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Thanks to Donna for sharing one of her family’s favorite dinner recipes with us! This 5-Ingredient Ham and Noodle Casserole is an easy one dish meal that takes advantage of your delicious leftovers!
Hey, friends!
A reader named Donna participated in my free 5-Day Meal Planning Challenge last winter (you can sign up any time here), and she told me about this simple go-to meal that she often prepares with pantry staples when she doesn’t want to make a last-minute run to the grocery store. We’ve all been there, right?!
As soon as Donna sent me the recipe for her Ham and Noodle Casserole, I filed it away for spring — knowing that it would be the perfect way to use up the leftovers from our Easter ham.
The creamy, light, and fresh pasta is truly perfect for the season!
How to Make Easy Ham and Noodle Casserole:
I’ve got good news: you don’t need to wait for Easter leftovers to enjoy this meal.
This is one of those great dishes that comes together in just a few minutes and takes advantage of just about anything that you have on hand. Use it as a base and get creative — you can make the meal your own and tailor it to suit your family’s taste buds!
Here are 5 ingredients to get you started:
- Egg Noodles
- Mustard
- Diced, cooked ham
- Cream of mushroom soup
- Grated cheddar cheese
Plus, you can add any vegetables that you like! Donna suggests frozen French-cut green beans, but peas, broccoli or anything else that you have on hand will work!
- Cook and drain the egg noodles according to the package instructions.
- While the noodles are boiling, place the mustard, ham, condensed soup, and optional vegetables in a large bowl.
- Add the hot noodles to the bowl and toss to combine.
- Transfer the noodle mixture to a large baking dish and top with grated cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and return the casserole to the oven (uncovered) for another 20-25 minutes. That’s it!
Can I make Ham and Noodle Casserole in advance?
Yes! This recipe can be assembled in advance and refrigerated until you’re ready to bake it.
What to serve with Ham and Noodle Casserole:
If you include vegetables (such as the green beans) in this casserole, then you really don’t need anything else on the side. That said, here are a few great sides that go well with this easy meal:
- Perfect Oven Roasted Asparagus
- Pink Ambrosia Salad
- Southern Collard Greens
- Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits
Here are a few of Donna’s tips for this easy Ham and Noodle Casserole:
- Use any type of meat that you prefer. From chopped ham to sausage, bacon, chicken, or beef — it will work with just about anything that you have.
- If you want to use ham, but you don’t have leftovers from a previous meal, you can purchase sliced ham at the deli counter or you can dice up a “ham steak” from the meat section at the grocery store.
- Donna uses Cream of Mushroom soup, but she suggested that Cream of Chicken soup, Cream of Bacon soup, or Cream of Celery soup would all be great substitutes.
- The base recipe that Donna gave me does not include green beans. However, she said that she recently added 4 cups of frozen French-cut green beans to the dish and it worked nicely. I included the green beans as an optional ingredient here, but you can substitute frozen peas, regular cut green beans, asparagus, broccoli, sliced mushrooms, or just about any other veggie that your family loves (or leave them out entirely and just serve a salad on the side).
- I tried the recipe with the French-cut green beans for these photos and it worked really well! Such an easy way to get more vegetables into my family’s bodies in a relatively undetectable way. The thinly-sliced green beans just kind of blend right in with the pasta!
- Donna’s recipe only calls for one small can of the condensed soup. The end result is a light, slightly creamy casserole — but there’s no thick sauce. If you want more cream sauce in your finished dish, I would suggest using two cans of condensed soup and thinning with a bit of milk.
- Donna lives in a household with just 2 people, so she often divides the leftovers into individual portions and freezes them for later meals.
And there you have it! A simple and delicious 5-ingredient casserole that will take advantage of any ingredients that you have on hand (and will help you avoid another grocery run)! Enjoy!
Other easy ham casserole recipes that you might enjoy:
- Overnight Ham, Egg and Cheese Monkey Bread
- Make-Ahead Ham and Cheese Sliders
- Dump-and-Bake Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole
- Leftover Ham and Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes
5-Ingredient Ham and Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 (12 ounce) package broad egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon mustard (yellow mustard, honey mustard, or Dijon mustard will all work well, so pick your favorite)
- 2-4 cups diced cooked ham (or any leftover meat)
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup (not diluted)
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- Optional addition: 4 cups frozen French-style green beans or other veggies of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook egg noodles just until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain.
- While the noodles are cooking, place mustard, ham, condensed soup, and optional frozen green beans in a large bowl.
- Pour the drained, cooked, hot noodles over the rest of the ingredients in the bowl and stir to combine.
- Transfer noodle mixture to prepared baking dish. Top with grated cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil, return to the oven (uncovered) for 20-25 more minutes, or until cheese is melted and casserole is heated through.
Notes
- Note: This casserole can be prepared in advance and kept in the refrigerator overnight until ready to bake.
- Note: The leftovers can be frozen in individual portions and reheated, as necessary.
- Cooking Just for Two? If you prefer to have fewer leftovers, you can cut all of the ingredients in half and prepare the casserole in an 8-inch square baking dish. The cooking instructions remain the same.
- Use any type of meat that you prefer. From chopped ham to sausage, bacon, chicken, or beef -- it will work with just about anything that you have.
- If you want to use ham, but you don't have leftovers from a previous meal, you can purchase sliced ham at the deli counter or you can dice up a "ham steak" from the meat section at the grocery store.
