Two delicious sandwich recipes that are a great way to use leftover holiday ham.  Spicy Honey Mustard Ham Sandwiches and The Best Ham Salad You’ll Ever Eat.

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Quick Note: There’s no jump to the recipe button on this post because these aren’t really recipes, just sandwich ideas for you to try with your leftovers. 🙂

We often have ham for Christmas and Easter dinner, and this is a delicious way to use up the holiday leftovers.  I always want a quick dinner after cooking and preparing food for holiday dinners.  This ham sandwich recipe is a great way to use extra ham and get dinner on the table fast after the holidays.  You can of course use regular deli ham for this sandwich as well, it’s delicious even when it isn’t the holiday season.

Spicy Honey Mustard Ham Sandwiches

A leftover ham sandwich that is a little savory and a little sweet.  Delicious on a baguette, but it would also be amazing on a pretzel roll.  Crispy bread layered with leftover savory, and salty ham then topped with Swiss cheese, pickled jalapenos, and a homemade honey mustard spread.  Top with some fresh arugula and red onion and enjoy your perfect sweet and savory sandwich!

Ingredients for Spicy Honey Mustard Ham Sandwiches

A baguette – or a pretzel roll would be delicious too!

Homemade honey mustard spread – dijon mustard, mayonnaise, honey.  If you don’t have honey you could use a little brown sugar.

Leftover holiday slices of ham – Deli ham would work too of course!

Swiss cheese (you can substitute sharp cheddar cheese if you prefer)

Pickled jalapenos

Fresh Arugula

Thinly sliced red onion

How to Make the Best Leftover Ham Sandwiches

Slice the baguette longways, then cut into individual sandwich sizes.  Brush the top and bottom outer sides of the baguette with melted butter.  Then on one side of the bread layer slices of leftover ham, and top with slices of Swiss cheese and pickled jalapenos.  Place the sandwiches, open-faced, under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until hot and the melty cheese is golden brown and bubbly.  Remove from the oven, and on the top half of the baguette spread on the homemade honey mustard.  Top the sandwich with the fresh arugula and thinly sliced red onion mixture, cut, and serve while still hot.

Recipe variations

• Instead of honey mustard, you could use leftover cranberry sauce (the jelly kind.)

• Sourdough bread or a pretzel roll would be great in this recipe instead of a baguette.

How to Store and Reheat

Store any leftover ham and cheese sandwiches in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat sandwiches in the oven or grilled on a skillet, or in the microwave for about 10 seconds.

Ham Salad Sandwich Recipe

This is one of the easiest recipes and the BEST ham salad you will ever have.  Don’t be fooled by its simplicity.  That’s what makes it great!  

We also use this as a topping or a dip for crackers.  Try it on a Ritz or Saltine cracker…yum!  No one will know they are eating the same ham that they were served at the holiday meal.

When I make this sandwich, I like to use Hawaiian sweet rolls, leftover dinner rolls, or potato rolls to make ham sliders for an easy lunch or dinner.  But really any bread will do!

Place about 3 cups of leftover baked ham that is sliced or cubed into a food processor.  Make sure you are using cold ham, not hot ham.  This is a great way to use the ends or less desirable pieces from the ham.  Finely chop the leftover ham slices until the meat is very finely minced.  It should be almost like the consistency of ground meat.  

When you’re ready to serve, in a small bowl mix together about 2 cups of the chopped ham and 1/4-1/2 cup of mayonnaise until well combined, it should be just enough mayonnaise to coat the ham, like a tuna salad.  Be careful not to add too much.  

 A lot of recipes use dill pickle relish in their ham salad recipe, but I don’t prefer it.  I’m a purist and like basic ham salad.  Just chopped ham mixed with mayo.  It’s savory and so so good!   Make sure to use a really good mayonnaise, that is the key.  We like Helmans or Dukes.  Try it this way, and then if you want to add additional ingredients…go for it and make it your own!

If you want to store the ham salad for later, I recommend storing it chopped but without the mayonnaise in an airtight container and adding the mayonnaise later.  You can mix up as little or as much as you want.  You can also freeze the ham salad.  Just add the chopped-up ham into a freezable container like a zip lock bag and freeze.  When you’re ready to serve, thaw, mix in the mayo, and enjoy!