Give leftover ham new life with this easy Ham Salad recipe! You only need 4 ingredients and a few minutes to whip it up, and you’ll be rewarded with a creamy, flavorful salad for layering into sandwiches and scooping up with crackers.
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The easiest way to use leftover ham.
While I do love Ham Casserole and Scalloped Potatoes and Ham, when I want a low effort way to put leftover ham to use, I turn to this old-fashioned ham salad recipe. Four ingredients, 10 minutes of prep, and boom: lunch is served.
Ham is smoky, savory, and just a little bit sweet, so you don’t really need to add all that much to make it into a top-notch salad. Greek yogurt (or mayo) makes it creamy, celery adds a delightful crunch, and dill pickles are the pièce de résistance, giving our salad just the right amount of vinegar-y tang.
Like Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad, you can tuck ham salad into lettuce leaves or pitas, use it as a ham spread for sandwiches, or make it into a snack with crackers. You’ll love it for meal prep lunches too!
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Ham. Leftover Baked Ham or Crockpot Ham after a holiday is a natural starting point for this recipe, but if you’ve got a hankering and it’s nowhere near Easter, pick up a ham steak at the grocery store.
- Plain Greek Yogurt. My fave swap for those of you looking for a ham salad without mayo. For a more traditional version, go ahead and use your favorite mayonnaise.
- Celery. Adds crunch to everything from Turkey Salad to Italian Tuna Salad, but also a great addition for its fresh flavor.
- Dill Pickle Chips. For some sass without the sad texture of store-bought relish.
- Chives. An optional addition for a little bit of onion-y flavor without being over-powering.
How to Make Ham Salad
Prep. Chop the ham, celery, and pickles.
Pulse. Add all the ham salad ingredients to a food processor and pulse in 5-second bursts, scraping down the sides as needed. Serve and ENJOY!
How to Serve with Ham Salad
The world is your oyster!
- In Sandwiches. Go fancy with a croissant (oh la la!), serve ham salad sandwiches on white bread, or stuff it into pitas.
- As Homemade Lunchables. Lunchables: The Adult Version. (Or Lunchables: For the Discerning Child.) Fill a bento box with salad, crackers, and other accoutrements like Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs.
- In Lettuce Leaves. A lower carb option similar to these Lettuce Wraps.
- On Cucumber Slices. Another serving idea if you’re watching your carb intake.
- As a Salad. A scoop of ham salad on a bed of Bibb lettuce feels retro in the best possible way.
- With Crackers. Go the extra mile and serve ham salad with Ranch Crackers.
- Inside a Tortilla. Roll it into tortillas and slice it into pinwheels.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- No Food Processor? No Problem. You can make a chunkier salad by simply tossing everything with the yogurt, or mince all the ingredients as finely as you reasonably can with a chef’s knife.
- Pulse, Not Puree. We’re going for ham salad here, not ham paste. (Blergh.) Pulse in bursts to achieve the perfect chopped—not pureed!—texture.
- Make It Your Own. Add some Dijon mustard for pep, fold in diced red onions for a more assertive onion flavor, reduce the ham by half and add some cooked macaroni for a ham pasta salad, add chopped hard-boiled egg for ham and egg salad—this is one of those recipes where you have ample room to customize.
Ham Salad
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Ingredients
- 8 ounces ham diced into ¼-inch cubes (about 1 ½ cups)
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt or mayo
- 2 celery stalks ¼-inch diced (about ¾ cup)
- 5 dill pickles chips roughly chopped (about ¼ cup)
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives optional
- Crackers or bread for serving
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor: the ham, yogurt, celery, pickles, and chives (if using). Pulse in 5-second bursts, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until the texture is chunky but spreadable. Blend less if you prefer a chunkier texture.
- Serve as a dip with crackers or use as a filling for a sandwich.
Video
Notes
- You can use leftover spiral ham, or purchase a “ham steak”, which is often sold in 8-ounce packages.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate ham salad in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days.
- TO FREEZE: I don’t recommend freezing ham salad, as the texture of the celery will suffer and if you use mayo, it’s likely to separate.
Nutrition
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Had a bunch of guests over for a project and made this as one of the dishes. I made it the day before and I really think that is best as the flavors all melded together better than the first day. Will def make again for my family. Such a keeper. Thank you!
Great to hear, thank you Lorna!
My husband liked this so much that he personally made a second batch! I love it too. Reminds me of my grandma over 60 years ago who made this on Sunday lunch with leftover holiday ham. She made this and then served on white bread with crusts cut off and hard butter spread on the bread. I LOVE IT THAT WAY! Puts a smile on my face.
So glad to hear, thank you Coleen!
This is exactly what I was looking for! I needed to make an appetizer for a get together and I wanted to use up leftover ham. I served it with a sliced baguette and crackers. Everyone enjoyed it. No leftovers. Thanks so much!
Wonderful! Thank you Lora!
Made great sandwiches, reminds me of the recipe my mom made, but she used a crank meat grinder. I still have it, but I don’t use it.
Thanks for sharing, Chrissy! Glad you enjoyed it!
Hey Erin! I love all your yogurt-based salad recipes. What would you swap for those of us who hate pickles?
Hi Shannon! So glad you are enjoying them. For this salad, I would leave it out or maybe try another type of pickled veggie, like red onion. Anything that would help get the right amount of vinegar-y tang to the recipe. Or go with a fresh vegetable like cucumbers. The flavor will be slightly different. Hope this helps!