10 Minute Ham Salad Recipe
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An easy ham salad recipe is elevated to incredible with the addition of a few unique ingredients. It’s an utterly delicious 10-minute salad that will remind you of a classic old-fashioned ham salad recipe!
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Using leftover ham, this delicious spread is ready in minutes and is perfect for dips, appetizers, brunch, lettuce wraps, lunch sandwiches, and even finger sandwiches for afternoon tea.
Simple, easy, and utterly yummy.
What is Ham Salad?
Ham salad is a traditional minced ham spread that closely resembles chicken salad, egg salad, and tuna salad. It’s brought together with a mayo dressing and seasoning.
Much like a chopped salad, Ham Salad combines cooked ham, celery, cucumber relish, and stone-ground mustard. I’ll list the specific ingredients below.
But it’s the seasoning that takes this ever-versatile salad to new levels of deliciousness.
What I Love About Ham Salad
- Making this savory, delicious spread takes between 5 and 10 minutes.
- It is versatile and perfect for outdoor picnics or as a filling for tea sandwiches.
- An old fashioned ham salad recipe taken to the next level with savory additions.
- It gets even more delicious as the flavors combine while chilling.
Ingredients for Ham Salad
The complete list of ingredients and measurements is in the recipe card below.
- Cooked ham: When you have leftover ham, this is a delicious way to enjoy it!
- Eggs: This salad uses hard-boiled eggs. For tips on making hard-boiled eggs, see How to Make the Perfect Egg.
- Celery: This brings a delicious crunchy texture to the ham salad.
- Relish: We love sweet pickle relish, but you could also use chopped dill pickles or a dill pickle relish.
- Mustard: Stone-ground mustard brings a delicious depth of flavor to the salad but Dijon mustard can also be used.
- Seasoning: A hint of Creole or Cajun seasoning brings an unexpected surprise to this salad and one that will have you reaching for seconds! We’ll also use either fresh or dried dill.
- Mayonnaise, which binds the salad together!
How to Make Ham Salad
There are three easy steps to making this ham salad recipe:
Step 1: Mince the ingredients
Add the ham, hard-boiled eggs, and celery to a food processor with the metal chopping blade. Season with salt and black pepper, if needed, and transfer to a large bowl.
Step 2: Make the sauce and mix it into the ham
Combine the sauce ingredients—relish, mustard, seasoning, dill, and mayonnaise—in a small bowl. Fold them into the ham mixture.
Step 3: Chill
Cover and chill the salad in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The Ham Salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. It’s not recommended to freeze this salad as mayonnaise tends to separate during the freezing and thawing process, leaving a watery texture.
Ham Salad Recipe Tips
This recipe is exceedingly easy to make. Here are a few quick tips:
- When you have leftover holiday ham from Easter or Christmas or even a surplus of deli ham, whether freshly cooked or frozen, it is perfect for this salad. Ham steaks work great, too.
- As hams vary in saltiness, be sure to taste the ham prior to adding additional salt. I very often add no additional salt, but a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper is delicious.
- Using a food processor or blender is the easiest way to make this salad in minutes. If making by hand, be sure to finely mince the ingredients and stir well.
How to Serve Ham Salad
Ham Salad is a spread that transforms from casual food to fancy fare. It’s all in how you serve it.
I love it as a dip with crackers and chopped veggies.
If you love afternoon tea as much as I do, this ham salad is a delicious filling for finger sandwiches too.
Small dollops of ham salad on water crackers make an easy and quick appetizer everyone loves.
For a light and healthy appetizer, top thinly sliced cucumbers with spoonfuls of ham salad and garnish with a dill sprig.
But it’s also incredibly delicious smeared between two slices of homemade bread, or on a soft bun.
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Simple Ham Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound cooked ham leftover or deli, minced or cubed
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 stalk celery roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
- 3 teaspoons stone-ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon creole or Cajun seasoning
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill fronds minced (1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 1 /2 cup mayonnaise
Instructions
Food Processor Method
- To use a food processor or blender (which makes this process exceedingly quick and easy), add the ham, eggs, and celery. Season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper if needed. Taste the ham for saltiness before adding additional salt.
- Pulse the ingredients until they’re minced. For me, this is about 5 to 7 medium pulses. I look for pea-size chunks of ingredients. Scrape the bowl or blender as needed to combine ingredients evenly. This mixture should result in about 3 cups of minced ham.
- In a small bowl, combine the relish, mustard, creole seasoning, fresh dill, and mayonnaise. Fold it into the minced ham.
Mixing by Hand
- Be sure to finely mince the ham, eggs, and celery. In a small bowl, combine the relish, mustard, creole seasoning, fresh dill, and mayonnaise before folding it into the minced ham.
- Cover and refrigerate the ham salad until ready to use.
Video
Notes
Ham
- Leftover ham is perfect in this recipe. But ham steaks also work great. You can even use deli ham, but be sure to get the thickest slices you can. Otherwise, the mixture and resemble pate instead of salad.
- Before adding additional salt to the Ham Salad, be sure to taste for saltiness. Most often, I add no additional salt to the recipe.
Ways to Serve Ham Salad
- Ham Salad is so versatile, that it's delicious served as a dip, or on sandwich bread, buns, or slider buns. They also make incredibly delicious tea sandwiches
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Family loved it!