From my childhood dinner table, these Leftover Ham and Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes are classic Southern comfort food with only 10 minutes of prep!
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!
Top Tip: I like to use my hand-held mandolin slicer to quickly and easily cut the potatoes. A sharp knife will also work!
Although these scalloped potatoes are a delicious meal all in one they also are great as a side. Here are some ideas for serving them.
Recipes To Serve Your Scalloped Potatoes With;
- Sheet pan Flank Steak (skip the roast potatoes in this recipe and add extra broccolini)
- Golden Baked Chicken Breasts
- Crispy Roast Chicken with Vegetables
Leftover Ham and Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes
From my childhood dinner table, these Leftover Ham and Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes are classic Southern comfort food with only 10 minutes of prep!
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 400F (200C). 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.
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.
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
April 14, 2017 at 7:17 amNow 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!
Blair says
April 14, 2017 at 7:33 pmThanks so much, Gayle. You can’t beat the classics!
Eva says
April 14, 2017 at 10:55 amIt is such a lovely recipe!
Blair says
April 14, 2017 at 7:33 pmThanks, Eva!
Ariel Wilstead says
April 14, 2017 at 12:09 pmLove 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?
Blair says
April 14, 2017 at 7:35 pmI 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. 🙂
Katy says
April 29, 2019 at 12:40 amHi! I actually did a dairy free version with dairy free cheeses and cream/butter and it worked perfectly. Keep in mind that their is every possible option with vegan/dairy free diets as well. And a vegan ham! Your options with vegan dairy free foods are limitless.
Blair says
April 29, 2019 at 5:54 amAwesome! Thanks for letting us know, Katy! 🙂
Teri Giese says
April 15, 2017 at 12:49 amDoing 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!☺️
Blair says
April 15, 2017 at 6:59 amHi, 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!
Lindsay Cotter says
April 15, 2017 at 9:06 amthese 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!
Blair says
April 16, 2017 at 5:46 pmThanks, Lindsay! I totally agree — I hate to waste food, so a casserole is always a good answer!
Kristy from Southern In Law says
April 17, 2017 at 1:39 amYummmmm! What a delicious way to use up leftover ham! I love scalloped potatoes!
Blair says
April 17, 2017 at 8:50 amThanks, Kristy! They’re such a classic! Hope you had a great Easter!
David Anderson says
April 17, 2017 at 6:29 pmWhy is the cheese divided?
Blair says
April 17, 2017 at 6:34 pmHi, 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!
Vicki says
August 6, 2018 at 12:18 pmIs it 1/4 + 4 tablespoons of butter? Seems odd it is separated. Making this tonight? Thanks
Blair says
August 6, 2018 at 12:25 pmHey, Vicki! Sorry for that confusion! I recently updated my recipe box, which messed up some of the text on these older recipes. There should be parenthesis around the (4 tablespoon), just to show that 1/4 cup equals 4 T. It’s not PLUS, just the 1/4 cup. Hope that makes sense. I’ll go fix it right now to help clarify. 🙂
Vicki says
August 6, 2018 at 2:18 pmPerfect, thank you!
marti @fitwithheart says
April 26, 2017 at 1:32 pmwhat a yummy way to eat up the leftover easter ham! will have to remember this for next year! thanks!
Blair says
April 26, 2017 at 6:17 pmThanks, Marti!
Roxanne says
July 7, 2017 at 6:27 pmMy 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!
Blair says
July 7, 2017 at 9:04 pmHi, 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. 🙂
Lisa Schaller says
October 11, 2017 at 3:17 pmWas 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.
Blair says
October 11, 2017 at 4:28 pmHi, 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. 🙂
Lisa says
October 12, 2017 at 3:55 pmOMG 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
Blair says
October 12, 2017 at 7:36 pmThat’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! 🙂
Lisa says
October 12, 2017 at 3:53 pmOMG 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.
Sheri says
November 15, 2017 at 7:02 pmI just made this for my family. It was easy to make and came out wonderfully!
Blair says
November 15, 2017 at 7:08 pmAwesome! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, Sheri! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
Sheri says
November 15, 2017 at 7:29 pmI 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.
Blair says
November 16, 2017 at 5:22 amGood to know. Thank you!
Jen Zachry says
November 26, 2017 at 3:55 pmHad anyone made with a non dairy milk product?
Blair says
November 26, 2017 at 6:17 pmHi, Jen! I’m sorry, I haven’t tried it with anything other than regular dairy milk.
Alisemary says
December 26, 2017 at 5:56 pmHi i used red potatoes and less garlic it came out delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Blair says
December 26, 2017 at 8:07 pmHi! That’s great. Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
Nancy Vega says
December 27, 2017 at 2:35 pmThank 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.
Blair says
December 28, 2017 at 5:15 amAwesome, Nancy! I’m so glad that you all enjoyed it! 🙂
Ann says
December 31, 2017 at 8:27 pmI loved this so much, I’m making it again as we speak. I’m actually adding broccoli tonight for some veggies.
Blair says
January 1, 2018 at 6:34 amWonderful! I’m so glad that it was a hit, Ann!
Alicia says
January 2, 2018 at 9:02 pmI 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!
Blair says
January 3, 2018 at 5:23 amHi, 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! 🙂
Dianne from Atlanta says
January 5, 2018 at 12:17 pmWas 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 🙂
Blair says
January 5, 2018 at 3:15 pmThat’s great, Dianne! I hope that your family enjoys this shortcut method! 🙂
Elizabeth Archer says
January 14, 2018 at 8:31 pmOh 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!!
