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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. Donna C says

    December 30, 2020 at 5:12 am

    Hi, Nagi,
    Thanks so much for all the ham recipes! I was wondering what I would do with all of it, since the smallest one I could find was 8-1/2 lbs and there are only two of us!!

    I do have a question. Your description of the cheese and ham pancakes indicated mashed potato cakes, but the recipe had no potato in it.

    LOVED the Christmas photos!

    Happy, HEALTHY New Year to you, Dozer, and the whole Recipe Tin family!

    Reply
  2. Patricia says

    December 30, 2020 at 4:48 am

    Love that Dozer & love your site. My Valentine had the same ‘recipe’ for us.

    Reply
  3. Juliette Elvin says

    December 30, 2020 at 4:48 am

    like your recipe ideas

    Reply
  4. elaine hall says

    December 30, 2020 at 4:29 am

    your recipes are amazing. so very easy to do and follow, practical. my favorite website to go to for inspiration .

    Reply
  5. Sherry says

    December 30, 2020 at 3:29 am

    Yay, Thank you! We received a southern style “smoked ham” it’s huge (like 16 lbs or 7.3 kg) so I really needed this post.
    Stay positive and test negative!!

    Reply
  6. Rita Wilson says

    December 30, 2020 at 3:09 am

    We love this Monte Cristo recipe! Also, the selfies are so perfect! Happy New Year to you both!!

    Reply
  7. Kathryn Wilkinson says

    December 30, 2020 at 1:39 am

    My go to recipe for leftover ham is split pea soup. I didn’t cook a ham this year, but I think I’ll buy one so I can try some of these recipes!

    Reply
  8. Nancy Nataloni says

    December 30, 2020 at 1:34 am

    Hi Nagi, I just love getting your recipes. they are sooooo amazing and most so easy. I love going thru AOL to see if you have sent me anything. We too had a Golden for 17 years Her name was Ginger. Both she and my husband are gone now so I love reading about Dozer. Have a Happy New Year and keep those recipes coming. xoxo Nancy Nataloni

    Reply
  9. William Shand says

    December 30, 2020 at 1:31 am

    Thanks nagi for all the great recipes that you provide we are in lockdown here in scotland so appreciate your messages and love the pictures of dozer I have a black lab wishing you and all of us have a better new year take care and be safe

    Reply
  10. Mary Tognazzini says

    December 30, 2020 at 1:25 am

    THANK YOU BOTH FOR ANOTHER YEAR OF GREAT RECIPES. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

    Reply
  11. Gregory Felsheim says

    December 30, 2020 at 1:24 am

    Hi Nagi, we made your “eggs Benedict “. It was so good. We transferred raw egg to water in the strainer, no tea cup! Save a step!

    Reply
  12. Robin says

    December 29, 2020 at 10:21 pm

    Hi Nagi and Dozer. I just want to wish you both a very Happy New Year and stay safe and healthy.

    Reply
  13. Sandra says

    December 29, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    Love your blog, and Dozer. I’m going to use some of my leftover ham to make pastitsio, a Greekish version of frittata. Happy New Year to you and The Doze.

    Reply
  14. Vicky says

    December 29, 2020 at 8:40 pm

    Wonderful funny and delicious looking life you portray in your food and life. Happy holidays from San Francisco

    Reply
  15. Pam says

    December 29, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    Merry Christmas to you Nagi. We are also in the “northern northern beaches” we have just spent the last 12 days in iso due to a possible exposure at the Avalon gym (always knew gyms were bad for you) and were so looking forward to belatedly celebrating Christmas after iso, then found out that we have to remain in lockdown until 9th January. I have missed my mother’s 86th birthday on December 23, Christmas with family and now new year celebrations. I miss my daughter, my mum, my sister and my brother. My thoughts are with you. You have been a shining light to us all this year, this challenging year. Hopefully 2021 will bring happier times.

    Reply
  16. Jo Walker says

    December 29, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    I love this Nagi, please keep it going!

    Reply
  17. Francis says

    December 29, 2020 at 7:24 pm

    Hello.
    Am already on your list. However, would send me the 3 free electronic recipe books please? Thanks many times

    Reply
  18. Eha Carr says

    December 29, 2020 at 6:46 pm

    Which leftover ham, Nagi – you told us to make salmon and I had prawns and calamari and a little would not have gone astray ! Hmm: shall file the recipes ! Meanwhile, congratulations and felicitations for getting ALL those recipes into goodfood.au ‘best of 50’ list: instead of working have been sending the IG post all over the world . . . and I swear I am not going to keyboard ‘Nagi Maehashi’ one more time tonight 🙂 !!! Sorry you and the Big Boy are in the red zone – at the rate we seem to be reinfecting one another ’tis going to be a big red zone all over ! So best to you and huge thanks for being Teacher all year . . . bestest to your Mom and family and let’s wait patiently . . . whatever will be will be . . .

    Reply
  19. Ann Burns says

    December 29, 2020 at 6:23 pm

    Made your Thai red curry fried rice with leftover ham instead of chicken – delish! Next up, your savoury muffins with added ham. Then sadly, no more ham xx

    Reply
  20. Kelly Birthisel says

    December 29, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    Hi Nagi. I hope I can say from everyone here in Victoria we so appreciated you making the effort to send us kind thoughts and great recipes. You’re all going though it now to a lesser degree and soon we’ll all be safe again. All the best for the New Year.

    Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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