Ham and Dill Potato Cream Cheese Soup

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Last updated on October 11th, 2021 at 06:28 pm

Ham and dill potato cream cheese soup is dangerous. I always go back for seconds… and too stuffed to eat any more but still slurping down soup thirds. You have been warned, proceed at your own risk.

A comforting mix of ham, dill, potatoes, and cream cheese simmers in a velvety broth-based soup with a touch of cream that pairs perfectly with rolls. This silky soup will warm you up on even the coldest of nights.

The recipe here is made possible by a restaurant chain in Arizona called Wildflower Bread Company. There is a location at the Chandler Fashion Mall that my family would frequent. When dining in, they would serve the soup in a bread bowl. So you can do that if you want here, but it is a lot of extra work and the soup still tastes amazing in a non-edible bowl.

The restaurant bills their dish as potato cream cheese soup. But that is a terrible name because it has a lot more going on and I don’t think it lets you imagine the soup properly. My name for it is a bit of a mouthful, so it may not be much better, but it does paint a better picture.

Soup Traditions

When my mom was growing up, grandma would make clam chowder for their Christmas Eve dinner. Mom loved the tradition but didn’t really love the clam chowder. However, making the clam chowder did introduce her to the steps of making a roux. But she still wanted to keep up the tradition and share it with her own family, so she would make either broccoli cheese soup or three clam chowder without the clams (so, zero clam chowder?).

Then one pivotal day my mom ate at Wildflower Bread Company and tried out their potato cream cheese soup. She enjoyed it enough to try making a copycat recipe at home. Then it became the traditional meal served for our family’s Christmas Eve dinner.

When I first started cooking for myself, I asked my mom for some of our family recipes and this one was included in the mix. So I learned how to make it. Then I lost the actual recipe but generally remembered what went into it and how to make it. Every once in a while I would text my mom a list of the ingredients and ask her if I had forgotten anything. It slowly evolved into how I make it and has become this recipe.

To this day I generally keep up with the tradition. I don’t necessarily always have it for Christmas eve, but I always make it within the week leading up to Christmas. And many other times year-round because it is so good.

Potato Cream Cheese Soup Recommendations

Ham – For a while I used a pre-cubed bag of ham. Now I like to get ham from the deli, cut extra thick, and then cube it myself. Or, wait until you have made a large spiral cut ham and have tons of leftovers – and use the leftover ham for this soup.

Dill – Fresh dill is best – especially homegrown fresh dill that you just clipped from the garden. But that isn’t always possible. So if you don’t have any in season or can’t find any in the produce section, then you can use dried dill in a pinch. It isn’t quite as good, but it works. Just remember to cut the amount of dill used in half if using the dried stuff.

Rolls – This soup is best enjoyed with some freshly made rolls. My mom (or in later years my sister) would always make a huge double-batch of the family roll recipe when we were having this soup. You can also try some saltines, pita chips, or even some goldfish crackers. Basically, this soup is good with some salty carbs.

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