Ham Salad

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Today, I am thrilled to share with you one of my favorite recipes -a classic chunky Ham Salad recipe with ham, pickles, onion, and celery, all mixed together with mayonnaise and seasoned with salt and pepper! 

It’s a lip-smacking recipe and a real treat to complement the main dishes on your table. Ham Salad is my personal go-to recipe when I have leftover Baked Ham from Easter and want to recreate something new from it.

So, put on your aprons, grab the ingredients from your fridge, and let’s set off on a culinary adventure together, shall we? Trust me, this Ham Salad recipe will only take 15 minutes to make, and you’ll have enough for days!

What is Ham Salad?

Ham Salad is one of those traditional recipes out there that resemble other dishes like Egg Salad, Chicken Salad, Tuna Salad, Macaroni Salad, Pea Salad, and Potato Salad. The common ingredient in all of these recipes is mayonnaise! If you want to make a healthier dish – I’ve got your back! Keep reading to find out a perfect alternative that will give the same delightful taste to your ham salad.  The next ingredients that go into the ham salad include, of course, ham and flavorful chopped veggies like celery, pickles, and onion. Most times, you can find this “salad” ground up into a spreadable dip, but I kept it a little chunkier (it’s all personal preference). Ham Salad is served cold on crackers, on a sandwich, or plain. The Ham Salad recipe is the one you’ll be coming back to for get-togethers or movie-watching with your friends.

Best Ham to Use

You might be wondering what ham is best suited for this recipe. Basically, any cooked ham or ham steak will work well for this recipe.

What I like to do is to give my leftover food a second life. Hence, this recipe is a great opportunity to use leftover ham from the holidays (whether that be Easter, Christmas, or Thanksgiving). If it has a sweet glaze on it, those sweet flavors will come out in the salad. I’d recommend cutting off the parts covered in glaze if you don’t want any sweetness coming through.

Tasty Variations

There are a lot of ham salad varieties out there, which makes this recipe really fun and customizable. Feel free to play around and make this dish your own! Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

• hard-boiled eggs
• bell peppers
• cheddar cheese
• cucumber
• carrots
• tomato
• green onion
• mustard
• lemon juice
• pickle juice

I like to throw in whatever food I have lying around in the fridge and it really changes the taste, making the Ham Salad recipe more nutritious than the original one I provide you with here. Hence, I do encourage you to experiment and personalize the salad according to your preferences.   

What Can I Use Besides Mayonnaise?

If you’re looking for something a little healthier than straight-up mayonnaise, I’d suggest light sour cream or even plain Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt can be a game-changer as it’s healthier and packed with many proteins and minerals. Therefore, it’s often a guilt-free alternative to mayonnaise if you want something lower in fat and calories. 

As far as the taste goes, ham salad with mayonnaise is undoubtedly finger-licking delicious. However, plain Greek yogurt will also add a refreshing kick to the dish and complement smoky ham perfectly.

Lastly, if you plan on squeezing lemon juice into your salad, it will blend well with Greek yogurt and give it more complexity.

How to Make Ham Salad

For full details on how to make ham salad, see the recipe card down below 🙂

Prep Ingredients

My Ham Salad recipe consists of ham, celery, dill pickles, and onions. And now is the time to prep those ingredients. Start by measuring and rinsing your vegetables. Grab a sharp, clean knife and dice celery finely into small, bite-sized pieces. Crunchy celery does add crispness to the salad. 

Next off are dill pickles. I like to chop them into small cubes, slightly smaller than ham pieces. You can have them bigger, up to your preference. Dill pickles add a zesty element to the ham salad, making it refreshing. 

Fresh yellow onions are a must for me in this Ham Salad Recipe. Together with dill pickles, you’ll end up with a savory salad that will be balanced when mixed with mayo or Greek yogurt. I prefer dicing onions finely into tiny pieces. 

Finally, there is ham. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I like to dice ham into chunks rather than smaller pieces, but that’s totally up to you. I’ll get into details about grinding ham further on this page.

Mix Together

This Ham Salad recipe is quick and easy to make. As soon as you prep all your ingredients, all that is left to do is to mix everything together with ¼ cup of mayonnaise. 

Grab a large box, throw in all the ingredients, and mix in mayonnaise or Greek yogurt with a spoon. 

Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

How to Grind Ham Salad

If you want your ham salad to be ground up into smaller pieces, get out a food processor and blitz everything together until it reaches the consistency you like. If it’s not coming together, add a splash of pickle juice, lemon juice, or white vinegar and blitz again. I like a chunkier consistency, so I choose to dice my ham a little finer, but this is a great option if you’d prefer a finer consistency.

Serve!

Serve on sandwich bread, on rolls, in a wrap, on pita, with crackers, or plain!

Storage Instructions

Cover well and store in the fridge for up to 5 days! I would not recommend freezing ham salad because mayonnaise tends to separate when thawed. Gross.

Similar Recipes You Might Like:

• Egg Salad Sandwich
• Chicken Salad Recipe
• Tuna Salad Sandwich
• Potato Salad Recipe
• Macaroni Salad
• Pea Salad

That’s it! Enjoy this recipe soon!

The printable recipe card is down below 🙂