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Home Uncategorized

What to do with leftover ham – 30+ recipes!

By:Nagi
Published:29 Dec '20Updated:29 Dec '20
36 Comments
Dozer v

Wondering what to do with the leftover ham – other than make ham sandwiches yet again? Here’s over 30 recipes worthy of your precious glazed ham!

TOP TIP: Treat it like bacon, and don’t forget the bone!

What to do with leftover ham - 30+ recipes

It’s un-Australian to make a Glazed Ham that’s just big enough to serve the exact number you’re catering for. Have leftover ham is practically a Christmas ritual in itself.

On Day 1, it’s all exciting to use the leftover ham to make lunch rolls.

Day 2, it’s already starting to lose its appeal.

By Day 3, you start looking up how long the leftover ham will keep for, and how to freeze it. (Answer here)

Day 4, you decide you’ll have one last hurrah before you freeze it.

Oh wait, I believe that’s today??! 🤣 So I’m JUST in time!

So here you go – 30+ recipes to make using your leftover ham. (And PS, it will be good for at least a 7 – 9 days in the fridge if you store it correctly!)

Crustless Quiche in a pie pan, fresh out of the oven
Cheese and Ham Crustless Quiche – tastes like Quiche Lorraine, minus a ton of calories and effort!

What to do with Leftover Ham – 30+ recipes

1. RecipeTin Picks

Here are my personal picks for using the precious leftover ham:

  1. Eggs Benedict – because it’s worthy;

  2. In place of bacon in this Strata Cake – because it’s something different, simple to make, tastes like quiche and everybody loves it;

  3. Ham & Cheese French Toast Roll Ups – because it’s FUN! (And crazy delicious);

  4. Pea and Ham Soup – because it’s so good that you look beyond that incredibly unflattering colour;

  5. Fried rice – because you don’t need much, and it’s good for using scraps. Make a meal out of it – add it to Chicken Fried Rice;

  6. Mini quiche – another one good for scraps, and I love telling people it’s made with Christmas ham; and

  7. Macaroni Salad – I just add a good couple of handfuls of chopped ham into the Macaroni Salad for extra pops of tasty goodness.

Pouring Hollandaise Sauce over Eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict
Cheese and Bacon Strata Cake - Breakfast Casserole fresh out of the oven, ready to be served
Cheese & bacon strata cake – breakfast casserole!
Close up of Egg Fried Rice in a wok with a wooden spoon, fresh off the stove
Fried Rice
Overhead photo of mini quiches, ready to be eaten
Mini Quiche – 4 ways!
Close up of Macaroni Salad with Creamy Dressing in a white bowl.
Macaroni Salad
Ham and Cheese French Toast Roll Ups
Close up of spoon scooping up Pea and Ham Soup
Pea and Ham Soup

2. Leftover Ham recipes

Actual recipes calling for ham! I have more than I realised – I even had to break it down into groups!

Brunch / brekki type things

  1. Eggs Benedict – as noted above, WORTHY!

  2. Crustless Ham and Cheese Quiche – smells like Quiche Lorraine as it cooks, but a whole lot easier to make! And a lot less calories too 😇;

  3. Ham Egg & Cheese Pockets – grab and go!

  4. Ham and Cheese Puffs – OK, this is more of an app, but I WANT to eat it for breakfast!

  5. No Washing Up Hot Ham and Cheese Bread Bowls – emphasis on the words NO WASHING UP!

  6. Monte Cristo (French Toast Ham Cheese Sandwich) – literally, the BEST ham and cheese sandwich in the world…

  7. Ham and Cheese French Toast Roll Ups – cute to look at and divine to eat!

Pouring Hollandaise Sauce over Eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict
Crustless Quiche in a pie pan, fresh out of the oven
Crustless Quiche – Ham and Cheese
Hot Ham, Egg and Cheese Pockets made with tortillas in a basket, with some cut showing the inside with molten cheese and perfectly cooked egg.
No Washing Up Ham, Egg & Cheese Pockets
Ham Cheese Puff Pastry Parcels - great little party food that only require 5 ingredients: puff pastry, mustard, ham, cheese and egg!
Ham and Cheese Puffs
No Washing Up Ham, Egg & Cheese Bread Bowls
Monte Cristo Sandwich cut in half and stacked on each other on a small white plate, ready to be eaten.
Monte Cristo Sandwich (Ham Cheese French Toast)
Ham and Cheese French Toast Roll Ups

Meals using ham

  1. Ham, Potato & Corn Chowder – a creamy chowder loves salty little pops of ham;

  2. Pizza – Hawaiian, BBQ Meat Lovers, Capricciosa or of course, make your own up!

  3. Chicken Cordon Bleu – the best stuffed chicken ever!

  4. Fried rice – my base recipe calls for bacon, but actually, many Chinese restaurants use ham! Make a meal out of it – try Chicken Fried Rice;

  5. Muffletta! (Italian Christmas Leftovers Bread Bowl) – anything goes here. But most especially HAM!

  6. Cheese and Ham Pancakes – Mashed potatoes cakes studded with ham, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. YES!

