Categories: Food & Wine

7 Leftover Ham Ideas

A pound or two of leftover ham. That’s what you have after a holiday dinner. But rather than reheating leftover ham and serving it the same way, how else could you use leftover ham? Here are 7 leftover ham ideas to kick-start your thinking.

Leftover Ham Idea #1: Think Sandwiches

Ham and bread go together. Sliced ham makes wonderful ham and cheese sandwiches. Ground up ham also makes a great tasting ham-salad sandwich. You can use specialty breads or you can toast or grill your bread slices to give your sandwich even more flavor. For than matter, you can grill your ham for more flavor.

What’s more, if you think outside the bun, you can cube or slice your leftover ham and stuff a pocket bread sandwich or roll it up in a wrap. Leftover ham works well in a variety of sandwich-type meals.

Leftover Ham Idea #2: Think Kebabs

Another snack idea is to use a skewer and make ham kabobs. Alternate ham chunks with chunks of fresh pineapple, coat with a touch of light tasting cooking oil, and place the skewer on your grill. Since the ham is already cooked and pineapple doesn’t take long on the grill, all you need to do is caramelize the pineapple and get some grill marks on your kabobs for taste and presentation.

Leftover Ham Idea #3: Think Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes and ham is a comfort food. To prepare this dish, you will need to cut your leftover ham into bite-sized chunks and find a good cheesy scalloped potatoes and ham recipe. You could try to make scalloped potatoes and ham without a recipe, but it’s important to get the milk-to-flour ratio right. Too much thickener and you’ll need a knife to cut through a heavy mass of potatoes. Too much milk, and your scalloped potatoes and ham will look more like soup. But whatever recipe you choose, consider topping your scalloped potatoes and ham dish with grated cheese.

Leftover Ham Idea #4: Think Soups

Leftover ham is a great addition to potato soup, pea soup, lentil soup, and navy bean soup–especially if your leftover ham is picnic ham. The smokiness of the meat adds a great punch of flavor to your soup.

Leftover Ham Idea #5: Think Casseroles

Another great idea for leftover ham is to use it in casseroles. You can choose from noodle-based casseroles or potato-based casseroles, or you can branch out and try using wild rice, brown rice, white rice, pearl barley, or any one of a variety of other grains.

Leftover Ham Idea #6: Think Toppings

Don’t forget about toppings. Leftover ham cut into small pieces makes a great pizza topping, a tasty baked potato topping–and if nothing more–ham bits work well as a topping for a fresh green salad.

Leftover Ham Idea #7: Think Snacks and Appetizers

Finally, you can always leave it simple. You can forget about using your leftover ham in a meal. If you cut your leftover ham into bite-sized cubes, you can stick a toothpick into the cubes and serve the ham–no forks necessary. Another toothpick ideas is to spread thin slices of ham with a mixture of cream cheese and chopped green olives or pickles. Then wrap the ham into a roll, and hold it closed with a toothpick. And one final appetizer idea is to cut ham and cheese slices the size of your favorite crackers and serve together as hors d’oeuvres.

You don’t have to reheat your leftover ham and eat a meal that look and tastes like the one on your plate the day before. If nothing more, you can always freeze your leftover ham in slices or cubes for use later. But why not give one of these snack or meal ideas a try instead? If you get creative with your leftover ham, you will hardly believe you’re eating yesterday’s leftovers.