101 Ways to Use Leftover Ham

In my family, lamb is for Easter, turkey for Thanksgiving, and ham for Christmas. And I love that procession of celebratory meats--except that, as the host of all our family holiday get-togethers, it often leaves me with a lot of leftovers. So, if you're like me and have ham coming out of your ears, this is for you.

And if you have a ham recipe that you'd like to share, leave your link or recipe in the comments section!

101 Ways to Use Leftover Ham

1. Ham & Eggs for Breakfast. You could even have a Dr. Seuss-inspired kid-friendly menu of green eggs and ham.
   
2. Strata, the savory answer to french toast casserole, is a great way to use leftovers.
3. Minced Ham Salad - a sandwich filling or a different kind of stuffing for hard-boiled eggs.
4. Chopped fine and frozen in ice cube trays, just like you would leftover herbs, is a perfect way to preserve that porky goodness for any future recipe.
5. Chicken-Escarole Soup - even better with some added ham.
   
6. Black-Eyed Peas
7. Add ham to a mess of Collard Greens for pure southern-style heaven!
8. Ham Biscuits - another southern staple.
9. Scalloped Potatoes & Ham
10. Scalloped Sweet Potatoes & Ham
11. Chef Salad with Ham & Hard-Boiled Eggs
12. Broccoli + Ham = almost Mr.W-friendly. Almost.
    
13. Ham & Cheese Crescent Roll Wreath - Mix diced ham, swiss and your favorite vegetable with a wee bit of mustard and set aside; separate dough from 2 cans of crescent roll dough and lay out in a wreath form, skinny points out, 2 layers. Press slightly and spread filling on solid areas. Fold pointy ends up over filling. Some areas of filling will be exposed. Bake at 350*F until golden brown. It's great for a quick lunch, appetizer or tea. See a photo & similar recipe here.
    
14. Ham Reuben - replace corned beef with ham for an instant twist on a famous sandwich!
15. Monte Cristo Sandwich
16. Penne Pasta with Ham & Peas in Cream Sauce. One word: yum.
17. Pigeon Peas with Ham
    
18. Ham & Cheese Sandwiches. Lettuce? Tomato? Your decision.
19. Sauteed Rapini & Ham
20. Spicy Broccoli & Ham Spaghetti - instead of using spicy capicola ham here, just add some red pepper flake and use your holiday ham.
    
21. Au Gratin Potatoes & Ham
22. A little minced ham added to spaghetti sauce adds a certain "je ne sais quois."
23. The same goes for chili.
24. Omelette with American Cheese & Ham
25. Frittata
26. Skewered with melon chunks, pineapple, cheese cubes & cherry tomatoes for a fun appetizer.
27. Ham Slop - the diner-version of a kitchen-sink egg scramble that uses up your leftovers.
28. Thinly sliced ham wrapped around asparagus spears.
29. Pinto Beans with Ham
    
30. BBQ Ham - shaved & heated in your favorite bbq sauce, ham becomes a yummy sandwich or topping for cornbread.
31. Chicken Cordon Bleu
32. Grilled Cheese with Ham & Tomato Slice - I remember my mom making just this kind of sandwich for us when we'd been outside playing in the snow. Mmm, warming and hearty with a bowl of tomato or chicken noodle soup.
33. Minced ham, combined with breadcrumbs makes a great stuffing for mushroom caps.
34. Diced ham & pear in belgian endive leaves drizzled with reduced white balsamic vinegar.
35. Black Bean Soup
36. How about a pot pie, filled with ham, green beans and potatoes in a creamy gravy?
    
37. Cut into sticks and served to the kids instead of chicken fingers.
38. Thinly sliced & used as a base for yummy breakfast ham, egg & cheese cups.
39. Or make more ham cups and fill them with pineapple curd and blue cheese.
40. Ham with Red-Eye Gravy
    
41. White Bean Soup
42. Indian Samosas or Brazilian Pastels with Ham Filling
43. Ham Patties - think crab cakes, only with ham
44. Italian Greens with Ham & Cherry Peppers - this is how we make them in my region, with variations, of course.
    
