25 leftover ham recipes for the days after the holiday

The short answer: the best leftover ham recipes are quick ones that use diced ham and what's in your fridge, like ham fried rice, sliders and soup made with the bone.

• Use it within 3 to 5 days
• Or freeze the rest
• 25 ideas by meal
• A 5-day leftovers plan below
• Next step: Plan it with the Meal Planner & Grocery List ($3.99).

The best leftover ham recipes are quick ones that use diced ham and what's already in your fridge: ham fried rice, a breakfast casserole, ham and cheese sliders, scalloped potatoes and ham, pasta with peas and ham, quiche, and ham and bean soup made with the bone. Plan them within 3 to 5 days of the holiday, since that's how long sliced cooked ham keeps in the fridge, or freeze the rest. Below are 25 ideas by meal, a 5-day leftovers plan, storage times and what to do with the bone.

I love cooking for the holidays, and I love that a big ham keeps us fed for days after the family meal.

Leftover ham breakfast ideas

1. Ham and cheese breakfast casserole. Bread, eggs, milk, diced ham and cheddar, baked until puffed. Our Christmas breakfast ideas have more make-ahead options. For a potato version, fold diced ham into our cheesy hashbrown casserole.
2. Ham and cheese omelet. Two eggs, a handful of ham and whatever cheese you have.
3. Ham hash. Diced potatoes crisped in a skillet with onion, ham and a fried egg on top. The same skillet method makes a classic corned beef hash.
4. Ham and egg breakfast sandwiches. English muffins, a slice of ham, egg and cheese. Make a dozen and freeze them.
5. Ham quiche. Pie crust, eggs, cream, ham and Swiss. Bake once and eat it for two breakfasts.
6. Ham and cheese scones or biscuits. Fold diced ham and cheddar into the dough.

Leftover ham lunch ideas

7. Ham and cheese sliders. Slider rolls, ham and Swiss, brushed with butter, mustard and poppy seeds and baked for 15 minutes.
8. Chef salad. Greens, ham, hard-boiled egg, cheese, tomatoes and your favorite dressing.
9. Ham salad. Finely chopped ham with mayo, relish and a little mustard, on crackers or bread.
10. Grilled ham and cheese. Add a smear of jam or apple slices for a sweet-salty sandwich.
11. Ham and pea pasta salad. Short pasta, ham, peas, cheddar cubes and a creamy dressing.
12. Cuban-style sandwich. Ham, pork or turkey, Swiss, pickles and mustard, pressed in a hot skillet.

Leftover ham dinner ideas

13. Ham fried rice. Cold rice, ham, frozen peas and carrots, egg and soy sauce, done in 15 minutes.
14. Scalloped potatoes and ham. Layer sliced potatoes, ham and a cheesy sauce and bake. Our scalloped potatoes recipe is a good base.
15. Creamy ham and pea pasta. Ham, peas, cream and Parmesan tossed with hot pasta. Start with our alfredo sauce recipe and stir in the ham and peas.
16. Ham and broccoli casserole. Rice, broccoli, ham and a cheese sauce under buttered crumbs.
17. Ham pot pie. Swap ham for chicken in your usual pot pie with peas and carrots.
18. Ham and pineapple pizza. Store-bought dough, sauce, mozzarella, ham and pineapple. Or make your own crust with our easy pizza dough.
19. Stuffed baked potatoes. Bake potatoes and fill them with ham, cheese and broccoli.
20. Ham and white bean skillet. Beans, ham, garlic and spinach, with bread for dipping.
21. Ham carbonara. Use diced ham in place of pancetta.

Leftover ham soups and the bone

22. Ham and bean soup. The classic use for the bone, with navy or great northern beans. Our ham and bean soup recipe walks through it step by step.
23. Split pea soup. Simmer the bone with split peas, carrots and onion until thick. Our split pea soup recipe needs no soaking.
24. Potato and ham chowder. Potatoes, corn, ham and milk.
25. Greens or beans with the bone. Simmer collards or a pot of beans with the bone for flavor.

A 5-day leftover ham plan

Start with the meals that use the most ham, and keep the soup for the bone later in the week.

How long leftover ham keeps

The ham times come from FoodSafety.gov's cold storage chart. The USDA's ham safety page says to reheat leftover cooked ham to 165°F. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of the meal, as the USDA's leftovers guidance advises.

Freeze leftover ham the smart way

• Dice some ham and slice the rest, then freeze it in 1- or 2-cup bags labeled with the date.
• Press the air out of each bag so it doesn't get freezer burn.
• Freeze the bone in its own bag for soup.
• Thaw it in the fridge overnight, and use frozen diced ham straight from the bag in soup and fried rice.

Still deciding on the main dish? Our guide to how to cook a ham covers sizing and reheating, and our ham glaze recipes cover the sweet coating. Having turkey too? See the Christmas week meal plan.

Plan the leftovers week

Leftovers only save money when they're on the plan before they spoil. Write the soup or ham night into the week while the fridge is still full.

• Meal Planner & Grocery List, $3.99. A weekly menu planner and an aisle-sorted grocery list, so you only buy what the leftovers don't cover.
• Holiday Season Bundle, $15.99 (regularly $25.94 for the six items bought separately). The meal planner plus the Christmas Budget & Gift Planner, a cleaning schedule and savings trackers.
• Family Recipe Binder, $6.99. Keep the ham recipes your family likes best with the notes that make it yours.

Browse the Holiday shop or all our Printables.

Diced ham is great in fried rice; follow our shrimp fried rice method and swap in ham for the shrimp.

Want full recipes? Our scalloped potatoes and ham is a cheesy casserole made for leftover ham, and our carbonara guide shows how to swap diced ham for the pork.

No leftovers yet? Fully cooked ham steaks are a quick way to get ham on the table any night of the week.

Have a little ham left? Tuck it into an air fryer quesadilla with Swiss cheese.

Diced ham is perfect in a quiche with Swiss cheese; our recipe has the custard ratio and bake times.

Thin-sliced ham and Swiss are also the filling for chicken cordon bleu, so a few leftover slices can become a weeknight dinner.