Blair says
January 15, 2018 at 7:38 amYay! That’s great, Elizabeth! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Lesley says
February 17, 2018 at 8:26 pmThanks for this! What a clever way to use up cooked leftover ham. It was delicious, I added some fried mushrooms to it!
Blair says
February 18, 2018 at 6:34 amThanks, Lesley! The mushrooms sound like a great addition!
Joann Wyckoff says
April 15, 2018 at 6:36 pmThanks 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
Maureen says
September 23, 2018 at 10:13 pmI also had trouble with it not thickening. I doubled the recipe and thought maybe that was why. Not sure. Taste was very good. Everyone loved it. Was thinking of trying cream next time or possibly as mentioned above a little flour. We had leftovers and it was slightly thicker the next day
Tom Hreno says
November 28, 2018 at 7:34 pmI had lots of ham leftover from two Thanksgiving dinners my wife and I hosted, so I saw your leftover ham recipe and was so happy I tried it. Seeing how I like leftovers ,I doubled your recipe and also used fat-free evaporated milk with a little extra regular milk and it turned out very tasty. Thank you for your suggestion as I won’t stress over extra ham any more. Sincerely , Tom HrenoTim
Blair says
November 29, 2018 at 5:45 amWonderful! Definitely no need to stress over left-over ham! I’m so glad that you found this recipe, Tom!
Laura E Currey-Taseva says
December 28, 2018 at 8:36 pmMade this tonight with leftover ham from Christmas dinner and it worked great. Kids loved it and husband was thrilled with it. Thanks for helping us get rid of some leftovers!
Blair says
December 29, 2018 at 6:09 amAwesome! Thanks, Laura! So glad that the kids and husband approved! 🙂
Andrew Pilon says
December 30, 2018 at 7:44 pmI’m trying this recipe for the first time tonight. It smells great as it is baking right now.
I want to know if the recipe will work with ground beef in place of the ham (I did not read all of the previous comments so I don’t know if this has been asked already).
Andrew
Blair says
December 31, 2018 at 5:33 amHi, Andrew! Yes, you should be able to use ground beef in lieu of the ham. You’ll need to brown the ground beef in a skillet first, drain off the fat, and use about 1 1/2 cups of the cooked ground beef in the potato recipe. Enjoy!
Jennifer Pepler says
January 3, 2019 at 1:10 pmThis is certainly a 5 star recipe! Thanks so much for posting it.
I followed directions completely and used 35% cream. I made this as a meal and added some peas. However, it didn’t thicken but was good as is. If I was making this with 35% cream again, I don’t think I would make this as a main meal again though. (I tried to rate this 5 star, however for some reason it won’t allow me to.)
Blair says
January 3, 2019 at 3:42 pmThank you so much, Jennifer! 🙂
Paula says
January 5, 2019 at 7:42 pmI followed this recipe exactly and it failed miserably 🙁 The first problem was that there was no way all of that was going to fit in anything smaller than a 9×13 casserole dish. After taking out of the oven the potatoes were still hard. I’ve added more liquid and covered the dish with aluminum foil and have them back in the oven in hopes of salvaging them. Not sure what happened.
Angea Pye says
January 10, 2019 at 7:00 pmI followed the recipe exactly as written. The potatoes did not absorb the milk while boiling or while baking. This was a liquid mess. Not sure what went wrong. I used 2 lbs Yukon potatoes and whole milk. Disappointed.
Charlene C Kittelson says
March 18, 2019 at 11:28 pmMaybe you didnt slice the potatoes thin enough ?? Everytome I have cooked this its turned out great a
Rolf pedersen says
February 3, 2019 at 5:07 pmI also doubled the recipe but added a cup of cheese to the mixture to thicken it up. Also added pepper. Made it for my newphew since I can’t eat dairy. Looked and smelled wonderful. Such a quick recipe.
Blair says
February 4, 2019 at 5:52 amThanks, Rolf!
Davita says
February 23, 2019 at 6:44 pmIt turned out very well and its good this was fast and easy
Blair says
February 24, 2019 at 6:10 amThanks, Davita!
Dee Walker says
March 3, 2019 at 11:30 amExcellent. My guests said they wanted me to make this every time I entertain. I used half and half and added onion, herbs, mustard and more cheese.
Blair says
March 3, 2019 at 3:34 pmThat’s wonderful to hear! Thanks, Dee!
Charlene C Kittelson says
March 18, 2019 at 11:24 pmI used half n half instead of regular milk
Added cooked broccoli & cauliflower I had left over from the night before. Then I added a cup of cheese to the mix and sprinkled on top & cooked on 450 for about 10min
It was delicious
Blair says
March 19, 2019 at 5:42 amWonderful! Thanks so much, Charlene!
Susan Maynard says
April 11, 2019 at 5:07 pmLooks really delicious. Can I freeze half either before or after baking, for future baking/reheating?
Blair says
April 11, 2019 at 7:55 pmHi, Susan! You can definitely freeze it, however, I don’t think that potatoes freeze particularly well. They tend to get a bit mushy when thawed, so just be aware that it probably won’t be as good the second time around! 🙂
Mo says
May 23, 2019 at 2:21 am5 stars.
Delicious!! Had leftovers for lunch and even better.
Didn’t change a thing. Sliced yukon potatoes thin and boiled in milk til tender so no issue with them not being done.
Very good and a keeper.
thx for sharing!
Blair says
May 23, 2019 at 8:17 amThanks, Mo!