The 12 Best Recipes For When You Need To Use Up Leftover Ham

If you're entertaining for a holiday, ham is a popular dish to prepare. Not only is it delicious, but it is a relatively affordable large piece of meat that can feed a crowd. However, whether you cook a whole ham, a half ham, or spiral ham, it almost always seems that you end up with more leftovers than you were anticipating. And while you don't want those leftovers to go to waste, let's face it, you can only eat so many basic ham and cheese sandwiches before they get boring. Fortunately, a plain ol' ham sandwich is far from the only thing you can make to use up leftover ham.

From much more exciting sandwiches to savory soups, potato dishes, and even enticing breakfast treats, you'll find that leftover ham can be put to some really good — and tasty — uses. We've rounded up a list of some of the top recipes you'll want to try. Keep this list handy the next time you cook a ham for Easter, Christmas, or just a fancy Sunday dinner — you might just find the inspiration you need to keep your taste buds happy without letting the leftover ham go to waste.

Hailing from New Orleans, a muffuletta is a special sandwich that can help you put that leftover ham to good use. In addition to ham, this sandwich features other flavorful meats, including salami and mortadella, making it as hearty as it is delicious. But the meats aren't the only flavorful additions to this creation. It also includes hot giardiniera, black olives, pimiento-stuffed queen olives, pickled onions, garlic, pepperoncini, and oregano, which work together to give it a tangy and unique flavor. 

The bread is another key feature that really pulls the whole sandwich together. Instead of plain white or wheat bread, a traditional muffuletta is made on — you guessed it — muffuletta bread, which is a round and fluffy Italian bread. But you can always substitute the bread for something you have on hand. Our recipe developer, Michelle McGlinn, opted to use Mexican pambazo bread due to its similar texture and taste.

Recipe: Classic Muffuletta

Leftover ham can be a godsend when it comes to cooking hearty and delicious soups and stews. This split pea soup recipe is one that you might want to try. Cubed ham offers the ideal balance for the thinner, cooked-down peas and helps bring out some of the seasonings in the mix, like the rosemary, thyme, and pepper. 

This recipe by Kristen Carli calls for adding a smoked ham hock with the dried split peas, vegetable broth, and seasonings as everything cooks down, but you could also substitute the ham bone to get a similar flavor boost without having to purchase anything else.

Recipe: Split Pea Soup

A Monte Cristo is a gourmet sandwich that you might assume you can only purchase from a restaurant. It combines the yumminess of French toast with ham, (sometimes) turkey, and cheese. However, despite sounding like something that is complicated to make, you could certainly whip up your own Monte Cristo sandwiches in your own kitchen with some leftover ham. Simply layer some thinly sliced ham, provolone cheese, fig jam, and mayonnaise on sliced challah bread. 

After assembling the sandwiches, you'll want to cook them the same way you would prepare French toast — dip them in an egg, milk, and cinnamon batter, and fry them in a hot pan with melted butter. As the finishing touch, dust some powdered sugar over the hot sandwiches.

Recipe: Savory and Sweet Monte Cristo Sandwich

These baked ham and Swiss cheese sliders are a major upgrade from a cold ham and cheese sandwich. Moreover, you can prepare them in about the same amount of time, so you're hardly adding much more work for yourself while ensuring a much more scrumptious reward. Once the sandwiches are assembled, simply pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes. 

Beyond being hot and melty, these sliders are made on mini pretzel buns with some stone-ground mustard. These ingredients really deliver for those looking for that perfect combination of warm, salty, hearty, and slightly tangy.

Recipe: Baked Ham and Swiss Cheese Sliders

If you're looking for a recipe that is cool, refreshing, and easy to make, you might want to give this classic ham salad a try. Developed by Susan Olayinka, this recipe calls for about ½ pound of ham, so it will help you use up a chunk of your leftovers. 

Then, you simply need to chop the ham, along with some celery, white onions, and dill pickles before mixing everything together with some mayonnaise and a hint of mustard. Whether you are planning a backyard barbecue, need a tasty snack to enjoy poolside, or are just looking for an easy meal or side dish, this recipe is certain to be a real winner.