Ham and Corn Chowder in a French casserole pot being ladled out for serving.
Ham and Corn Chowder with Potato
Pizza Toppings
Pizza toppings
Close up of Dijon Cream Sauce being poured over Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Close up of Egg Fried Rice in a wok with a wooden spoon, fresh off the stove
Fried Rice
Close up of a stack of Bread Bowl Sandwiches
Christmas Leftovers Bread Bowl Sandwich (Muffuletta)
Cheese and Ham Pancakes - golden crispy cheesy outsides, fluffy insides with pops of ham (or bacon). These are epic! recipetineats.com
Cheese and Ham Pancakes

4. Ham bone recipes

  1. Pea and Ham Soup – dump it all into a slow cooker, then come home to the most incredible smell wafting out of your kitchen. Very little effort, huge returns!

  2. Next Level Ham Bone Soup with Beans – it sounds and looks rustic, but the flavour is off the charts exceptional!

  3. Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup – Congee (3 ingredients!!) – this is actually a Chinese dish, not just something I made up. It’s unbelievably good, and yes it really does only call for 3 ingredients.

Close up of spoon scooping up Pea and Ham Soup
Pea and Ham Soup
Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup (Congee) being ladled out of a white pot, fresh off the stove
Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup – Congee (3 ingredients!!)
Close up of spoon dipping into bowl of Slow Cooker Ham Bone Soup with Beans
Creamy Ham Bone Soup with Beans

5. Anything calling for bacon

Did you know you can use ham in virtually any recipe calling for bacon? It adds the same salty pops, and you can even fry it up until golden, just like bacon!

Sprinkle it onto a Chicken Salad in place of bacon. Or cook it like you would bacon to form a savoury base for things like Minestrone Soup or Southern Baked Beans.

Click here to see all recipes using bacon. Here are some suggestions – nice variety of recipes here!

Close up of Egg Fried Rice in a wok with a wooden spoon, fresh off the stove
Fried Rice
Bowl of Minestrone Soup ready to be eaten
Minestrone Soup
Cheese and Bacon Strata Cake - Breakfast Casserole fresh out of the oven, ready to be served
Cheese & bacon strata cake – breakfast casserole!
Breakfast Muffin with whole egg inside
Bacon & Egg Breakfast Muffins
Simplicity at its best - Bacon Tomato Pasta. 5 ingredients. Utterly irresistible. recipetineats.com
Tomato Bacon Pasta
Pot of Southern Baked Beans with Bacon
Homemade Baked Beans with Bacon (Southern Style)
See all recipes using bacon

PRO TIP: The only time you cannot substitute ham for bacon is where the bacon is mixed in raw form into something, such as Doner Kebab meat or Sausage Rolls. Need the bacon fat.


6. Add in!

There are so many options for things you can add ham into, whether it’s to add protein, tasty little salty pops or just generally to make it even tastier! Here are some ideas:

Lunches & meals

Close up of Macaroni Salad with Creamy Dressing in a white bowl.
Macaroni Salad
A classic potato salad made epic by pouring French dressing over the potatoes while cooked so it absorbs the flavour. The BEST potato salad I've ever had! www.recipetineats.com
Potato Salad
Close up of Broccoli and Potato Soup in a pot, ready to be served
Broccoli and Potato Soup
Close up of Pasta Salad with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomato
Pasta Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes
Corn Chowder - the world most easy soup recipe, ever!
EMERGENCY Corn Chowder Soup – Easy Soup recipe!
Close up of Cream of Vegetable Soup with Noodles (no cream!) in a pot, fresh off the stove ready to be served
Creamy Vegetable Soup with Noodles
Bowl of Brown Rice Salad with halloumi, ready to be eaten
Mediterranean Brown Rice Salad

