A whole ham is a beautiful centerpiece for a celebratory meal. It's also a lot of food—unless you're cooking for a huge group, you're bound to have leftovers. Fortunately, cooked ham is versatile. We've collected some of our favorite leftover ham recipes.
The obvious way to use just about any leftovers is to make a sandwich. From a cubano to a monte cristo to a club to a muffuletta, your options are endless. Try our croque tartine Parisienne, an open-face ham and cheese sandwich decadently topped with a runny fried egg and creamy béchamel.
Leftover ham also lends itself to flavoring soup. Try a simple senate bean soup, or the Southern dish hoppin' John, a soup of black-eyed peas and rice that has a smack of ham to it.
For an ornate breakfast, try eggs sardou. This New Orleans classic features anchovies tucked in between egg and artichoke, a thick hollandaise sauce, scattered handfuls of minced black truffle, parsley, and ham, and elegant fried asparagus spears.
Find these recipes and more in our collection of 24 leftover ham recipes!
Eggs Sardou is an ornate New Orleans classic, with anchovies tucked in between egg and artichoke, and a thick hollandaise sauce blanketing the entire dish, scattered with handfuls of minced black truffle, parsley, and ham and served with elegant fried asparagus spears.
A staple of Junior League cookbooks, these miniature ham sandwiches are doused in a tangy butter-poppyseed sauce and then baked in the oven.
Ham and Caramelized Onion Pizza
This pasta dish was created at the New Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan, after World War II to cater to American GIs and soon became a mealtime favorite across the rest of the country.
Coiled strands of spaghetti soak up a creamy sauce in these delectable fried ham and cheese fritters.
This tart uses a salty, smoky ham known as speck; bacon is a good substitute.
People have strong opinions about the Monte Cristo sandwich, a double-decker of Swiss cheese, ham, and chicken or turkey, battered, fried, and dusted with confectioners’ sugar, served with jelly on the side. Some consider it a marvel; others, an absurdity. Try it with cranberry sauce!
These ultra-simple, elegant snacks are served by home cooks in the American South.
This soup of black-eyed peas and rice, traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day in the American South, makes good use of leftover holiday ham scraps.
Sandwich loaves were popular party foods in the 1940s and ’50s. This updated version combines earthy mushrooms and pistachios with baked ham and fresh asparagus.
A Cubano is a griddled white roll with Swiss cheese, boiled ham, dill pickle slices, and roasted pork.
Deli meats and cheese are elevated to greatness with an olive salad in this New Orleans classic.
Southern ham salad is spiked with pickles and celery.
Though this sumptuous stew is traditionally braised in a clay pot, we found a Dutch oven works very well.