From my childhood dinner table, these Leftover Ham and Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes are classic Southern comfort food with only 10 minutes of prep! The simple casserole is a great way to enjoy leftover ham (or store-bought diced ham) in a family-friendly one dish meal!
Hey, friends! For those who celebrate, Easter is just around the corner! Are you filling plastic eggs? Pulling out the baskets? Or just enjoying a few Cadbury Creme Eggs?
We’ve had a week full of egg hunts (and sugar) at school, egg dyeing at home, and last-minute grocery shopping for the holiday weekend. What’s on your traditional Easter menu?
I was born and raised in Virginia, which means that a classic Southern ham is a staple on our Easter table. Whether we’re enjoying a casual brunch with relatives or a more formal dinner later in the day, I can guarantee that ham will be involved. And you know what that means? Scalloped potatoes to follow!
Whenever I think of leftover ham, I immediately imagine my mom’s Ham and Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes. Without fail, this was the dish that she prepared for us after Christmas and Easter to enjoy the remaining bits of the holiday meal. It’s easy, it’s simple, and it’s totally delicious. Cheesy potatoes are just one of those food combinations that everyone loves. In my mind, they are the definition of comfort!
Use up that leftover Easter ham or just purchase a package of diced ham from the grocery store. Treat yourself to these classic Scalloped Potatoes, which will soon become a tradition in your family as well!
Leftover Ham and Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups whole milk or cream
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes peeled and thinly sliced*
- 1 cup 4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ cups about 8 ounces cooked, diced ham
- Garnish: fresh chopped chives green onions, or parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray an 11 x 7-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in milk, garlic, and salt. Add sliced potatoes.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook (uncovered) for about 15 minutes (or until potatoes are tender). Gently stir the potatoes periodically as they cook.
- Add the ham to the potato mixture.
- Spoon into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
*I like to use my hand-held mandolin slicer to quickly and easily cut the potatoes. A sharp knife will also work!
Recipe adapted from Southern Living.
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Now this is my kind of leftover casserole! I know that we’ll be taking home some leftover ham on Sunday, so this looks like such a great idea. Two classics piled into one is the best! What a perfect dish for the season!
Thanks so much, Gayle. You can’t beat the classics!
It is such a lovely recipe!
Thanks, Eva!
Love this recipe! It’s the perfect way to use leftover ham at Easter or even Christmas.
In my house we are big fans of scalloped potatoes. We can’t get enough of them and love eating them every chance we get. Leftover ham has traditionally been used in sandwiches or mixed in with scrambled eggs. I never thought of how perfect it would be to combined them!
I do have a few questions for you though, what would you suggest for those who have dairy aversions? Also have you ever added veggies to the mix?
I love the idea of using it in scrambled eggs, too! That’s not something that I usually think about, but it’s definitely delicious! Thanks so much for stopping by, Ariel!
To be honest, I don’t think that this recipe would lend itself well to a dairy-free version. There’s just too much cream and cheese to omit it. 🙂
Doing ham as well.Was our tradition in Wisconsin also.Tradition for scalloped potatoes and ham the day after also.😊Live in Arizona now,So Am cooking the ham in the crockpot;and roasting potatoes and carrots in the grill.Going to be too hot to have the oven on here,lol.Thanks for a new spin on using those leftovers!Have a wonderful weekend!☺️
Hi, Teri! I’m glad to know that this was a tradition in Wisconsin as well! 🙂 And yes — I can imagine that if you live in AZ, your menu will have to change slightly to accommodate the heat! Have a great weekend!
these are my favorite casseroles. Just throw it all together and bake. NO WASTING> And it makes a great dinner for the week. Love how you think!
Thanks, Lindsay! I totally agree — I hate to waste food, so a casserole is always a good answer!
Yummmmm! What a delicious way to use up leftover ham! I love scalloped potatoes!
Thanks, Kristy! They’re such a classic! Hope you had a great Easter!
Why is the cheese divided?
Hi, David! Thanks for catching that mistake! The cheese is not divided. 🙂 I originally tried the recipe by adding half of the cheese in with the potatoes, but I found that I preferred it when I just put the cheese on top. I just forgot to update the ingredient list accordingly. It’s fixed now!
what a yummy way to eat up the leftover easter ham! will have to remember this for next year! thanks!
