Easy One Pan Asparagus and Ham Casserole
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Do you have leftover ham? This Asparagus and Ham Casserole is a delicious way to turn it into an easy spring dinner. It's a simple one-pan pasta bake where the pasta cooks right in a creamy Alfredo sauce and is finished with melted cheese-comforting, flavorful, and perfect for the season.
If you love cooking with asparagus this time of year, you'll find more inspiration in these asparagus main dish recipes, filled with fresh and easy spring dinners.
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What I Love About This Ham Casserole
First of all, how many times do you find yourself with leftover ham after Easter or Christmas? If you're at my house, that would be often.
While we love ham sandwiches and adore Split Pea Soup with Ham, a good ham-stuffed pasta salad or this family-favourite White Bean Ham Bone Soup Recipe, I'm always on the lookout for more ideas.
This Asparagus and Ham Casserole recipe is one of my favorite dishes to make during springtime when asparagus is abundant in our market.
What do I love best? You don't have to pre-cook the pasta!
Seriously! It's the best of all worlds, making this recipe nearly a dump-and-go dinner. In fact (although I'm using a homemade Alfredo sauce I love), you can easily swap it for a ready-made Alfredo sauce... and then it truly becomes a simple combine-ingredients-and-bake kind of dish.
Need to bring a dish? This is a great one, too! There are so many occasions around the holidays when you need to bring something.
And if you want to make this pasta bake but you don't have any leftover ham to hand... deli honey ham works beautifully!
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
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Ingredients
The recipe card at the bottom of this post contains ingredient measurements, but here is a quick overview of what you will need and some variation ideas.
- Uncooked pasta: Rotini is my favorite pasta to use in this dish, but penne or any short pasta should work too.
- Cooked ham: This is a delicious recipe for leftover ham or when you're in the mood for that sweet and salty ham flavor!
- Vegetables: Asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces, scallions (or green onions), and garlic.
- Cheese: Shredded Mozzarella (or Italian blend or your favorite blend) and Parmesan cheese.
- Fresh parsley: for garnish.
The pasta, ham, and asparagus are baked in an alfredo sauce that's whisked together with additional seasoning and chicken broth. While I love to make my own, and you will see that in the recipe below, you can also use a ready-made Alfredo sauce to save time. Look for a large 22-ounce jar or about 2 ½ cups.
Alfredo Sauce Ingredients
- Butter: salted or unsalted.
- Garlic: minced or pressed.
- All-purpose flour
- Milk: Dairy or non-dairy like soy milk, almond or oat milk.
- Chicken broth
- Seasonings: Dried thyme, red pepper flakes (optional), and salt and pepper to taste. Dried oregano would also work if you're out!
How to Make Asparagus and Ham Casserole
Begin by preheating the oven to 425° and coating a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Step 1: Add ingredients to the pan.
Preheat the oven to 425° and coat a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Combine the uncooked pasta, ham, asparagus, and scallions in the baking dish.
- Step 2: Make the Alfredo sauce.
Whisk and cook butter, flour, and garlic in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk, bring to a gentle simmer, remove from the heat, and stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Then, whisk in the chicken broth, thyme, and red pepper flakes.
- Step 3: Add the Alfredo sauce to the pan.
Pour the sauce over the pasta, cover tightly with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.
- Step 4: Stir in the slurry and add the cheese.
Remove from the oven, stir in a cornstarch slurry, and sprinkle mozzarella over the top. Bake uncovered for another 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pasta is bubbling. Garnish with remaining Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley.
Recipe FAQ's
No! That is one of the best parts of this recipe. While most casserole recipes require precooked pasta, this recipe uses uncooked pasta added directly to the casserole dish.
Absolutely. If you want to save time, ready-made alfredo sauce works equally well.
Any kind of ham is delicious in this casserole. Leftover Easter ham or Christmas ham is my favorite, but cubed deli ham steak can be used too.
Side Dish Ideas for your Ham Casserole
This Asparagus and Ham Casserole is an entire meal in one dish, thanks to the meat, pasta, and veggies. That said, if you'd like to round out the meal, the ham casserole goes well with any of the following sides:
Easy One Pan Asparagus and Ham Casserole
Equipment
- Casserole Dish
Ingredients
- 16 ounces uncooked pasta like rotini pasta (1 package)
- 2 cups ham diced into (½ inch pieces)
- 2 ½ cups chopped asparagus chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 3-4 scallions chopped
Creamy Alfredo Cooking Sauce
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups milk dairy or non-dairy
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese divided
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 cups chicken broth
- cornstarch slurry 1 tablespoon cornstarch whisked into 2 TBSPS cold water.
- 2 cups shredded Mozzarella or your favorite shredded. cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° and coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Combine the uncooked pasta, ham, asparagus, and scallions in the baking dish.
- Add the butter, flour, and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk to combine and cook for about 3 minutes or until the roux darkens in color. Gradually stir in the milk (about ¼ cup at a time) and the nutmeg, whisking constantly until all the milk is added. Bring to a gentle simmer, remove from the heat, and stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
- Whisk in chicken broth, thyme, and red pepper flakes (if using) into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste and pour over the pasta in the baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and stir the cornstarch slurry into the pasta. At this point, the pasta should be al-dente (still firm but with a tender bite). In my oven, 30 minutes is the perfect baking time, but you may need another 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pasta is bubbling. Garnish with remaining Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley.
Notes
- Alfredo Sauce: In this recipe, we're making our own homemade Alfredo sauce. If you want to save time, use a ready-made quality sauce. You will need about 2 ½ cups of sauce.
- Milk Alternative: Soy milk has a neutral flavor but is rich and creamy, but oat and almond milk work, too.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
More Spring Dinner Ideas
- Healthy Spring Chicken and Vegetable Stew
- Easy Stovetop Sautéed Asparagus
- Simple Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup Recipe
- One Pot Asparagus Pasta with Ground Turkey
- Best Asparagus Frittata Recipe
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I just made this casserole and it’s a
Thank you so much, Lindsay! I’m so happy you made the casserole and hope you enjoyed every bite. It’s such a simple, cozy spring dish!