- Donna uses Cream of Mushroom soup, but she suggested that Cream of Chicken soup, Cream of Bacon soup, or Cream of Celery soup would all be great substitutes.
- The base recipe that Donna gave me does not include green beans. However, she said that she recently added 4 cups of frozen French-cut green beans to the dish and it worked nicely. I included the green beans as an optional ingredient here, but you can substitute frozen peas, regular cut green beans, asparagus, broccoli, sliced mushrooms, or just about any other veggie that your family loves (or leave them out entirely and just serve a salad on the side).
- I tried the recipe with the French-cut green beans for these photos and it worked really well! Such an easy way to get more vegetables into my family's bodies in a relatively undetectable way. The thinly-sliced green beans just kind of blend right in with the pasta!
- Donna's recipe only calls for one small can of the condensed soup. The end result is a light, slightly creamy casserole -- but there's no thick sauce. If you want more cream sauce in your finished dish, I would suggest using two cans of condensed soup and thinning with a bit of milk.
- Donna lives in a household with just 2 people, so she often divides the leftovers into individual portions and freezes them for later meals.
This is such a quick and easy weeknight meal! I’m going to have to try this the next time I make my homemade cream of mushroom soup!
Definitely! 🙂
Sounds good to me ,,just checking different Ham casserole ,yours alot like mine.I’ll be making it.I like the string beans ,& noodles ,cream of celery, &Ham flavored Goya packets too.Dee
Awesome! I hope you’ll try it, Dee!
Delicious! First time making this. Love it! Thank you
Thanks, Debbie. I’m so glad that you liked it!
My daughter loves casserole. Definitely gonna give this one a try soon, hope it will be tasty for her. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi, Kimberly! Casseroles are so kid-friendly! I hope that you daughter loves it!
Blair: this sounds soo good, quick and easy peasy; thank you for sharing. 🙂 Going to try this very soon, as we eat a great deal of chicken and thinking of giving it a try after first time of using ham. Hoping you have a great day, love your recipes.
La Juana
Hi, La Juana! Thanks for your note! I hope that you enjoy the casserole! It’s definitely a great easy option. Have a wonderful weekend!
I pretty much cleaned out my refrigerator to make this. I chopped up my leftover ham and leftover spinach. Mixed up my awesome Trader Joe’s truffle mustard with cream of mushroom. I added a droll on of sour cream to it. Mixed tha in with a few dead green onions. I added cheddar cheese to mixture and poured in baking dish. Added some more cheddar and mozzarella to top. I’ll add Romano Parmesan cheese and french fried onion to top. I also mixed in some cilantro that needed to be used. So good…
Awesome! You’re so creative, and your changes sound delicious!
Thank you! Original recipe is great too. I just wanted to use up all my perishable items.
Easy and excellent! I used Swiss cheese, added a cup to the casserole as well as topping it. Had about of cup of leftover Alfredo sauce that I added too. Got thumbs up from my husband and teenage grandson.
Wonderful! Your version sounds delicious, Cheryl!
Great recipe! I improvised. I used fresh mushrooms, carrots, peas, ham, bow tie pasta, cream of potato soup, onion powder, garlic powder, and Tony Chachere’s. I used a mix of shredded cheddar and mozzarella. I had to cook it a little longer because of the carrots. I topped it off with my own crushed homemade croutons. It was fabulous for a quick throw together supper!!
Your version sounds delicious, Si Si! 🙂
I made it for tonight’s dinner. Haven’t baked yet but house smells wonderful. I too added frssh mushrooms. My home smells so good right now. I can’t wait to bake and dive into it…. Thank you
Love that! Enjoy, Cathi! Casseroles are such a cozy smell for the kitchen! 🙂
This sounds great! Can it be done with Gluten Free noodles/pasta?
Yes! The gluten-free pasta should work fine. 🙂
I made the exact recipe, and included the green beans. It was really bland. It tastes as if it’s missing something.
Hi Blair,
I made this for Sunday Dinner and it was really good!! My husband and I liked it alot!! I was unable to find frozen French cut green beans, I used a frozen medley of sliced carrots, corn and beans and 2 cans of Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Celery Soup per your suggestions. Delicious!! It was even better the next day for lunch.
Thanks again for another great recipe. Next time I will try it with chicken.
That sounds perfect, Annette! Thanks so much for letting me know. I love that you used the recipe for inspiration and then made it your own. 🙂
I made this after Easter an divided into two portions . I froze one. Should I thaw it before baking or bake frozen? Thanks
Hi, Susan! I usually thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and then bring the dish to room temperature on the counter for 30-60 minutes before baking according to the recipe instructions. Enjoy! 🙂
Love this recipe. I added green peppers and onions. Also added pepper,salt and garlic powder. I also mixed pepper jack cheese with the noodles . My veggie was peas. Placed it in the baking dish and added the cheddar cheese. I would add water or another can of soup for a creamy dish..
Thanks, Roberta! Your twists sound perfect!
The whole family loved it! Thank you for all your great recipes.
Great! Thanks, Caren!
Love this recipe. Never made casseroles til this year. Wish I had years ago .Everyone loves it. They are picky eaters as well. I use I can of mushroom soup and 1 can of celery soup . I use whatever leftover frozen vegetables I have in my freezer. With the cost of meat now I use whatever leftover meat I have in the fridge. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you, Mary. I’m so glad that your kids approve! Yes, casseroles are a great way to use up leftovers. 🙂