Leftover Ham Recipes

What can I make with leftover ham?

• Toasted ham and cheese

  Ham between bread with cheese and a béchamel, grilled until golden. Try French Croque Monsieur.

• A pressed sandwich

  Ham, pickles and mustard pressed in a pan until crisp. Try Cuban Sandwich.

• Cold ham salad

  Dice the ham into a creamy potato and vegetable salad. Try Russian Olivier Salad.

Got more than ham to use up? Find recipes with what you have.

How to decide what to make with your leftover ham

The right dish depends on the state the ham is in, not on the recipe you feel like cooking. Find yours below.

Thick slices

Sandwich territory: toasted with cheese and béchamel, or pressed with pickles and mustard so the fat renders and the edges crisp.

Diced trimmings

A handful of ham seasons a whole dish. Stir it into beans, split pea soup, a frittata or a potato salad and you can skip most of the added salt.

The bone

A ham bone makes a deeply savoury stock for lentils or pea soup. Taste before you add any salt — it will already be seasoned.

How long does cooked ham keep, and how to store it

Three to five days, wrapped tightly

Cured ham lasts a little longer than roast poultry, but exposed edges dry and darken quickly, so wrap it close.

Freeze in meal-sized packets

Slices or dice freeze for a couple of months. Freeze the amount you will actually use at once — refreezing thawed ham makes it watery.

The best way to reheat leftover ham

Ham does not need reheating

It is fully cooked and good cold. Heat it only when heat is the point, as in a melt or a fried breakfast.

Warm it gently and briefly

A minute per side in a pan is plenty. Long heat drives out moisture and concentrates the salt.

Mistakes worth avoiding with leftover ham

• Salting a dish before tasting it once ham is in — cured meat brings its own.
• Boiling ham in soup for a long time; add it near the end and let the bone do the long simmering instead.