Cheesy comfort food chowder  with potatoes and ham in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker.

Slow Cooker Ham, Potato and Cheddar Soup

By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime

Welcome to the blogging event for #Crocktober, where my blogging friends and I are sharing some of our favorite crockpot and slow cooker recipes.

Today I want to share my recipe for slow cooker ham,  potato and cheddar soup which is a very comforting version of ham and potato chowder to me. I know I have always enjoyed potato soups, including New England clam chowder. They always hit the spot, so you can  imagine how great this is with cheese added.

The base of this is typical French with a mirepoix which is pretty much standard in many of my soup recipes. I find it makes a great starting point for building flavors. From there it expands outward with herbs such as thyme and chives. Rather than being overly complex, I think it is the simple nature of this soup which is its best character.

You’ll notice that the cheese isn’t actually cooked in the soup because if cheese heats too much, it breaks down, separates and becomes very clumped and stringy.  Obviously you don’t want that happening, so make sure to add it when its only warm  enough to melt the cheese, not cook it and definitely do  not boil it.

Join me tomorrow when I post with Bread bakers. The topic of the month is breads with levain: sourdough, biga,  poolish and  soakers. I will have  a recipe for making poolish pizza dough, which offers a tangy sourdough-like flavor without all the time to develop, or all the effort to  feed and keep going a sourdough starter. This is something you can get prepped all in one day, and it is very easy. I hope to see you then!

~s

Slow Cooker Ham, Potato and Cheddar Soup

• Servings: 10-12
• Time: 4hr 30mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces diced ham
• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried chives
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, diced
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 12 ounces evaporated milk
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 8 ounces shredded white cheddar cheese

Method:

1. Place ham, onion, celery, carrots, dried thyme, chives, salt, pepper, potatoes, chicken broth and water in the slow cooker/instant  pot.
2. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until potatoes are tender.
3. Mix cornstarch with evaporated milk.
4. Stir into soup; cook on saute or high setting until mixture thickens.
5. Turn it off and add the cheddar cheese, stirring until it  melts into the soup.

From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com

#Crocktober: Recipes for the Slow Cooker

• Braised Beef Shank Pasta Sauce from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• CrockPot Lazy Cabbage Rolls from Tip Garden
• Korean-Style Beef Tacos from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Pulled Pork Sandwiches from Family Around The Table
• Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sliders with Dill Pickle Slaw from Kate’s Recipe Box
• Slow Cooker Ham, Potato and Cheddar Soup from Palatable Pastime
• Vegan & Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Crockpot Soup from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice