{Deviled} Ham Salad Recipe (2024)

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5 from 9 Ratings

Published: December 26, 2020Author: Amy

Put your leftover holiday ham to great use in the best ham salad recipe! Make a ham salad sandwich or ham spread for crackers as an easy appetizer. So easy and so delicious!

{Deviled} Ham Salad Recipe (1)

If you grew up in the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, chances are you’ve had ham salad. Or if you’re like me, born and raised in California, you had a friend or college roommate from the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic, who made you try it. And life is better off for it!

What is Ham Salad?

Ham salad is a popular recipe that resembles chicken salad and tuna salad. The main ingredient is (cold) ham, of course, and is mixed with chopped up vegetables and relish, then combined with a mayonnaise dressing. The ham is either ground up or diced, then used as a spread for crackers or used on bread for a ham salad sandwich.

{Deviled} Ham Salad Recipe (2)

As mentioned, the first time I ever had it was in college. The second (third, fourth, fifth – you get it – times) were all while I lived in Minnesota. It almost always made an appearance at baby showers and luncheons, served on crackers or slider rolls with a little lettuce. And I would unashamedly eat my weight in it.

Ham Salad Recipe Variations

There are a few variations for ham salad, starting with the texture and also the mix-ins.

  • Ham salad is traditionally made in a meat grinder, but I don’t have one of those, so I just use my food processor. I like the texture somewhere in-between paste-like and chunky, but you can make it smooth as pâté, if you prefer.
  • My recipe calls for 1-2 hard boiled eggs (thus the name Deviled Ham Salad), which adds another layer of flavor and are a great way to use up leftover Easter eggs, but they can easily be omitted without the recipe suffering. I highly recommend you leave them in, though!
  • While dill pickle relish has my heart, I actually think sweet relish is the way to go here. The sweetness from the relish gives great balance to the salty ham. But you can certainly use dill pickle relish, if that’s your preference.
  • The only way I’ve ever had ham salad is with sweet pickle relish, minced onion, and diced celery, but my understanding is the very original recipe didn’t include any of those items. I can’t even imagine it tasting as good!
  • Ground up bologna or Spam can replace the ham, I’m told, but I’ve never tried either.
{Deviled} Ham Salad Recipe (3)

Recipe Notes

  • Once everything is blended, you should end up with about 3-4 cups of the ground mixture, which will make about 10 sandwiches or enough appetizer spread for a decent sized crowd.
  • My ham always has plenty of salt, so I don’t ever add any extra or it would be too much. Give it a taste before serving and adjust the salt to your liking.
  • This tastes best if you let it sit in the fridge for at least a few hours before serving, so all the flavors can meld.

How to Store Leftovers

HamSalad is typically chilled, either on crackers or as a ham salad sandwich. Since it contains mayonnaise, it should not be left out any longer than 2 hours.

  • To Store:Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  • Can you freeze ham salad?I wouldn’t recommend freezing ham salad. The mayonnaise tends to separate leaving a less than desirable texture and taste once it’s thawed.

One of my very favorite reasons for serving a ham on Christmas and Easter is for the leftovers so I can make ham balls and this deviled ham recipe. The other 363 days of the year, I just buy a pre-packaged thick ham steak, which also gets the job done!

Watch Ham Salad Being Made

Other Recipes Using Leftover Ham

  • Old Fashioned Ham Balls
  • Ham and Potato Soup
  • Split Pea Soup
  • Hash Brown Egg Casserole

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full onFacebook,Instagram,Pinterest, andYouTube!

{Deviled} Ham Salad Recipe (4)

Deviled Ham Salad

5 from 9 Ratings

Put your leftover holiday ham to great use in the best ham salad recipe! Make a ham salad sandwich or ham spread for crackers as an easy appetizer. So easy and so delicious!

Print Recipe Rate Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 sandwiches

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless cooked ham (leftover or purchased thick slab, trimmed of fat, and diced – about 5 cups)
  • 1-2 hard boiled eggs , sliced or rough chopped
  • 1 stalk celery ,diced
  • 2 tablespoons diced onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish (drained and blotted with a paper towel to remove moisture)
  • assorted crackers and soft rolls , for serving

Instructions

  • Put the ham, egg, celery, onion, and pepper into the bowl of a food processor.

  • Pulse (short, quick pulses) 20-25 times to mince.

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, and sweet pickle relish.

  • Add the minced ham mixture to the bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.

  • Cover and chill for several hours for optimal flavor.

  • Serve as sandwiches on soft rolls or as a spread on crackers for an appetizer.

