34 Leftover Ham Recipes (Christmas, Easter & Any Time You Bake A Ham)
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My husband’s glazed ham is one of our family favourites every Christmas, but we always end up with at least a week’s worth of leftovers.
For the first few days, while there are still salads and sides in the fridge, it’s like having Christmas lunch all over again. Which is great. But by about day four, when it’s just the ham left and everyone’s stopped being excited about it, you need a plan.
That plan is turning it into something else entirely. Below are 33 ways to do that, sorted by what you feel like cooking. Most work whether your ham came from Christmas, Easter or a random Tuesday when it was on special.
RELATED READING: What to serve with ham
Creative Leftover Christmas Ham Ideas
Turn those leftovers into a whole new meal (or several meals) and enjoy a delicious twist on your extra Christmas ham! These ideas will inspire you with what to do with leftover Christmas ham!
RELATED READING: What to serve with ham
How Long Can You Use Ham Leftovers?
Baked ham is generally safe for up to five days after cooking, as long as it’s been refrigerated properly.
If you’re keeping it on the bone, use a proper ham bag and soak it in a water and vinegar solution before you put the ham in. Wring it out so it’s damp rather than wet. Re-soak the bag every couple of days. This keeps the ham moist instead of drying out into something you can play frisbee with by day three.
No ham bag? A clean pillowcase or a tea towel does the same job. Soak it the same way.
If you’re short on fridge space, carve the ham off the bone, portion it into containers or ziplock bags, and keep the bone separately for stock or soup. This is what I do most years, because a whole leg takes up a shelf we don’t have to spare.
A rough guide on quantities: most people work on about 200g of ham per person for a main meal, so a 5kg leg feeding eight leaves you with a lot. Plan two or three of the meals below before Christmas rather than staring at it on Boxing Day.
Can You Freeze Leftover Baked Ham?
Yes, and it freezes better than most people expect. Ham keeps in the freezer for up to three months.
Freeze it in the portion sizes you’ll actually use, because a solid block of two kilos of ham is no use to anyone on a Wednesday night. Dice some for fried rice and omelettes, slice some for sandwiches and toasties, and freeze the rest in meal-sized amounts.
Label the bags with the date. Every January I find something unlabelled from the year before.
Made too much taco meat? Check out these leftover taco meat recipe ideas.
Leftover Ham Bone Recipes
Don’t throw the bone out. There’s more meat on it than you think, and the bone itself makes a stock with more flavour than anything you’ll buy.
For stock: cover the bone with water, add an onion, a couple of carrots, celery, a bay leaf and some peppercorns. Simmer for two to three hours, strain, and freeze it in portions. Don’t add salt, the ham brings plenty of its own.
Then use it for:
- Old-Fashioned Ham Bone Split Pea Soup — the classic, and the best use of a bone
- Any of the soups below, using your ham stock instead of water or shop-bought stock
- Risotto or pearl barley, which both love a ham stock
- A pot of beans, slow-cooked with the bone in
- If you’re not ready to deal with it, the bone freezes for three months too.
What To Make With Leftover Ham
From the leftover ham, you can make some of these quick and easy meal ideas:
- Homemade pizza with diced ham and other ingredients of your choice
- Fried rice with ham
- Ham and cheese omelette
- Croque Madame – ham, cheese, toasted bread, béchamel sauce with an egg on top
Or try one of these leftover ham recipes instead:
Leftover Ham Casseroles & Bakes
Casseroles are the easiest way to make ham feel like a different meal rather than the same meal again. Most of these freeze well too, so you can make a double batch and put one away for a night in January when you can’t be bothered cooking.
- Leftover Ham & Turkey Cheesy Rice Casserole
- Cheesy Leftover Ham and Potato Casserole
- Easy Ham Breakfast Casserole
- Cheesy Ham Breakfast Bake
- Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes and Ham Recipe
Ham Soup Recipes
Soup is where ham earns its keep, especially if you’ve made stock from the bone. Nearly all of these freeze, so it’s worth putting on a big batch while you’ve still got plenty of ham to work with. Good candidates for a bit of freezer cooking.
- Ham and Potato Chowder
- Leftover Ham and Potato Soup
- Slow Cooker Leftover Ham & Shredded Potato Soup
- Old-Fashioned Ham Bone Split Pea Soup
- Creamed Ham
- Creamy Ham Potato & Corn Chowder
- Split Pea Soup With Ham
Quiche, Frittata & Pie Recipes
Ham, eggs and pastry were made for each other. These are the ones I’d make when you’ve got a few odd bits of ham left rather than a solid chunk, because they don’t care what shape it’s in.
- Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Pot Pie
- Leftover Ham & Asparagus Quiche
- Ham, Asparagus and Mushroom Frittata
Healthy Leftover Ham Recipes
After a week of Christmas food, something that isn’t wrapped in cheese and pastry starts to sound appealing. Ham isn’t the leanest protein going, but these are a lighter way to use it up.
Pasta Leftover Recipes
A few easy pasta dishes with leftover ham are always good to have in your rotation and these ones are yummy ideas to feed the family after Christmas.
Snack & Lunchbox Recipes Using Ham Leftovers
Load the freezer with lunch box recipes for when school is back or make some yummy snacks to enjoy at home during the holidays with one of these simple between meals recipes.
- Carrot, Ham & Cheese Muffins
- Hawaiian Pizza Scrolls
- Ham & Cheese Scones
- Spinach & Ham Pastry Rolls
- Ham and Cheese Roll Ups
More Leftover Ham Ideas
For light meal and snack ideas, or ways to use Christmas ham leftovers that don’t fit in the other categories, here are a few more ideas to inspire your upcoming meal planning for using up that sliced ham:
- Ham and Cheese Sliders
- Instant Pot Ham Green Beans And Potatoes
- Homemade Ham Fried Rice
- Apple Ham and Cheese Sandwich
- Cubano Quesadillas
- Hawaiian Roll Ham and Swiss Sliders
- Loaded Cheesy Ham Stromboli
- Ham Meat Balls
- Southern Style White Beans and ham
- Monte Cristo Sandwich
Between the casseroles, the soups and the lunch box bits, that ham will be gone before you get sick of it. And if you’ve made stock from the bone, you’ll be finding uses for that well into February.
GET ORGANISED WITH YOUR MEAL PLANNING
Planning the whole of December? My Get Ready For Christmas Planner covers the menu, the shopping and the timeline.
For more holiday recipe ideas, check out these:
- Leftover turkey recipes & ideas
- Make-ahead breakfast ideas for Christmas morning
- Leftover candy cane ideas
- Leftover rotisserie chicken recipes
- 44 Side Dishes For Ham
- Christmas Platter Ideas
- Leftover Pulled Pork Recipes
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