32 Healthy Recipes Using Leftover Ham (2024)

These healthy and delicious recipes are an easy way to use up leftover ham. From breakfast casseroles to soups to salads, you won't get bored eating your leftovers. Try recipes like Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole and Smothered Cabbage with Ham for a tasty and filling meal.

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Smothered Cabbage with Ham

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32 Healthy Recipes Using Leftover Ham (1)

Use your leftover ham in this comforting one-pot dish with cabbage and potatoes. The simple flavors get brightened at the end with a splash of cider vinegar.

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Ham and Broccoli Breakfast Casserole

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32 Healthy Recipes Using Leftover Ham (2)

Prepare this easy ham and broccoli casserole the evening before, and in the morning, just pop it in the oven for a delicious breakfast.

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Ham and Broccoli Topped Baked Potato

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Jazz up your simple baked potato with a quickly microwaved topping.

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Ham & Chard Stuffed Shells

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In this healthy stuffed shells recipe, tons of dark leafy chard replaces some of the cheese. Kale and/or collards are good substitutes for the chard as well. Serve with a salad and Italian vinaigrette.

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Classic White Bean & Ham Soup

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This healthy ham and white bean soup recipe is ready in 30 minutes and makes enough for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. Just a little bit of ham adds savory flavor and protein without adding too much sodium.

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Instant Pot Split Pea & Ham Soup Freezer Pack

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Prep and freeze all the ingredients for this homey classic ahead of time, and it will be ready to cook and serve any night of the week—no lengthy simmering needed, thanks to the multicooker. Freezing the ingredients in a round container creates the perfect fit for an easy transfer into your pressure cooker without having to thaw first.

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Ham-&-Cheese Purses

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With easy bread dough standing by in your fridge, you can bake up these savory muffins in just 20 minutes.

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Squash & Corn Chowder

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In this healthy corn chowder recipe, heavy cream is replaced with milk and flour-thickened chicken broth, and we keep sodium amounts reasonable with lower-sodium broth. By making your own homemade creamy vegetable and corn chowder, you'll save up to 300 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat and 500 milligrams of sodium per serving compared to many store-bought or restaurant chowders.

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Apple-Cheddar Ham and Egg Casserole

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This casserole featuring eggs, cheese, ham and fennel would also make a perfect breakfast for a special day.

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Green Eggs & Ham Soup

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Would you, could you make this creamy green soup recipe? How about if we told you it's dairy-free with just flavorful pureed veggies topped with a perfectly poached egg and ham? Trust us, whether you eat it in a box or with a fox, in a house or with a mouse, both you and your kids will love this storybook-perfect soup.

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Lentil & Ham Soup

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No ideas for dinner tonight? This slow-cooker lentil soup is easy to prepare in the morning and will simmer all day while you're at work. Full of aromatic vegetables, brown lentils, diced ham and fresh spinach, this hearty soup will be a real treat after a long day at the office.

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Ham & Gruyère Hash Brown Waffles

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This healthy breakfast-for-dinner recipe skips stirring up a traditional batter and uses frozen hash browns to make crunchy waffles instead. Top the waffles with a little cultured butter and chives or a dollop of whole-grain mustard and serve with a big green salad. Keep the waffles warm in a 250°F oven between batches, if desired.

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Ham & Cheese Scones

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No bakery degree is required for this recipe: These healthy, savory ham-and-cheese scones are as easy to make as a batch of muffins. White whole-wheat flour adds a boost of fiber, and just enough butter gives them great flavor and texture without going overboard on calories. Try them with brunch or alongside your favorite stew.

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Ham & Asparagus Quiche

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This spring ham-and-asparagus quiche is perfect for brunch or dinner with a green salad on the side. If you've got leftover Easter ham, let it shine paired with tender asparagus in this crustless quiche. Emmenthal cheese adds a rich, sharp flavor, but Swiss cheese is an excellent alternative.

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Broccoli, Ham & Cheese Quiche

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This quiche recipe is full of broccoli, Cheddar cheese and smoky ham surrounded by a crispy hash brown crust. Look for precooked shredded potatoes in the dairy section or in the produce section—or use frozen hash brown potatoes in this easy quiche recipe.

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Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup with Ham

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This yellow split pea soup has fresh ginger to give it a bright flavor. Use the best ham you can find to get the most flavor.

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Broccoli, Ham & Pasta Salad

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A great make-ahead entree, this lightened-up pasta salad is loaded with broccoli and peppers. Smoky ham and sweet raisins give it plenty of punch. Enjoy the leftovers for a fuss-free lunch.