Breakfast & brunch

Overhead photo of Baked Frittata with Roasted Vegetables cut into slices, fresh out of the oven
Baked Vegetable Frittata
Healthy doesn't have to be bland! These Healthy Egg Muffins are a great grab & go breakfast option. Egg, spinach, feta, cherry tomatoes and bell peppers/capsicum. recipetineats.com
Frittata Egg Muffins
Overhead photo of Cheesy Omelette with Garlic Butter Mushrooms in a skillet.
Omelette
Stack of Crispy Corn Fritters
Very Crispy Corn Fritters
Close up of soft Scrambled Eggs on toast
Scrambled Eggs
Overhead photo of Frittata with Bacon and Spinach in a black skillet, fresh out of the oven
Frittata

Hope that gives your leftover ham a new lease on life! Make the most of it – for most of us, it’s another 12 months before we make another! – Nagi x


Life of Dozer

Dozer would like to put another suggestion on the list for what to do with your leftover ham:

Dozer leftover Christmas Ham

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36 Comments

  1. Lesley says

    December 13, 2021 at 2:52 am

    Brilliant glazed ham recipe. It has helped me enormously for our upcoming Xmas. I have Never done a glazed ham before. Always bought ready prepared. Always been to scared to try. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 13, 2021 at 8:52 am

      You are most welcome! N x

      Reply
  2. Molly Pisula says

    January 15, 2021 at 2:22 am

    Love these ideas! We usually have leftover ham after the holidays, so I’m totally bookmarking these ideas!

    Reply
  3. Chris says

    January 10, 2021 at 1:12 pm

    Cheers for the suggestions Nagi. Btw, what camera do you use?

    Reply
  4. agreso says

    January 7, 2021 at 7:57 pm

    About a week before Thanksgiving I made your Slow-Roasted Sweet Potatoes. They were so good that they were invited to come to Thanksgiving. Now I am no cook, I cannot boil water without burning it. So I have to give you credit for your simple recipes. Now I may go on to become a world-renowned chef!! Thanks and God bless.

    Reply
  5. Diane says

    January 2, 2021 at 10:19 am

    Hi Nagi, I love receiving your emails with great, simple foods . I have tried many and they all turn out very good. I really like the mini quiches with left over ham. Everyone loved them, especially the spinach & garlic, and mushrooms & garlic. Will definitely making these again.
    Loved your interview with Dozer by the way.
    Thanks again. 👍🏻👍🏻

    Reply
  6. Gina Angeletta says

    December 31, 2020 at 8:13 pm

    Hi Nagi, I love all your recipes and have tried many. They are so simple to follow with clear instructions and the end result actually looks like yours do! I love to cook and experiment. Thank you for all your wonderful ideas made easy for the likes of me an ‘at home’ cook. Happy New Year!

    Reply
  7. Jim, Kelly says

    December 31, 2020 at 2:24 pm

    About a week before Thanksgiving I made your Slow-Roasted Sweet Potatoes. They were so good that they were invited to come to Thanksgiving. Now I am no cook, I cannot boil water without burning it. So I have to give you credit for your simple recipes. Now I may go on to become a world-renowned chef!! Thanks and God bless.

    Reply
  8. agreso says

    December 31, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    I would definitely give the minestrone a go. Ham and Parmesan cheese on top= yum!

    Reply
  9. Elizabeth Mathulla says

    December 31, 2020 at 2:23 am

    Hi, I love your way of presenting food and its preparation. I can relate to it so very well as I too am a foodie. Dozer is fabulous and he adds depth to your blog 😍🙂
    I hope you are safe and keeping well especially given recent outbreak of Covid in the Northern beaches area.

    Reply
  10. Carla says

    December 30, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    I would definitely give the minestrone a go. Ham and Parmesan cheese on top= yum!

    Reply
  11. Cherie Swatek Fedder says

    December 30, 2020 at 5:21 pm

    Your ham strata looks delicious! I have a wonderful recipe for turkey strata that my Lithuanian grandmother always made. I love anything strata!!

    Reply
  12. Liz Boyce says

    December 30, 2020 at 10:05 am

    I love all of your recipes. Dozer is my hero.

    Reply
  13. thomas rosser says

    December 30, 2020 at 9:50 am

    top lady love your recipes so easy and straight forward . many thanks and you and dozzer stay safe

    Reply
  14. colin francis price says

    December 30, 2020 at 9:16 am

    Good morning Nagi Merry Christmas and a Happy new year to you and Dozzer, Regards Colin.

    Reply
  15. Jane Harris says

    December 30, 2020 at 5:37 am

    Hi Nagi,
    I happened on your blog by accident several months ago and I am so glad I did! I love your posts and recipes and look forward to seeing them. Your recipes are amazing. Thank you for all the yummy and interesting ideas! PS I’m also quite fond of Dozer😊

    Reply
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