Thanks, Marti!
My family of five love casseroles like this! I have one question…is it ok to use russet potatoes? That’s all I have at the moment. Thank you! The pictures look great!
Hi, Roxie! I honestly don’t know! I think the russet potatoes would work fine, but I haven’t tested it myself. If you give it a shot, definitely let me know. 🙂
Was going to make this for tomorrows dinner, have you ever made it ahead of time and refrigerated before baking? I’m sure I will need to add like more bake time.
Hi, Lisa! I haven’t made this dish the day before, but I think it will work fine! You’ll definitely want to add a bit of time to the cooking time if you put it in the oven cold. You can also just let the dish sit out on the counter for 30-60 minutes before baking tomorrow if you have time. 🙂
OMG this was so good, one thing I did instead of baking it right away was put it in frig over night and had it the next day for dinner. We ate it as the main meal and could not stop eating it. almost 30 and it was done
That’s great, Lisa! Thanks so much for letting me know! I’m glad that it worked when you made it a day ahead. That’s a huge help for meal prep and busy weeknights! 🙂
OMG this was so good, one thing I did instead of baking it right away was put it in frig over night and had it the next day for dinner. We ate it as the main meal and could not stop eating it.
I just made this for my family. It was easy to make and came out wonderfully!
Awesome! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, Sheri! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
I was reading the other comments. I used russet potatoes and it came out just fine. My 9 year old son liked it and ate it all…it’s that good!👍🤗 Next time I make it, I plan to add some frozen peas when I add the ham.
Good to know. Thank you!
Had anyone made with a non dairy milk product?
Hi, Jen! I’m sorry, I haven’t tried it with anything other than regular dairy milk.
Hi i used red potatoes and less garlic it came out delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Hi! That’s great. Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it last night and the Grandkids loved it as well as myself. I didn’t change anything about it. I can guarantee that this will be a traditional meal after Easter and Christmas . Happy Holidays to you and your family.
Awesome, Nancy! I’m so glad that you all enjoyed it! 🙂
I loved this so much, I’m making it again as we speak. I’m actually adding broccoli tonight for some veggies.
Wonderful! I’m so glad that it was a hit, Ann!
I made this tonight and it did not thicken…any suggestions on how to make it thicken next time?!? Other than it being really liquidy it was delicious. My husband loved it!
Hi, Alicia! I’m not sure. Did you leave it uncovered as it cooked in the pot and in the oven? And the potatoes were fully cooked? My only suggestion would be to let the potatoes cook a bit longer before transferring to the baking dish. I’m glad that the flavor was at least okay! 🙂
Was very excited to find your recipe, thanks so much for sharing. I have made something similar many times before but…….I have always sliced and layered the potatoes raw into a casserole and then baked for a very long time in the sauce in order to get them tender – your method is genius and a huge time saver! Thanks for sharing, my family is going to enjoy scalloped potatoes and ham much more often. P.S. I use my food processor to thick slice the potatoes, speeding up the process even further 🙂
That’s great, Dianne! I hope that your family enjoys this shortcut method! 🙂
Oh my goodness, this was delicious!! I am trying to come up with new things to cook & this has definitely made it into my go-to unique sides. I cook every night from scratch, I don’t like making anything out of a box. & I don’t like throwing food away, so this afternoon I googled recipes to use leftover ham & was lucky enough to stumble across this recipe. I will be making it for years to come, thank you!!
Yay! That’s great, Elizabeth! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
I made this dish last week for my wife and I. What an awesome recipe! We both loved it! I did add a can of low salt French style green beans to the mix. I will definitely make this again. Thanks you
Yay! I’m so glad that you both enjoyed it, Keith! The green beans sound like a delicious addition!
Thanks for this! What a clever way to use up cooked leftover ham. It was delicious, I added some fried mushrooms to it!
Thanks, Lesley! The mushrooms sound like a great addition!
Thanks for recipe,it was very tasty but did not thicken. I saw in another comment about cooking with no lids and I made sure potatoes were very well done. Next time I’ll put in a little flour or use heavy cream,maybe whole milk was too thin? Joann