Recipe: Classic Ham Salad

Move over chicken pot pie. It's time to give this Italian Easter pie the spotlight — especially when you're looking to use up some leftover ham. Like a pot pie, it features a flaky pie crust. However, that is where the similarities end. The filling is quite different from the soupy or brothy mix that oozes out from a cut chicken pot pie. Instead, this recipe from Jessica Morone features a scrumptious mix of meats and cheese. 

In addition to diced ham, you'll also need diced Genoa salami, pepperoni, and thinly sliced prosciutto, plus lots of cheese (ricotta, shredded mozzarella, and grated Parmesan, to be specific). After the pie bakes in the oven for about an hour, give it a few minutes to sit, and dish out a hearty slice along with a side salad or some veggies.

Recipe: Italian Easter Pie

Potatoes au gratin can make a great side dish for a holiday ham. However, you can take a leaf out of recipe developer Jennine Rye's book and give it an upgrade by adding some ham into the dish itself, making it more satisfying and flavorful. 

If you've ever made potatoes au gratin before, the steps for preparing this recipe should sound familiar. You'll need to saute some onions, peel and finely slice the potatoes, and make a creamy base with milk, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. The main difference will come when you layer everything into your casserole dish, as you'll also be adding some cubed ham before the cream mixture and the delectable layer of Gruyère cheese.

Recipe: Creamy Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin

If you've never had a Cuban sandwich, then you've been missing out. So, there's no time like the present to remedy that — and you can even make your own at home to use up that leftover ham by following Leah Maroney's recipe. 

A Cuban sandwich has a very distinct taste that is created by the combination of flavorful roast pork, thinly sliced ham, Swiss cheese, sliced dill pickles, and yellow mustard. For a true Cuban, you'll also need Cuban sandwich loaves — but in a pinch, you could also use some sliced Italian or French bread.

Recipe: All-Out Cuban Sandwich

That leftover ham can be used for more than just lunch or dinner meals. You can also use it when preparing a scrumptious breakfast — or brunch — when you make these ham, cheese, and scallion scones. If you've never had a scone before, it is similar to a biscuit, but it is denser and often filled with sweet or savory items — such as the cubed ham, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and thinly sliced scallions in this recipe from Katie Rosenhouse. 

While not impossibly complicated, you'll want to choose a morning when you have a little extra time to make this recipe. After all, you'll need to make the dough and let it chill for about half an hour before baking the scones in the oven.

Recipe: Ham, Cheese, and Scallion Scones

These ham and cheese bear claws from recipe developer Tess Le Moing may look fancy, but they're not overly complicated to make. The dough for the "claw" is a can of refrigerated crescent rolls, so the hardest thing you'll need to do is open the can (make sure you have a spoon handy to press on the seam if it doesn't pop!). However, unlike when you make crescent rolls and separate the triangles, you're going to leave it all together as one large rectangle and smooth out the seams. 

Then, it's just a matter of layering the Dijon mustard, thinly sliced ham, and shredded Gruyère cheese over the dough. Once layered, roll the whole thing up, cut it into thirds, make a few slits, and brush each piece with an egg wash and some everything bagel seasoning.

Recipe: Savory Ham and Cheese Bear Claws

If you're searching for a breakfast or brunch recipe that will satisfy the whole family or even impress guests, then this ham and cheese strata recipe, developed by Kate Shungu, might be for you. The dish features warm and satisfying layers of white bread, chopped ham, and shredded Swiss and cheddar cheese, which are softened with the addition of some whisked eggs, milk, and seasonings like onion powder and dry mustard — think about the consistency of a French toast casserole. 

Before baking in the oven, some corn flakes mixed with melted butter are added to the top. This will give the casserole a satisfying crunch.

Recipe: Ham and Cheese Strata

This croque-madame recipe, which was adapted from chef David Myers of Comme Ça in Las Vegas, brings together the flavors of the classic French recipe. If you've never had a croque-madame, you've been missing out. It takes a croque-monsieur — a French sandwich featuring thinly sliced ham, grated Gruyère cheese, and béchamel sauce — and tops the whole thing off with a poached egg. 

This recipe, which instead calls for fried eggs with runny yolks, allows you to make two filling and taste bud-tingling sandwiches. These can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Recipe: Croque-Madame