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Muffin-Tin Omelets with Broccoli, Ham & Cheddar

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Let your muffin tin help you meal-prep a week's worth of protein-rich muffin-tin eggs with the classic combo of ham, Cheddar cheese and broccoli to stash in the fridge or freezer for those extra-busy mornings.

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Ham-&-Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

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Making a pocket in the chicken breast to hold the stuffing is easy with a good, sharp, thin-bladed knife. Browning the chicken in a skillet before baking gives it a beautiful golden color, and finishing in the oven ensures that it cooks evenly throughout.

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Broccoli, Ham & Cheese Sheet-Pan Eggs

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This riff on broccoli, ham and cheese omelets adds all the same flavors to a big batch of easy-to-prep eggs, thanks to your sheet pan. With this simple recipe, you can easily meal-prep breakfast for the week. Serve them as is or in a sandwich.

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Collard Greens with Ham Bone or Ham Hocks

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Mable Clarke, a South Carolina cook and activist, serves this collard greens recipe at monthly fish fries to support the Soapstone Baptist Church in the community where she grew up. There, farmers markets overflow with big, leafy collards that are typically simmered with ham stock to make up this traditional Southern side dish. Clarke uses premade ham stock, but it can be hard to find. We adapted the recipe with chicken broth and a ham bone or hock. As the bone simmers, it adds flavor to the broth and yields enough meat to serve with the collards.

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Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

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Instead of using just potatoes in this casserole, we've cut the carbs by using a trio of potato, turnip and sweet potato slices.

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Sheet-Pan Eggs with Spinach & Ham

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Making a big batch of eggs has never been easier with this one-pan oven-baked eggs recipe. Whether you are making brunch for a crowd or just want to meal-prep healthy breakfasts for the week, you'll have 12 servings ready in just 45 minutes.

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Pea Shoot & Crispy Ham Salad

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Pea shoots are the tender leaves and stems of sugar snap pea plants—not to be confused with the more delicate pea sprouts, which, like microgreens, are the sprouted seeds. Turn leftover ham into a crouton-esque topping with a quick sear in a hot pan.

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Southern Kale

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Kale becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender in this recipe. Assertive garlic and salty country ham stand up to kale's bold flavor.

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Ham & Potato Casserole

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This easy casserole is a kid-friendly recipe that the whole family will love. The simple flavor profile will complement just about anything and thanks to convenience products like preshredded potatoes, you won't spend hours in the kitchen mixing it up.

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Southern Macaroni Salad

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Bring this quintessential Southern macaroni salad, made with whole-wheat macaroni, celery, peas and ham, to your next picnic or barbecue. It's the perfect salad to feed a crowd!

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Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

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All the delicious flavors of your favorite chicken Cordon Bleu—salty ham, melty cheese, tangy mustard—with no tricky assembly required. This healthy comfort food recipe would be perfect for a potluck.

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Slow-Cooker Cassoulet

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This classic French stew recipe is typically made with a variety of meats and simmered over the course of multiple days. In this easy, streamlined cassoulet, the slow cooker makes it a breeze to have a healthy dinner on the table when you get home.

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Cheesy Egg Stuffed Peppers

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Bake up omelets in a pepper for a healthy, veggie-packed breakfast. Sweet bell peppers are filled with a cheesy egg filling with all the fixings of a classic Denver omelet. If you're cooking for a crowd, this recipe is easy to double!

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Mini Quiches with Sweet Potato Crust

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Shredded sweet potato hash browns make up the healthy crust of these gluten-free muffin-tin quiches. This grab-and-go breakfast is super-easy to prep ahead and keep stashed in the fridge or freezer. Serve them for brunch or eat them on busy weekdays.

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Slow-Cooker Split Pea Soup with Garlicky Croutons

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Fans of split pea soup will love this version that requires almost no hands-on time. If you sop up every last drop of this slow-cooker split pea soup, fantastic; if you have leftovers, even better—it might just be tastier the next day once the flavors have melded. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.

32 Healthy Recipes Using Leftover Ham (2024)

FAQs

How long is precooked ham good for in the fridge? ›

Information. Spiral-cut hams and leftovers from consumer-cooked hams may be stored in the refrigerator three to five days or frozen one to two months. Keep your refrigerator at 40 °F or less and your freezer at or near 0 °F. See also Ham and Food Safety.

