What to do with leftover ham - 30+ recipes! (2024)

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 TIPS: Treat it like bacon, don’t forget the bone, and store it properly to prolong its life.

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!)

What to do with Leftover Ham – 30+ recipes

1. RecipeTin Picks

Here are my personal picks for using the precious leftover ham:

1. * NEW!* Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders – Use leftover Christmas ham to make party food to ring in the new year!

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. Eggs Benedict – because it’s worthy;

4. In place of bacon in this Strata Cake – because it’s something different, simple to make, tastes like quiche and everybody loves it;

5. – because it’s FUN! (And crazy delicious);

6. Pea and Ham Soup – because it’s so good that you look beyond that incredibly unflattering colour;

7. 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;

8. Mini quiche – another one good for scraps, and I love telling people it’s made with Christmas ham; and

9. Macaroni Salad – I just add a good couple of handfuls of chopped ham into the Macaroni Salad for extra pops of tasty goodness.

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. Ham and cheese omelette

2. Eggs Benedict – as noted above, WORTHY!

3. – 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!

Meals using ham

1. – 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!

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.

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!

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

Breakfast & brunch

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: