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There’s no prep work necessary for this Dump-and-Bake Ham and Potato Casserole! Just stir together the ingredients and pop it in the oven. Your hearty, cheesy, satisfying one pot meal will be ready in about 30 minutes!
Oh my goodness, y’all. This meal is total comfort food!
Seriously, is there any better combination than cheesy potatoes with ham?
Whether you serve it for brunch with eggs or on its own for a cozy dinner, this potato casserole is one easy meal that your entire family will devour!
If you love the taste of a casserole, but you don’t love the hassle of multi-step recipes that require cooking the meat, veggies, pasta, or potatoes before they go into the dish, then you’re going to love this idea.
You don’t have to boil the potatoes first or even pre-cook the ham. You can certainly use leftover ham if you have it, but I typically just purchase an 8-ounce package of diced, cooked ham (which you can find near the lunch meat or pork in any grocery store), and save myself the prep work!
How to assemble a Dump-and-Bake Ham and Potato Casserole:
First, peel and dice your potatoes. Make sure that the potatoes are cut into bite-sized pieces, because the smaller cubes will cook quickly in the oven.
Then it’s time for the cheese sauce.
You’ll mix together a can of condensed cheddar cheese soup (I use Campbell’s Healthy Request), a block of softened cream cheese, and a 1-ounce packet of dry ranch dressing and seasoning mix.
I like to use a handheld electric mixer to make sure that my sauce is really smooth and fluffy, but you can also just use some elbow grease with a wooden spoon!
Combine the diced potatoes and the cheese sauce in an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking dish.
The dish gets covered with foil and placed in the oven for about 30 minutes.
When the potatoes are just fork-tender, you’ll stir in the package of diced ham and finish the top of the casserole with buttered cracker crumbs.
Place the dish back in the oven for about 5-7 more minutes – just so that the delicious topping can turn golden brown – and your Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole is done!
This totally reminds me of the ham and scalloped potatoes that my mom used to serve us when we were growing up – but it’s WAY easier to prepare. I hope that you love it as much as we do!
Dump-and-Bake Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. red potatoes (I used 5 medium potatoes), peeled and diced into bite-sized cubes
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1 ounce dry ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix just the dry seasoning
- 1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup (NOT diluted)
- 8 ounces cooked, finely diced ham
- ¾ cup crushed butter crackers I used 18 Ritz crackers
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spray an 8-inch or 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place potatoes in the prepared dish.
- In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese, ranch seasoning, and condensed soup until completely combined. I use a handheld electric mixer to make sure that the cheese sauce is smooth.
- Pour cheese sauce over potatoes and toss to combine.
- Cover dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes (or just until potatoes are fork-tender). You don’t want to overcook the potatoes and make them mushy! NOTE: I used an enamelware pan, which tends to cook faster than other types of dishes. If you're using a glass, ceramic or heavier nonstick metal pan, you will need to increase the baking time for your potatoes. They may require up to 45-55 minutes to become tender, so just check on them periodically and pull them out when your dish is ready.
- While the potatoes are in the oven, prepare the crumb topping by combining cracker crumbs with melted butter.
- Remove potatoes from oven. Stir in ham. Sprinkle buttered cracker crumbs over top.
- Return dish to oven for 5-7 more minutes, or until topping is golden brown. Garnish with fresh parsley just before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
This was such a great quick recipe! Everyone had 2 helpings!
I used butter noodles instead of potatoes, added peas and used crushed Breton crackers on top.
I was skeptical about the Ranch mix but it totally gave it flavour.
This one is a keeper!
That’s great, Kat! Your changes sound delicious! I need to try it with the noodles next. 🙂
Flavor was great but the potatoes were raw even after extra cooking time next time I will use russet potatoes instead of red
I usually cut my potatoes into cubes and microwave them for 5-7 minutes so they are partially cooked and then add everything and bake for 30 minutes. I love the flavor and texture of russets, but they take more cook time and the microwave pre-cook makes it all work.
Great suggestion, Tam! 🙂
This was a total fail for a mom that needed it to work. My tiny bite sized potatoes have been cooking for well over an hour and I’m now making an alternate meal. The potatoes are still hard! Alternate meal cooked fine so it’s not the oven. Definitely recommend cooking the potatoes first!!
I will not be making this again. I followed the instructions to a T and the potatoes were hard as a rock. I even cooked them 15 minutes more and still hard. Not happy with this receipt
Ya know most recipes can be salvaged by adding things or taking thing out but there is no hope for this, it is flavorless there is too much cheese and the ham to potato ratio is off. I apologize if I offended anyone with my comment.
So I had to improvise a lot! I used 5 eggs, mixed with 1 1/2 cups milk. Added ranch dressing from the bottle and cream cheese with green onions, cheddar cheese, 6 cooked bacon slices crumbled, and leftover pepperoni slices chopped into small pieces. After all was thoroughly blended, I poured it over 5 diced russet potatoes, diced. Baked in 400 degree oven for 35 minutes. Took it out placed crackers on top as recipe suggests! Wow! Big hit with my two nephews and their mom! Will make again!
What I love about this is the ability to grab what’s in the fridge and voila! Perfection!
That’s great, Melanie! Sounds perfect!
I jumped to the recipe after noting at the top of the page the total time required was 50 minutes. Only after I started prepping the meal (while in a time crunch, of course) did I see the disclaimer about the possibility of longer cook time. Disappointed. Really needed to know that before I started, as tonight was not a convenient night for dinner to be late.
I used about 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes and I did have to cook the potatoes for about 1 hr and 10 minutes. BUT I used a glass pan and she stated it could take 55 minutes long, so it was only about 15 minutes longer then anticipated. I’ve only just eaten some bites through the process, but it looks, smells, and tastes yummy!
I also noticed my potatoes felt hard with my fork, but when tasting for doneness they were much softer and ready when I thought using the fork test they weren’t! (I also used a smaller glass pan, which could by why the potatoes took longer as well) thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Read the comment with noodles and peas, I will have to try that one too. Sounds yummy!
Thanks, Michelle! So glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
Has anyone used frozen hash browns in the recipe?
Hey, Jackie! I love that idea, but I’ve never tried it myself. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Unmade this recipe using about 4 c frozen hash browns (diced) which cooked in about 30 min as the recipe state. Family loved!
Thanks for letting me know, Jackie! I’ll have to try it with the hash browns — great shortcut!