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Old Fashioned Ham Salad

Our family favorite recipe for ham salad uses a mixture of both mayo and miracle whip, onion, mustard and relish to make the best ham salad. Serve with crackers and Swiss cheese for the ultimate savory treat!

Great for using up leftover ham!

Besides making ham and pineapple sandwiches, ham salad is my favorite way to use up leftover ham. It is super delicious!

My mom and I tweaked the recipe many times over the years to get it just how we liked it, mainly messing with the ratio of mayo to miracle whip.

Ingredients Needed:

  • 2 cups leftover ham
  • Miracle whip & mayo
  • Dried onion flakes
  • Stone ground mustard
  • Sweet pickle relish
Old Fashioned Ham Salad

Letting it chill in the fridge to develop the flavors is key

Of course you can eat it right away if you’d like, but I find the flavor develops really well after a few hours in the fridge.

How to serve Old Fashioned Ham Salad

Ham salad is great served on biscuits, rolls, and crackers. I highly suggest serving with crackers and sliced Swiss cheese. This is my all time favorite!

How to store leftovers

Ham salad leftovers can be stored in the fridge for several days. Freezing is not recommended.

Looking for more ham recipes? Check these out!

Old Fashioned Ham Salad

Old Fashioned Ham Salad

Ali @ Jamhands.net
Our family favorite recipe for ham salad uses a mixture of both mayo and miracle whip, onion, mustard and relish to make (in our opinion) the best ham salad. Serve with crackers and Swiss cheese for the ultimate savory treat!
4.75 from 4 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 8
Calories 153 kcal

Equipment

  • Food Processor

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups ham fat trimmed off and diced
  • 1/2 cup miracle whip
  • 1/4 cup mayo
  • 2 tsp. dried onion flakes
  • 1 tsp. stone ground mustard
  • 1 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish You could use Dill pickle relish instead if you prefer
  • Garnish:
  • Crackers Wheat Thins and Ritz are both great!
  • Swiss cheese slices cut into squares

Instructions
 

  • Dice the ham into 1/2″ cubes. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the relish to a food processor and pulse until chunky. (You want it to be smooth enough to spread on crackers, but not so smooth that it becomes a paste. Check every few pulses and watch closely to get the desired consistency).
  • Transfer the spread to a mixing bowl and stir in relish. Set in the fridge to chill for a few hours for the best flavor, but if you eat it immediately it is still great.
  • Serve with crackers and Swiss cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 153kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 8gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 608mgPotassium: 131mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 39IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 1mg
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Old Fashioned Ham Salad

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20 Comments

  1. OH THANK YOU! I just love ham salad but I don't have a good recipe so it ends up being one of those things I love eating at a potluck, then I buy it at the grocery store and it tastes terrible! Now, I can make it with leftover ham Sunday night! Perfect.

  2. This was wonderful! I just made it with all that left over ham from Easter and served it with deviled eggs and crostini. A great light meal!

  3. Can't wait to try this! (ham is oven now) My mother used to make this when we were kids (50+ years ago) but she used bologna. Being a single mom with 4 little kids, she cut corners every way she could. We LOVED IT!!! Thank you for this recipe!

  4. My folks used to make ham salad and sell it in our small grocery store 60 years ago. I also used to make it for my kids using big bologna over 50 years ago. The kids especially liked when I spread the salad on left over hamburger bun halves, topped with cheese and put under the broiler. It was a real treat.

  5. When we were kids, we couldn't afford ham, so our "ham" salad was made with chunk bologna put through the old crank grinder. It was delicious! All mom added to the bologna was miracle whip and sweet relish, though.

  6. Made this today, first time in my life making ham salad. Delicious! Used dill pickle relish b/c that's what I had, loved it. I'll definitely make this my "go-to" recipe. Thank you for sharing.

  7. Love ham salad. Next time I make this I think I'll add a little of the leftover pineapple…yum! Thanks!

    1. Sure. The taste will be a bit different with no miracle whip, so just taste for seasoning and see if you think it needs anything extra.

  8. I remember going to my friends house as a kid and they had this delicious ham salad and it was sooo good on toasted white bread! Unbelievably good. I am going to make this for my family. I just forgot about it!

  9. I have never had ham salad, but it looks delicious. My mom used to grind up her ham to make ham croquettes. Did them just like salmon croquettes, but she switched the salmon for ham. Loved them growing up.

  10. I make ham salad with boiled eggs, dill pickles, ham or bologna & hellmans mayo!!!!! Use hand grinder and mix(add any spices you love!!!!!! Ron

  11. Delicious ham salad recipe. Thanks. Some 65 plus years agao, my grandmother made a wonderful, layered, appetizer she called "Hors d'oeuvre Pie." using this recipe for ham salad. It went like this: first layer was cream cheese, second layer was blue cheese mixed with mayonnaise, third layer – the ham salad, fourth layer chopped black olives, then finely grated whites of hard boiled eggs,final layer was finely grated egg yolks. The top was decorated with sliced olive and pimento blossoms (several olives cut into 4 slices lengthwise laid in a circle pattern of 5-6 slices with a small piece of pimento in the center of the blossom – very pretty effect. It was sserved chilled with Ritz crackers. Yummy. Delicious. Wonderful memories of home and family.

    1. Thank you for sharing that memory of your grandmother and the recipe she made. It sounds really tasty and I bet it was really pretty too. Hope you had a great holiday season 🙂

  12. I am not a fan of Miracle Whip but the combo of that and Hellmann's was very good. Easy and quick to make. Always looking for womething simple to bring to social events. This hit the mark. Always try the origional recipie before experimenting.