Video

Notes

My ham always has plenty of salt, so I don’t ever add any extra or it would be too much. Give it a taste before serving and adjust the salt to your liking.

Nutritional value does not include the rolls or crackers.

For recipe notes and variations, please refer to the full article.

Nutrition

Calories: 228kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 931mg | Potassium: 208mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 73IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

Other Notes

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: deviled ham salad, ham salad, ham salad recipe

Did you make this recipe?Snap a picture and mention @bellyfullblog!

{Deviled} Ham Salad Recipe (5)
{Deviled} Ham Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is devilled ham made of? ›

Deviled Ham is a spread, dip, or topping made of finely chopped cooked ham. The ham is then mixed with several ingredients including mayonnaise, mustard, spices, and seasonings. Deviled ham is usually served cold on top of saltine crackers or in a sandwich as a spread.

What's in Underwood deviled ham? ›

HAM (CURED WITH WATER, SALT, BROWN SUGAR, SODIUM NITRITE) AND SEASONING (MUSTARD FLOUR, SPICES, TURMERIC).

What does deviled mean in deviled ham? ›

Far from evil, the word “deviled” is a culinary term that means “adding spices” — usually hot ones like cayenne pepper, Dijon mustard, or chopped chili peppers — to foods like ham, eggs, turkey, or even lobster. Underwood Deviled Ham Spread — a New England-born favorite since 1868.

How long is deviled ham good in the refrigerator? ›

Q: after the can is opened & deviled ham is refrigerated how long will it stay fresh? At least 3 to 5 days covered in refrigerator at 40 deg F.

What kind of meat is deviled ham? ›

Deviled ham is ground ham mixed with spicy seasonings, such as chili peppers, cayenne peppers, or mustard. The William Underwood Company, founded in Boston in 1822, found success providing canned foods to the U.S. Army during the Civil War and to settlers who needed long-lasting food products for their trip west.

What's the difference between deviled ham and spam? ›

It is not to be confused with Spam, which involves a meat mixture mostly consisting of pork shoulder, and lacks deviled ham's spicier flavor. The word "devil" appeared in relation to food in the 1700s, and the word "deviled" appeared in 1800 in the following phrase: "At half past two ate a devil'd kidney".

Who makes deviled ham? ›

In 1896, the William Underwood Company started to export its spread ham to Venezuela, leading to the creation of the brand 'Diablitos Underwood deviled ham' in 1960 by General Mills.

What does deviled ham taste like? ›

The deep smokey flavor of the ham wet with tangy Duke's mayo and the sweet acidic bite of the relish are a match made in heaven. I can not stress enough the importance of using a real Virginia smoked ham for this recipe. Anything else will just be ham salad and not deviled ham.

What makes a food deviled? ›

To devil means to "combine a food with various hot or spicy seasonings such as red pepper, mustard, or Tabasco sauce, thereby creating a 'deviled' dish," according to the Food Lover's Companion, the definitive guide to all things food and cooking.

What do Christians call deviled eggs? ›

At church functions in parts of the Southern and Midwestern United States, the terms "stuffed eggs", "salad eggs", and "dressed eggs" occur instead, to avoid reference to the word "devil". For this reason, the term "angel eggs" is also occasionally used.

Can I eat expired ham after 3 days? ›

A vacuum-packaged ham should be consumed by the “use by” date or within 1 week after the “sell by” date.

Can you eat ham 3 days out of date? ›

Most ham lasts 3-5 days in the fridge.

After 5 days, discard your ham as it will have gone bad. A whole ham will tend to last around 1 week in the fridge. Prosciutto, dry Italian ham, Spanish ham, and Serrano ham can last 2-3 months in the fridge. Canned ham will last up to 6 months to 2 years if it isn't opened.

Is ham still good after 11 days? ›

When Should You Throw Out Ham? If your ham has been stored in the fridge for more than five days after the package has been opened or in the freezer for more than six months, it is best to throw it out. Ham that has been exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit should also be disposed of.

Is potted meat and deviled ham the same? ›

Deviled ham and potted meat are similar in that they are both processed meat spreads, but they are not exactly the same.

What parts of the pig are in spam? ›

Spam's main ingredients are pork shoulder and ham, with salt, water, modified potato starch (as a binder), sugar, and sodium nitrite (as a preservative). Natural gelatin is formed during cooking in its tins on the production line.

Is cured pork the same as ham? ›

The term ham refers to the cured leg of pork. A fresh ham would be an uncured leg of pork. The fresh ham will have the term “fresh” in the title of the product. The term fresh means that the product has not been cured in any process.

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