all the leftovers.
That’s where this chowder recipe comes to the rescue! It uses 4 cups of diced ham, so it’ll put a good dent in your leftover pile 🙂
BUT WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE LEFTOVER HAM?
Great question! You totally don’t have to use leftover ham for this recipe. Obviously it’s a great leftover idea, but not everyone serves ham and has leftovers right?
I like to grab some fully cooked boneless ham steaks from the grocery store and just cube them up. In fact, that’s actually what I did for these pictures.
The only ham I wouldn’t use would be really thin sliced lunchmeat… it might disintegrate during the long cook time.
LOOKING FOR MORE SLOW COOKER RECIPES?
- Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese Sauce
- Slow Cooker Shredded Italian Beef
- Slow Cooker Creamy White Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Copycat Zuppa Toscana
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
- Slow Cooker Ranch Mushrooms
Grab some crackers, a spoon, and dig in!! Also, we love to make this no knead bread to serve alongside… nothing beats it!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" cubes (about 3 medium sized potatoes)
- 20 oz canned corn (drained), or frozen corn (thawed)
- 4 cups cubed ham steaks, diced into 1/2" cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 ribs celery, diced
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock (or broth)
- 2 cups whole Milk
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp fresh minced parsley
- extra parsley, pepper and cheese, for garnish
Instructions
- To a 6 qt slow cooker, add the first 8 ingredients (potatoes through and including chicken stock). Stir, cover, and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours, until potatoes are tender.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk milk and cornstarch until smooth. Stir into soup in slow cooker, cover and cook on HIGH 20-25 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat, stir in cheese, sour cream and parsley until cheese is melted.
- Serve sprinkled with extra cheese, black pepper and parsley if desired.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Dakota says
Late start so I’m trying high for 4 hours instead of low for 8 hours, will that be okay?
The Chunky Chef says
It should be 🙂
Beth says
Well there goes my ham steak supply! I was using the chunks left from carving up a whole ham but the chowder is so good that I’ll be dipping in to the ham steak stock.
Cindy N says
I have made this soup quite a few times and thought I should finally come and leave a review. This is one of our favorite soups. Absolutely delicious!! It is currently 6 degrees here in PA and I have it cooking in my crock pot. Can’t wait!!
Thank you Chunky Chef for this wonderful recipe!
Kathy says
I finished the soup on the stove because my potatoes were not completely soft. It was delicious!
Kimberly Hills says
Made this on the stove due to late start. Followed other commenters lead, turned out excellent. Solid recipe!
Renee says
OMG this is by far one of the best flavorful favorite soup recipes in my cooking repertoire. You have come up with the most amazing ham cheesy corn chowder. I have been making this for the last few years now and it is fantastic! Everybody raves about it and I have to make a big pot of it so I can send some out to my adult kids and friends. Love it, love it, absolutely, adore it! It is so yummy and perfect for fall and winter evenings for dinner.
Cindy Newsome says
I have this soup in my crockpot as we speak! It is one of our favorites. It is only 2 of us, so we have it for dinner and then lunch throughout the week. Soooo good!!! Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Heather says
My mom doesn’t like corn – would it make much of a difference if I left it out of the recipe?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve never made it without the corn, but I think it would be fine if you omitted it. Or you could substitute another frozen/canned vegetable in it’s place (that your Mom likes, of course).
Justina Lesher says
Just made this tonight. I used ham steaks and it turned out perfect!
Melinda says
This soup in a bread bowl was amazing!
Vickie Daniel says
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
christine says
Delicious!!! used 1.5 lbs of baby potatoes and kept the skin on for some extra fiber. perfect use for leftover Christmas ham I had in the freezer!
Lori says
Made this for dinner tonight and we loved it. My husband said it was the best ham and potato chowder he’s ever had. Thank you so much for sharing it .
Susan Renna says
No matter what I do I can’t get it to thicken like the picture for anything! Is that how thick it should be?
Cindy says
I have the same issue. It never thickens.
Terry L Brumfield says
I like to use instant mashed potatoes to thicken
GARY says
In a pan, melt down 4 Tblsp of butter. Add 4 tblsp of flour and stir together. Add this mixture to the soup and stir in to thicken.
Linda Foster says
I use heavy whipping cream and less milk.
Karen says
Can I use half and half instead of whole milk ?
The Chunky Chef says
Sure thing 🙂
Gary says
Yes
Janelle says
Can you substitute cream cheese instead of sour cream in this recipe? or does that change the taste?
The Chunky Chef says
It might alter it a bit, but should still be delicious 🙂
Lisa says
Threw this together the morning before we left to spend the day celebrating my dad’s 86th birthday. Came home to a nice meal that I didn’t have to scramble to feed my crew. We doubled it and used my 10 quart slow cooker which almost filled it! We have enjoyed it for lunches this week. I used plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream to give it a bit more protein.
Rosemary Swope says
This is the second time we have made and enjoyed this wonderful soup recipe. Thank you so much Amanda for sharing this keeper.
Leona says
Started too late to do this in the slow cooker, so I just did it on the stovetop. Deeelish. Instead of slow cooking for step 1, I brought my ingredients to a boil and then slowed it to a gentle simmer until the potatoes were soft. For step 2, I mixed in my corn starch/milk slurry, brought to a boil and back down to a simmer until slightly thickened, then added my cheese and sour cream. It turned out so yummy!
Melissa says
Hello. I made this soup tonight for dinner and it was absolutely delicious. I was wondering if this can be frozen?
The Chunky Chef says
Since dairy can sometimes separate during the freezing and thawing process, I’ve not tested freezing this recipe, so I can’t say for certain how it’ll turn out. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Pepper says
I am just learning how versatile a slow cooker can be and went hunting for something a bit different to the usual soups and stews. I’m in the UK and chowders aren’t as common over here so I decided this recipe fit the bill perfectly.
I did have to make some minor adjustments to a count for ingredients I couldn’t get. Russet potatoes weren’t available so they were subbed for Maris Piper. Ham can be quite expensive and usually found as sliced sandwich meat so I used gammon, which is basically ham but sold raw to be cooked at home. I had to use a brown onion as there were no yellow ones. When it came to cheese I used a medium maturity cheddar.
The ingredients were simple to prepare. My 7 year old helped out with a lot of the peeling and chopping because it was so easy.
The final result was velvety, sweet-savoury, creamy, warming goodness. My husband polished off a huge bowl full with some crusty bread and declared that he would happily eat it every day if he could. He followed that by eating a large portion for lunch and then another for dinner the following day. He says it is by far the best thing he’s ever eaten.
This will now be a regular in our dinner rotation as it is so easy but so delicious. Thank you!