Herby Ham Salad - An Easy Ham Salad Recipe with Herbs! (2024)

Recipes » » Herby Ham Salad

Herby Ham Salad is creamy, tangy, and utterly delicious. This easy ham salad recipe is great for leftover ham and a snap to make!

Homemade Ham Salad

Did you grow up on ham salad?

I don’t remember my mom making it, but my aunt Mary sure did. It was a sandwich spread I could count on at each of my cousin’s graduation parties. Mary also offered her famous tiger meat, a rare find at most gatherings, especially nowadays, and one that I can’t personally vouch for. No, thank you!!

My aunt’s ham salad, though. I’ve missed it.

I admitted to my sisters that sometimes, when I’mon a road trip to and from South Dakota or North Dakota, I’ll pick up one of those pre-packaged ham salad sandwiches out of the cooler case at a gas station.

Well let’s just say they weren’t very impressed. Ha!

All Cheryl and Jessica could do was scrunch up their faces in disgust. I laughed it off, knowing their opinions wouldn’t stop me from those gas station sammies in the future. But the conversation also got me thinkin’.

It was time I made my own version of this recipe. You are going to LOVE this Herby Ham Salad. I promise!

This is the Best Way to Use Up Leftover Ham!

Whenever you’re anticipating some good holiday ham leftovers,this recipe has you covered.

Similar in style to other salad favorites of mine (think chicken salad, egg salad, and tuna salad), this meaty salad recipe is creamy, tangy, and utterly delicious.Blake says it’s the best he’s ever had. And I have to agree.

How to Make Ham Salad

This recipe is easy to make.

• Cut up leftover ham: Just cube some leftover ham and add it to a food processor.
• Pulse into small pieces: Then pulse the ham until it’s nice and small.
  • Some people like to blitz the heck out of the ham, creating a mush-like consistency. I prefer some nice texture, leaving the ham in small bits.
• Mix in the rest of the ingredients: Add the mayo, relish and seasonings, folding to combine.
• Chill and serve!

Similar salad recipes are loaded withmayonnaise. But I wanted the wonderful smoky ham flavor to shine through, and opted for less mayo.

Along with the traditional sweet pickle relish, I folded in plenty of fresh herbs. The fresh herbs add both color and flavor.

And a fun addition that I’m especially fond of is a little kick of cayenne. I’m pretty sure it’s what helped to slam-dunk Blake’s opinion of this herby ham salad.

How to Serve Ham Salad

Ham salad on a flaky croissant makes for an incredible lunch.

But I also highly recommend noshing on crackers and cucumber slices topped with this salad mixture. It’s a great appetizer.

Just think about a hot summer day in the backyard, with a plate of chilled cucumber slices and this creamy sandwich spread. Pass me a tall, cold glass of lemonade, please!

Here are a couple more ways to use leftover ham: Ham and Cheese Biscuits from Spicy Southern Kitchen and Ham and Sweet Potato Soup from Diethood.

This post was previously published in 2015. Some of the photographs and some of the text were updated in 2018.

73 Comments / Leave a Comment »