These Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham are an easy holiday dinner idea that’s also a great recipe for leftover ham! The whole family is going to love this one!
Happy post-Thanksgiving food coma, American friends 😉
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I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and hasn’t blown their entire savings on Black Friday sales!
Because I’m pretty sure a lot of you are going to be left with a bunch of holiday leftovers, including leftover ham, I wanted to share these Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham with you today!
I love a good casserole, especially something creamy and comforting like this, because they’re so easy to prep ahead and keep in the fridge until just before your dinner guests arrive (or if you have a 1 year old who happens to be particularly needy between the hours of 4 and 7, this saves you from having to cook dinner one-handed!).
The fact that I can make everything and do all my clean up long before worrying about setting the table more than makes up for the fact that they require an extra pot or pan.
How to make Scalloped Potatoes:
- Start with your potatoes. I prefer red potatoes for pretty much everything, because they have a smooth skin and creamy texture. This means that you can peel them… or not… and no one will even notice when they take a bit of these Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham.
- The potatoes go into the greased baking dish raw, which is why they require such a long bake time. But hey, it’s not like we have to sit at the oven and watch, so it’s fine by me! Please note that the potatoes cannot be sliced and stored — they will turn brown!
- The sauce starts with a roux, which means you melt some butter and whisk in some flour to make a paste. Then, you add chicken broth, milk, cream — whatever your liquids are, and whisk and cook to thicken.
- Then all we need is cheese, beautiful cheese! No explanation required 😉
Variations of these Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham:
- Swap the protein: feel free to use turkey instead of leftover ham, or even sliced sausages, or skip it and serve these cheesy scalloped potatoes as a side dish to this Instant Pot Whole Chicken or these Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (easily made in the slow cooker or on the stove top as well!).
- Add some veggies: feel free to add in vegetables to make this a full meal deal. Broccoli (though it will get quite soft), mushrooms, thinly sliced carrots, would all be great choices!
- Spice it up. Feel free to add a splash of sriracha or hot sauce to the sauce — sometimes a little heat is perfect to cut through the richness of the cheesy sauce!
How to lighten up Scalloped Potatoes and Ham:
There are a few ways that these Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes can be lightened up.
- Swap some of the potatoes for sliced sweet potatoes.
- Swap the cream for lighter cream or whole milk.
- Swap the cheese for low fat cheese, or use less.
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Ingredients
- 8 medium red potatoes (about 1200 grams or 2 1/2-3lb) very thinly sliced
- 2 cups chopped, cooked ham (160 grams)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (60 grams)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour (63 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups 2% milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided (180 grams)
Instructions
- Layer potatoes and ham in a lightly greased 9×13″ baking dish and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper — cook and stir 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until smooth, then gradually whisk in the milk and cream.
- Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of cheese.
- Pour sauce over potatoes and ham. Cover with foil and bake for 60-65 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
- Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese, and bake 10 minutes or until thickened, bubbly, and cheese is lightly browned.
- Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Rod Snyder says
What a great website! Easy to navigate! It is so helpful for “unsavvy” cooks like me! Thanks……..!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Rob! Thanks so much for following along!
Monica Nelson says
Has anyone cut this recipe in half?
Ashley Fehr says
It will work just fine in an 8×8 or 9×9″ baking dish!
Michele H says
If I use only whole milk, do I need to alter the amount of milk & cream?
Is it OK to substitute Evaporated Milk for some of the milk?
Sarah says
I also have the same question. I only have whole milk lol
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, milk is definitely fine and evaporated is as well! Whatever you use, you’ll want to use the same amount as the milk and cream put together