Potato Chowder
Creamy, cozy, and totally forgiving, this potato chowder is the hearty, budget-friendly soup our family makes on repeat—perfect with bacon, ham, or kept simple and vegetarian.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs potatoes, rough cubes red or yellow = waxy potatoes
- 1 lb baby carrots, cut big chunks work well in this soup
- 3-4 celery ribs, diced use the leaves too, they add great flavor
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 c liquid milk or chicken broth or stock, or combination of both
- ⅔ c butter
- ⅔ c flour
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1 ¼ c shredded cheese any kind you like
- 8 oz sour cream or use mock sour cream, 1 ½ TBS vinegar + milk to equal 1c. Let this sit on counter while you prep other stuff
- 1 whole ham steak, diced OPTIONAL
- Fried/crumbled bacon not necessary, but really make it so much better!
- ½-1 tsp turmeric If you want to make the soup more golden
Instructions
- Speedy version: cook potatoes, carrots, and celery including leaves, *optional* 2-3 fresh cloves garlic, minced, 6c liquid (water or chicken broth or stock, or combination of both) in the instant pot for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove celery leaves before continuing!
- In a separate saucepan, make a roux by whisking together 2/3 c butter and 2/3 c flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Then whisk in:
- Salt & pepper to taste.
- 4 green onions, sliced (can save for topping, if you prefer. Or put some in the soup and some on the soup, you choose!)
- 1 ¼ c shredded cheese
- 8oz sour cream (or use mock sour cream, 1 ½ TBS vinegar + milk to equal 1c. Let this sit on counter while you prep other stuff)
- **optional**1 ham steak, cooked and diced
- Our favorite toppings: Fried/crumbled bacon & sliced green onions (green and white parts)
- If you want to make the soup more golden, you can add some turmeric (1/2-1tsp)
- OPTION: Melt butter and flour to make roux. Add 2c. liquid and stir until smooth. Add to cooked veggies. Gently stir in remaining ingredients and heat through. Don’t boil. Even my picky eaters will eat the veggies in this one!
Notes
For this soup, no need for good knife skills; rough cuts and chops yield a heartier end result. If you want to add meat, we love this with ham, but it is completely optional. Crispy bacon crumbles are especially good as a topping or in the soup.