Is ham still good after 7 days? ›

Whole cured hams last in the refrigerator for up to a week. However, fresh ham only lasts a few days in the refrigerator, about three or four once you've cooked it. It doesn't matter if the ham is whole or sliced; the lack of preservatives allows it to spoil more quickly.

What is the healthiest ham to eat for weight loss? ›

Parma Ham is recommended in all diets because of its low content of fats, the presence of free amino acids and high protein digestibility. Parma Ham results leaner than other types, because in the process of production it is divided into sections that is through the removal of all the lard from the pork's back.

Is ham healthy or unhealthy? ›

It's rich in protein and several beneficial nutrients. However, regularly eating processed meats like ham may increase your risk of certain cancers. Thus, it's best to limit your intake and stick to fresh, less processed types of ham as part of a balanced diet.

Is a 2 year old frozen ham still good? ›

Freezer storage time is for quality only. Frozen hams remain safe indefinitely. For more information, see Ham and Food Safety.

Can I eat 5 day old cooked ham? ›

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ham is good for three to five days in the refrigerator after it is cooked. If you need more time to use up those leftovers, ham will last up to two months in the freezer. The USDA also recommends wrapping up leftovers well.

Can you eat 10 day expired ham? ›

After 5 days, discard your ham as it will have gone bad. A whole ham will tend to last around 1 week in the fridge. Prosciutto, dry Italian ham, Spanish ham, and Serrano ham can last 2-3 months in the fridge. Canned ham will last up to 6 months to 2 years if it isn't opened.

How to tell if ham has gone bad? ›

Ham has gone bad if it has turned gray in color, smells sour, or the surface is tacky, slimy, or moldy. After that, there's no saving it, and it's time to throw it out.

How long is vacuum-sealed ham good for in the fridge? ›

FoodSafety.gov provides several guidelines for safe ham storage depending on which type of product you have on hand: A full, vacuum-sealed ham: Two weeks. Slices, half or spiral cut: Three to five days. Luncheon meat: Three to five days upon being opened.

Is ham more fattening than bacon? ›

Both ham and bacon are high in protein, but they also contain a significant amount of fat and sodium. As you can see, bacon is significantly higher in calories, fat, and sodium than ham.

Which deli meat is the healthiest? ›

If you're looking for the healthiest lunch meat option, choose the leanest cuts of deli meat possible, such as turkey, chicken breast, lean ham or roast beef. “These types of deli meat have the least amount of fat and provide a better nutrient value compared to others,” Zumpano says.

Can dogs eat ham? ›

Yes and no. Although ham isn't toxic for your dog, it's best to avoid it in large quantities. The odd small bite is unlikely to cause an issue (unless your dog has a known or underlying medical condition), but it's not the best meat for your pup to consume a lot of.

Is ham worse for you than turkey? ›

Overall, turkey is recommended over ham for nutrition. However, this is based on sodium content. Ham is very high in sodium, but it is rich in zinc, potassium, and iron. Ham has been used for generations to add salt and flavor to other dishes.

Is precooked ham bad for you? ›

No. Both whole or half, cooked, vacuum-packaged hams packaged in federally inspected plants and canned hams can be eaten cold, right out of the package.

Is it bad to eat ham sandwiches every day? ›

If you are someone who regularly chooses ham to eat it is important to remember the following: Ham is considered a processed food; depending on the type of ham, additives and preservatives are usually added. These additives may contribute to adverse health effects depending on the amount of ham consumed and how often.

How long can Honey Baked Ham stay in the refrigerator? ›

For serving, we recommend taking Ham or Turkey out of refrigeration for 30 minutes prior to serving. If you choose to refrigerate your products, Honey Baked Ham can be refrigerated for 7 to 10 days and Honey Baked Turkey Breast can be refrigerated for 5 to 7 days.

How long does Christmas ham last in the fridge? ›

Christmas ham stored in the fridge, either on the bone or carved off and wrapped in plastic and foil, will keep perfectly well for up to two weeks. Ham wrapped in plastic and foil and then frozen will last in the freezer for up to a month.

How long can you keep a Smithfield ham in the refrigerator? ›

Genuine Smithfield Hams may be refrigerated unopened for up to 6 weeks, or opened and tightly wrapped for up to 10 days, and still maintain maximum flavor. Tightly wrapped country ham (do not use aluminum foil) may also be frozen, off the bone.

How long will a salt cured ham last? ›

Uncooked slices (if kept in a cool dry area) do not require refrigeration until they are opened, at which point they should be consumed promptly. Genuine Smithfield Hams will keep for up to 2 years and Country Hams will keep for up to 6 months without deterioration or loss of quality.

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