45. Kidney Beans with Ham
46. Ham & Pickle Roll-Ups
47. Creamy Potato Soup with Ham
48. Lentil Soup - replace the pepperoni with ham
49. Ham & Potato Soup - replace sausage with chopped ham
50. 16-Bean Soup - you've seen the packages in the store
51. Split Pea Soup
52. Thinly sliced and wrapped around grissini
53. Crostini topped with garlicky mascarpone cheese and a ham spear
54. Make corned beef dip, only with chopped ham; serve in a hollowed-out bread bowl.
55. How about a cheese ball? 8 oz cream cheese, 2 T butter, 1/2 c minced ham, 1/4 cup well-drained crushed pineapple and 1 c shredded swiss cheese.
56. Spanish tortilla with ham
57. Creamed chipped ham on toast
58. Biscuits & ham gravy
59. Ham & Corn Pudding (spoon bread): Combine 1 box jiffy corn muffin mix, 1 can creamed corn, 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 cup chopped ham. Bake at 350*F until golden and springs back when touched at the center.
60. Minced into Farmgirl Susan's Beyond Easy Beer Bread.
61. Julienned strips of ham added to your Noodle Soup Bowl.
62. Ham Fried Rice
63. Teriyaki-Glazed Ham over Steamed Brown Rice
64. Ham Tagine in a Pumpkin with Couscous (use ham instead of lamb)
    
65. Wrap Sandwich of ham, spinach and pepper jack cheese with cranberry chutney.
66. Another wrap sandwich of ham, cucumber slices, arugula and brie with crispy pear spears.
67. Diced ham & queso enchiladas with verde sauce.
68. Grilled ham & fresh pineapple wedges with confetti rice.
69. Mixed into your favorite breakfast hash brown casserole.
70. In a breakfast grits bowl.
71. Or forget all the other stuff and just make cheese grits. With ham.
72. Ham and quinoa and cheese stuffed into par-boiled green peppers and baked until melty.
73. Mix ham with bread crumbs and melted butter and stuff into seeded zucchini halves.
74. Add minced ham to macaroni salad.
75. Or potato salad.
76. Macaroni & cheese is yummy with chunks of ham.
77. Have a fondue party and serve cubed ham for dunking.
78. Put ham in your next pan of baked beans.
79. String beans with ham - is there any vegetable that ham can't make better?
80. Ham & Turkey Club Sandwiches
81. Go old-school with Ham Croquettes
82. Ground ham appetizer meatballs cooked in your favorite ketchup-jelly combo.
83. Diced ham & apricot preserves on brie, wrapped in puff pastry & baked.
84. Jambalaya with Ham
85. Dirty Rice with Ham
86. Top a baked potato with ham & cheese, sour cream and butter for a full-fat bite of heaven.
87. Make ham stock!
88. Ham layered into Ruth Reichl's Pumpkin Soup, which isn't really soup at all, but bread & cheese layered in a pumpkin and baked. I've tried it--and it's fantastic, and would be yummy with added ham.
89. Devilled Ham
90. Hawaiian Pizza - pizza topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, ham & pineapple chunks.
91. Crepes with ham filling
92. Ham-stuffed french toast
93. Ham and cheese roll-ups
94. Antipasto Salad
95. Korean sushi rolls, called Kim Bop or Gimbap, often contain no fish at all. I learned to make it with ham, carrot and spinach.
96. Greens, Beans & Sausage Soup, only made with ham instead of sausage--or use half sausage, half ham.
    
97. Quiche with ham & spinach
98. Flourless oat bran muffins with apples, ham & cheese.
99. Try these savory scones - and stir in some ham!
    
100. Ham, egg & cheese breakfast sandwiches on english muffins--just like at my favorite fast-food place!
101. Cream cheese, pineapple & ham on boston brown bread make yummy sandwiches for your next afternoon tea.