If you are looking for a great leftover ham recipe, this easy Creamy Ham Casserole is what you need! It is loaded with bites of ham, cheesy noodles and veggies!
Looking for more ham recipes? Try my Slow Cooker Ham & Bean Soup, amazing Baked Ham & Cheese Sliders and easy Crockpot Ham!
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Easy Leftover Ham Casserole
Looking at leftover ham and wondering what else you can do with it? I am here with a delicious solution – ham casserole!
But not just any ham casserole — no, no — *the* ham casserole to beat all ham casseroles!
This Creamy Ham Casserole recipe is loaded with salty ham, pasta, broccoli and carrots all coated in a delicious creamy, cheesy sauce.
You can change up the vegetables or flavored cream cheese to make this recipe all your own, but it’s simply the best ham casserole.
What You’ll Need
First, you will need a good hunk of leftover ham. However, you can also use a ham steak or small store bought quarter ham.
You can add as much or as little ham as you have on hand, I recommend at least 2 cups to give it a good overall ham flavor.
Then we use egg noodles to give the casserole some bulk and whatever vegetables you would like to use. I recommend any of the following veggies:
- broccoli florets
- carrots
- cauliflower florets
- peas
- onion
- celery
- green peas
- asparagus
Lastly we need to make our extra creamy, flavorful and cheesy sauce we toss everything in.
Creamy Cheesy Sauce!
The creamy, cheesy sauce is what makes this Creamy Ham Casserole stand out from other ham casserole recipes!
It’s made with a few ingredients: milk, cream of mushroom soup, chive cream cheese, and 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
It’s an easy sauce to whisk together, but the different ingredients combine to create one flavorful and creamy sauce.
A couple of optional swaps depending on what you have on hand:
- Cream Of Mushroom Soup — you can also use cream of onion, cream of celery or cream of cauliflower soup.
- Chive Cream Cheese — yes, you can use regular cream cheese. The jalapeño cream cheese also adds a fun kick if you like things spicy!
Can I Make This Ahead?
Yes! There are a few options. You can make this to serve immediately, prep it a day or two ahead and store it in the fridge, or you can freeze it for a later date!
I have included all the different options with directions below:
To bake immediately:
- Cover casserole with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned.
Can I prep this ahead of time?
Yes!
- Wrap unbaked Casserole with heavy duty foil or saran wrap. Store in refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
- Bake according to recipe directions below!
Can I freeze this Ham Casserole?
Yes!
- Wrap unbaked Casserole with heavy duty foil. Freeze up to 3 months.
- When ready to eat, remove casserole from freezer and let rest on the counter for 30 minutes (this ensures your baking dish will not crack while baking from the heat).
- Then bake, covered, at 350 degrees, for 1 hour. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned.
This Creamy Ham Casserole recipe is surprisingly delicious and a family classic in our house any time we have leftover ham.
Sometimes when we get a craving and need a little comfort, I will run out and grab a ham steak just so we can have this on a random Wednesday night!
I hope your family enjoys it as much as we do. Make sure and leave a comment/review below to let me know how it turns out!
Ham Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups egg noodles, cooked
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup milk
- 10 oz canned cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, about 8 oz
- 6 oz chive cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups chopped ham
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 casserole dish, set aside.
- In a large pot, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Cook egg noodles for 2 minutes. Add broccoli and carrots and cook 3 minutes more. Drain immediately. (You do not want to over cook your noodles, otherwise you will end up with a soggy casserole.)
- Combine milk, cream of mushroom soup, cheddar cheese, and cream cheese in a large bowl; until smooth. Fold in noodle mixture, ham and pepper.
- Spread the noodle mixture evenly in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over casserole.
- Cover casserole with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned.
Notes
Storage & Reheating
- Fridge: Refrigerate it for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge or on the counter for 30 minutes.
- To reheat it: Microwave it in 30-second increments, stirring between each one.
Nutrition
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Tasted great and was so easy! My husband had two helpings which is his seal of approval. Nice way to use up some Xmas ham.
Nice recipe, have a good one.
This looks like a great recipe – we are trying to reduce sodium so is there a recommended substitute for the cream of mushroom soup?
Hi Eileen! You could use the reduced sodium canned cream of mushroom soup, but if you need even less salt, you could always make your own!
Is it 4 and a half cups of dry pasta or cooked pasta?
Hi Delanie! You add the uncooked (dry) egg noodles to a large pot of boiling water in step #2!
This is the best recipe I have made in a while. The entire family loved it including the kids!
Awesome! So glad y’all enjoyed it too! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Any time one is using foil, it is a good idea to line it with parchment paper to protect the food from metal which the heat will cause contamination.
I often cover food with just parchment only.
Metal relates to Dementia and Alzheimers
I really loved how easy this recipe came together. It also smelled amazing while cooking. But when we tasted it, it was surprisingly bland. I’d try it again but next time would add 1 tsp salt to the creamy mixture. Maybe that’s just us?
Love, love, love this recipe! I have made it numerous times since I stumbled across it! The only thing I did different was I used Philadelphia Cooking Cream –Italian Herb & Cheese, because my grocery store didn’t have the chive and onion cream cheese. Loved it so much I’ve just continued to use that. Bonus: my kids like it!! It’s my new favorite comfort food casserole!
After the weekend of snow, travel, and feeling under the weather we needed some serious comfort food. Oh boy did we find it with this! This casserole had everything going for it. Rachel and I loved it. We’re featuring it on this weeks Taste Test Thursday. Will tweet you the link when it goes live!
So glad y’all liked it Chris! 🙂
And thanks ahead of time for the link!
I must admit, my Cooking Light cookbook has been getting some attention lately, too. But you know, the recipes I’ve tried have been great so I know I would like this. Beautifully photographed!
Yummy! Looks good…comfy food!
Moving is the next best thing to stabbing oneself to death with a fork!!!!!!!! Sympathies to you sista…, glad you’ve put your big girl panties on & doing it anyways…. indoor plumbing does that to you. 🙂
Jessica, I couldn’t agree more about casseroles being one of the best comfort dishes. This ham casserole looks SO delicious. I’m sorry to hear that you’re dreading your upcoming move, but with relocation comes a fresh start and a chance to find new friends, things to do, and local food! I hope it’s an easy move for you anyway, and hope to keep seeing delicious recipes like this once you’re settled! Thanks for sharing, and Happy New Year to you and Jorge!
Moving sucks, so I can somewhat feel your pain. However, mine was just a cross-town move, so I can’t imagine moving further! 🙁 Hopefully you’ll find lots of new opportunities in Jacksonville. (PS. The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the same division of NFL as the Tennessee Titans.)
In regards to the 4 1/2 cups egg noodles you have as an ingredient, is it 4 1/2 cups of dry noodles, or should the amount of noodles equal 4 1/2 cups after you cook them?
Hi Mary! Dry noodles! In step #2 of the directions you will cook the noodles.
Good luck on your move, I’m sorry it’s somewhere you don’t want to move though. BUT you’ll be closer to Atlanta, are you going to BHF? I registered already…
happy new year and good luck with the move!
Looks great, I am always looking for new casseroles!
Good luck with the move!