Ham Salad has been a favorite of mine forever! As much as I love copycat honey baked ham, I almost love the leftovers more so I can make this recipe!
A few seconds in a food processor and a handful of tasty mix-ins and you’ve got the perfect lunch! Add your favorite flavors from pickles, to dijon mustard or even shredded cheddar or swiss!
Reading: how to make hard boiled eggs for a salad
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It seems like every family has their own version of homemade ham salad. Growing up we always made it using canned ham (I’m not going to lie, I still love it that way). This ham salad spread recipe is super easy however we use leftover ham making it incredibly delicious! We love serving it during lunchtime in the summer with some cucumber salad and homemade chicken salad sandwiches!
How to Make Ham Salad
Ham salad is a quickie lunch fix, whether you have a food processor or not. Here’s all you do:
- Dice the ham into small chunks or whirl it in a food processor.
- Transfer the ham to a bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients (per the recipe below).
- Serve in rolls or on bread or even put it out for guests to dip crackers into. To keep it low carb, wrap it in lettuce wraps or serve it over salad.
Really, that’s all there is to it!
Ham Salad Variations
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Now’s the chance for you to get creative! Here are some of the options for variations on this simple ham salad recipe:
- Feeding a crowd? Make your leftover ham stretch farther by mixing it with diced, hard boiled eggs. Ham salad with egg makes a tasty spread for bread or crackers.
- Only have a little ham salad left? Blend it to a finer consistency with a little pickle juice, put it in a small bowl and serve it as a dip.
- Grilled ham and cheese on rye. You don’t need slices of ham to make this classic. Simply mix your ham salad with some shredded cheddar cheese. The flavors will melt together for a scrumptious lunch.
- Turn it into a meal. For dinner, use your basic ham salad recipe as the basis for a macaroni salad with ham, or ham pasta salad. Dice in some sweet gherkins or dill pickles, and add a dollop of Dijon mustard for some tangy flavors. Diced onion and bell pepper, or jars of pimento of roasted red pepper also combine well in a ham macaroni salad. Use rotini or penne if you are making ham pasta salad.
More Ways to Use Leftover Ham
- Scalloped Potatoes and Ham – the best side ever
- Ham and Corn Chowder – my personal favorite
- Ham Bone Soup (Slow Cooker) – great for leftovers
- Ham and Cheese Sliders – An easy lunch idea
How to Freeze Ham Salad
Ham salad is one of those dishes best served cold. It keeps just a few days in the fridge, but if you make too much to use up quickly, you can freeze it instead. Just don’t let it sit in the refrigerator for a few days, and then decide freeze it! (Bad idea, from a food safety standpoint.)
To freeze, pack it in freezer safe plastic containers, and leave about an inch of head space for expansion.
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