This ham and potato casserole recipe is cheesy, creamy, and super delicious! You can make this dish any time, from weeknight dinners to holidays feasts, or even for a hearty breakfast. Use up that leftover ham and you’ll have the best potato casserole ready to serve!
What’s in this Cheesy Ham Potato Casserole?
Hearty potatoes and ham are combined with a creamy, flavorful sauce, and baked with plenty of cheese.
- Potatoes: I recommend using russet potatoes, but you can substitute a different type if you like. The same amount of red potatoes or yukon gold potatoes work great too.
- Ham: Use a pre-cooked, pre-diced ham, or cut up any leftover ham you have.
- Cheese: White cheddar cheese tastes best. I recommend shredding your own cheese for best results. Pre-shredded cheese contains additives that can prevent it from melting completely.
- Milk: You can substitute whole milk with an equal amount of half and half.
- Flour: A sprinkle of flour helps to thicken up the creamy sauce.
- Chicken Stock: Use chicken stock or chicken broth.
- Onion: Diced yellow onions add some texture. Try caramelizing the onions to really enhance the flavor.
- Seasonings: A bit of salt and pepper, and some garlic powder is all you need to season this ham and potato casserole.
If you love ranch, try adding in this ranch seasoning mix!
What else can I add to this casserole?
Feel free to make simple ingredient swaps or add a few more things to this ham casserole recipe. Here are some easy ideas.
- Spicy: Mix in chili powder and/or red pepper flakes with the other spices. Sprinkle pepper jack cheese on top. You could even mix in green chiles to really spice things up.
- Protein Swap: Use pre-cooked turkey or chicken instead of ham.
- Load it Up: Mix in bacon crumbles, sliced jalapeños, broccoli bits, peppers, or anything you like. It would also taste great served with a dollop of sour cream on top!
Make sure you are using cooked ham in this recipe. Use leftover ham, pre-cooked ham, or cook your own ham for this casserole. You can easily find cooked hams at the grocery store or deli.
This recipe serves about 8 people. You can halve the recipe if needed. I recommend also using a smaller baking dish if you do. Note: if this recipe is more than you need, you can eat half and freeze half for another meal.
You can substitute turkey or chicken in this recipe if you prefer. Just be sure whatever meat you use is fully cooked, and dice it up.
There’s no need to par-boil the potatoes, as they’ll cook through fully in the oven.
This casserole will take around 50-60 minutes total to cook at 400F.
How to Store and Reheat Cheesy Ham Casserole
Store leftover ham and potato casserole in an airtight container, or cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap. Keep in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
To reheat any leftovers, place an individual portion in a microwave-safe dish. Heat on 50% power for 1-2 minutes at a time until heated through. Stir well at least once during heating.
To reheat a larger portion, warm the casserole in the oven at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until warmed through.
How to Freeze Leftover Ham Casserole
Let the casserole cool to room temperature, then cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil. You can also scoop it into a freezer-safe bag. Freeze up to 3 months, then thaw in the fridge before reheating.
What to Serve with Ham and Potato Casserole
This dish can be served as a simple dinner, a side dish, or even for breakfast or brunch. It’s truly one of the most versatile recipes.
- For dinner, just add some dinner rolls or cornbread.
- As a side dish, this goes well with anything from air-fried chicken to breaded pork chops.
- For breakfast, cook up some oven-baked bacon and eggs in any style.
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Ham and Potato Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion finely diced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk or half and half
- ½ cup chicken stock or chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 pounds russet potatoes peeled and diced small
- 2 ½ cups diced cooked ham
- 4 ounces 1 cup white cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan melt the butter. Add the diced onion and cook over medium heat until translucent.2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 small yellow onion
- Sprinkle the flour over the cooked onion and stir to combine. Add in the milk, chicken stock, sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Continue to heat, stirring often, until warmed through and slightly thickened.3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 ¼ cups whole milk, ½ cup chicken stock, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Spread the potatoes evenly in the bottom of the prepared baking dish and top with the diced ham. Pour the milk mixture over the ham and potatoes.2 pounds russet potatoes, 2 ½ cups diced cooked ham
- Cover and bake for 40-45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and top with shredded cheese. Continue to bake, uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and potatoes are tender.4 ounces 1 cup white cheddar cheese
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- Storage: Store casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Follow the recipe through step 4.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- When you are ready to bake, remove the casserole from the fridge, and let it warm up at room temperature while the oven preheats.
- Proceed with the recipe as written, from step 5.
Nutrition Information
I made this recipe for a breakfast change at our small farm. I used shredded Mexican style cheese blend because it was what I had on hand. It was served with scrambled eggs. I would’ve taken a photo, but , there was nothing left! Enough said.
So glad you enjoyed it, Rob!
As a southern girl who is accustomed to making sauces from a roux, I was initially skeptical about the disproportionate amount of butter: flour ratio but went with it since the other reviews were good. However, this was WAY too thick! It literally just lay on top of the ham like paste, and didn’t mix at all with the potatoes. I tried to mix everything together after the initial time and add in more liquid to cook the potatoes, but the sauce tasted like flour and the recipe was not salvageable. I had to throw the entire thing in the trash!
Hi Laura, I’m sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you! I’m not sure how your sauce turned out so thick, as there’s quite a bit of liquid added. I am wondering if perhaps you cooked the sauce for a bit too long. It’s important to only cook it until it is slightly thickened, not paste-like!
I meant to like Becky’s reply. As a chef from the south, knowing your roux is very important.
This recipe was so amazing and easy, I subbed the ham for farmer sausage, added a touch of nutmeg and it was absolutely perfect. Loved that it didn’t have any condensed soup! My kids loved it. Going into the rotation forsure!
I’m so happy to hear you all loved it, Marge!
I was so excited about this recipe. Was the sauce actually a cream of chicken? I added mushrooms and it was outstanding!
It’s a creamy chicken sauce, but you could probably use cream of chicken as a quick substitute! So glad you enjoyed it!
Wow, first one of your recipes I’ve tried. Both of my picky eaters loved it. The only change was to par boil my diced potatoes for a few minutes. I did add bacon bits before pouring the sauce over, I was hoping to have enough leftover for work lunches, but the family polished it off that night
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Peggy!
So easy and very good. Hardly anything left for leftovers and it’s just the two of us.
I’m so happy to hear that, Jill!
Super sad. The sauce tastes great but even with the potatoes cut small it have been in the oven for over an hour and a half and most of the potatoes as still raw. Not sure what is going on here.
I would recommend checking your oven temperature with a thermometer! Oven temperature can vary by quite a lot!
Same with me. Ended up baking 1/2 hour longer but turned out real good overall.
I made this tonight with leftover ham from an early Christmas celebration. Turned out great! I did not believe that the potatoes would actually be tender after 45 min but they were—I used Yukon Gold, turned out really nice! I did, however, fix about half again as much sauce (from a review I saw) and it was not too much at all. Will make again–by popular demand!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Audrey!
I made this last night and it was a hit with adults and children alike! I even added a can of green beans (drained) because sometimes it’s just easier to hide them than listen to the whining.
I love that! Thanks so much for sharing, Laura!
Haven’t made yet but like the idea u registered the ingredients as u r doing that dtep..Sheila
I’ve found that feature super helpful! I’m so glad you do as well!!