This Ham and Corn Chowder is wonderful comfort food! A creamy soup broth, soft potato, juicy sweet corn and pops of golden brown ham is utterly irresistible and will warm your soul. Imagine coming home to this!
It’s Saturday 27 December, 2 days after Christmas, so I bet there are millions (billions??) of households around the world having ham for lunch. Sure, you could throw together a ham sandwich with fresh bread (yay, shops are open today!), or a frittata using other leftovers from your Christmas Day feast.
Or you could do something a little different and make this chowder. 🙂
“You could make yet another grilled ham and cheese sandwich to use up all that leftover ham…..or you could make this hearty, creamy soup!”
I’m a firm believer that for a soup to be a meal, it needs to be gutsy. And this soup is off the charts when it comes to oomph factor. It’s thick and chunky, creamy (without cream!!) and is one of those soups that is perfect for filling out even more with the addition of more vegetables (frozen diced vegetables are great!) or other leftover meats (think leftover turkey and chicken!).
I bet you thought it was bacon when you first saw the photo! Nope, not a shred of bacon in sight. Honestly, when you fry up the ham and cook it nice and crispy like you would with bacon, it will make you wonder why you don’t cook with ham more often. All the flavour but so much healthier!
To finish things off, I have a rather sad announcement to make…..I have run out of leftover Christmas ham!!! I felt a bit of a pang when I used up the last scraps for this recipe because it seems to signify the end of Christmas….and having to wait another 363 days until the next one.
Soup Dippers
Quick Cheesy Garlic Bread • Better-Than-Dominos Garlic Bread • Soft No Knead Dinner Rolls
For those of you who are lucky enough to still have a stash of Christmas Ham, here are some more suggestions for things you can make with it!
MORE THINGS TO MAKE WITH LEFTOVER HAM
Croque Madame Toastie Cups (Muffin Tin) – the best grilled ham and cheese you will ever have….
Ham and Cheese French Toastie Roll Ups – French Toast you can eat with your fingers!
No Washing Up Egg, Ham and Cheese Bread Bowls – yes, you read that right, there is no washing up at all!
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Ham and Corn Chowder with Potato
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups ham , roughly chopped (Note 1)
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 small onion , diced (or half large onion) (yellow, brown or white)
- 2 potatoes , peeled and diced into 8mm / 1/3" cubes (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn (or drained canned corn)
- 5 tbsp flour
- 2 cups milk (I use low fat but full fat will work too)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried thyme), plus extra for garnish
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent. Do not let the onion brown.
- Add the flour and whisk until mixed through the butter. Pour 1 cup of milk in and whisk until it starts to thicken (around 1 1/2 minutes), then pour the remaining cup of milk in. Whisk until it thickens - around 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Then add the chicken stock, and 1 1/2 cups of water and whisk until combined.
- Increase heat to medium high and add the potatoes into the soup. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes (Note 3), whisking fairly regularly to ensure the soup doesn't stick to the bottom of the saucepan. The soup will thicken as it cooks. Use the remaining 1/2 cup of water if the soup gets too thick before the potato has finished cooking.
- Just before the potato has finished cooking, add the corn in (just to heat it through).
- While the potato is cooking, heat olive oil in a small fry pan over high heat. Add the ham and sauté for 1 - 2 minutes until nicely browned. Remove fry pan from the heat and set aside. (Note 4)
- When the potato is cooked (tender but still holding its shape), remove the soup from the stove and stir through most of the thyme and ham (reserve a bit for garnish).
- If the soup is too thick for your liking, use water (or milk) to get the soup to your desired consistency. Add the salt and 5 grinds of black pepper, then do a taste test and adjust the saltiness if required.
- Serve, garnished with remaining thyme leaves and ham.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This tastes awesome! It’s a very comforting meal.
However my potatoes took way longer to cook, about 25 minutes.
Made this recipe last night and it is absolutely delicious!! A bit thick for me but just added extra milk and it was perfect!!
Super easy and yummy!
This was absolutely perfect for a thundery grey day’s lunch here in NZ. Delicious! Made just as written other than using a stick blender to whizz up just some of the potato before adding the corn. Thick, creamy, filling, just yum. Thanks Nagi for another winner for the repertoire!!
Easy and delicious. I doubled the potatoes and ham, and added an extra cup of broth to get the consistency I like; otherwise followed the recipe as written. Will definitely make this again.
That’s fantastic Cynde! I am happy that you liked it so much! N x
Just made this! Yummy
Woo hoo Tamara! I’m glad you liked it!! N x
Hi Nagi,
Planning to make this 2 days from now, is these easy to double or triple without any problem? Also how many pounds of potatoes? Thank you so much.
I made this today with leftover Christmas ham and it is delicious! Another easy and tasty recipe. Thanks Nagi!
Why is the iron level so high in this recipe? 23%. 4.1mg.
Possibly the ham. Ham has more iron than poultry or fish. Levels can also be different on how the ham is cured.
This chowder is scrumptious! I did use heavy cream instead of milk, drained can corn (had no frozen), 1/4 C flour, and 1/2 tsp thyme. I tend not to measure vegetables and meats, eyeballing instead, so chowder was very chunky, but that’s how we like it. I will definitely make this again. Loved it!!
Making this today. I have everything but the thyme so I’m going to sub for similar. I especially like that this recipe doesn’t make a huge amount. Using up what’s on hand and I can’t go wrong with Nagi’s recipes! Budget friendly using up my ham and potatoes. I normally make potato leek soup. Leeks are so expensive here at beach in my small beach town in FL. Bacon crazy expensive. The crispy chopped ham is something I thought up and then e.. I knew I had to try! Thx Nagi!
Nice one Sandi! N x
Damn good, as usual Nagi! Only about 1/3 of the Xmas ham left. More of your great recipes to try. My Myrtle (Blue Heeler) is hanging out for the scraps! 🙂
Would the recipe change very much if I want to make it lactose/ dairy-free? I’m wondering if I can make it with oat milk or macadamia nut milk?
I haven’t tried that JC, sorry! N x
Made this today with our leftover Christmas ham and Cheesy Mini Potato Gratin Stacks. The cheese from the stacks added a nice flavor to the soup.
Delicious! I made your ham for New Years, and used the leftovers for this soup. Both were amazing 🤩
This is fabulous!
C An this soup be frozen?
Hi Daphne, yes it can! N x
So I made this today with our leftover Maple Glazed Ham from New Years Day. The flavour was amazing and so easy to put together. I added a diced carrot for some colour. Thanks Nagi for another wonderful recipe!
Sounds absolutely divine Anne!
This looks so delicious! I’m wondering if I can make it gluten free with corn starch instead of flour, but I’m not exactly sure how to do that?
Hi Elizabeth, you sure can, just replace the flour with 2.5 tbls corn flour – N x
Thank you!!
We love this soup so much that I make a double recipe after Christmas every year. I do have one comment. It would be helpful to have a weight given with the potatoes. I have some small Yukon golds and don’t know how many of those to use without a weight.