This is a soup recipe that appeared in the Amish Cook column years ago. This Amish Ham and Cheese soup is a country classic.
Here is what Gloria had to say about the soup:
A family favorite during the winter months is a Comforting Ham And Cheese Soup. As a young girl I made countless times for our large family. No two batches turned out the same. Your imagination will be the limit.
Classic Ham and cheese soup is also great right about now because so many of you will have leftover ham from your upcoming Easter meals (geez, is that just next month?). Just dice it up, pair with some potatoes, carrots, cheese, and spices and you have this "balanced meal in a bowl" as my Dad called it.
🙋 FAQ About Amish Ham & Cheese Soup
The Amish have, historically, been locavores, meaning they eat what they can raise and grow. That has changed a lot over the past 50 years but locavorism is still very much part of their diet and many Amish families raise hogs. Hogs provide a lot of different kinds of meat and are a great "garbage disposal" for table scraps (along with chickens). So, yes, pork - ham, sausage, chops - are a big part of the average Amish diet!
This soup, like many Amish favorites, is pretty versatile.I think if you wanted to add some peas or even some broccoli, why not? I’ve never heard of ham and broccoli soup, but why wouldn’t it work? so feel free to use your imagination a bit with the soup, I think it’s a good one and, of course, the Italian in me, I would have a big piece of crusty bread with this.
👨🍳 Making the Ham & Cheese Soup
This soup, like many Amish favorites, is pretty versatile. I think if you wanted to add some peas or even some broccoli, why not? I’ve never heard of ham and broccoli soup, but why wouldn’t it work? So feel free to use your imagination a bit with the soup, I think it’s a good one and, of course, the Italian in me, I would have a big piece of crusty bread with this.
We made the soup and it turned out great, here is our "photo tour" of the recipe!
Red onion goes great in this!
Use nice, big chunks of ham, carrots, and potatoes! And get your favorite pan or stock pot ready. I like this recipe better than just a potato soup, but if you are going something meatless, of course, omit the ham. But the ham makes this a nice protein-packed soup.
Try not to let the soup boil in the saucepan after you add the cheese! Just warm it up over a medium-low heat and you'll get a nice cheesy ham soup. The ham should be nice and tender when done.
And you can add favorite flavors to doctor things up to your taste. As far as potatoes go you can use yukon gold potatoes or russet potatoes, or just any that you have on hand. Tailor it to your taste. Some people add some chicken broth or cream of chicken soup to this soup, but I'm not a huge fan of that. If you have a little bacon grease, though, to stir in, that really accents the pork properties (maybe not the calories!) of this soup. A little heavy cream adds nice flavor to this soup.
We used shredded cheddar cheese in this soup, I think probably "melting cheese" means somethng more along the lines of Velveeta, but either works fine.
🥣 Comforting Ham And Cheese Soup
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 4 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ cup chopped onions
- ¾ lb. ham, cubed
- 2 cups cooked potatoes
- 1 cup cooked carrots
- ½ pound melting cheese
📋 Soup Instructions
- Melt butter, keep heating until butter turns nice and brown.
- Stir in flour.
- Add milk, seasonings, and onions, stirring well.
- Boil for two minutes.
- Add ham, potatoes, and carrots, heat and serve.
- Be careful not to boil after cheese has been added.
🥄 More Amish Soup Recipes
Mennonite Taco Soup - Good Stuff!
Amish Church Soup - Very traditional
Chicken Corn Chowder - Delicious summer soup!
🖨️ Ham and Cheese Soup
Amish Ham and Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 4 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ cup chopped onions
- ¾ lb. ham cubed
- 2 cups cooked potatoes
- 1 cup cooked carrots
- ½ pound melting cheese
Instructions
- Melt butter, keep heating until butter turns nice and brown.
- Stir in flour.
- Add milk, seasonings, and onions, stirring well.
- Boil for two minutes.
- Add ham, potatoes, and carrots and heat for 15 more minutes on medium,
- Add cheese
- Heat for another 5 minutes over medium heat, do not boil.
cinc
Rick Lingle
My great grandma used to make this soup when I was real young and “nobody” in the family ever thought to ask her what she put into it and write it down. She always said, “Watch me and write it down so you can make it for your family and babies “. I thought that I was out of luck until I ran across this from you. Thank you very much for giving me a rememberance from my past. Thank you and Bless you for keeping things that are important to us older generation.
Kevin
Rick, so glad that the recipe is like the one your great-grandma used to make, hopefully you can try it and taste it soon!
JoAnne
Wow! I made the Amish Ham & Cheese soup, it was delicious! The whole family really liked it, will definitely be making it again. Thanks so much for posting it!