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My cheesy Ham and Potatoes Casserole is an easy dinner recipe that is perfect for using leftover ham! Complete with creamy bechamel sauce and cheddar cheese, this potato and ham casserole is richly flavorful and satisfying. Ready in just about an hour using simple ingredients!
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Ham and Potato Casserole
I look forward to cooking a big ham dinner every year over the holidays, and even more than that, I love coming up with ham leftovers recipes! This cheesy ham and potatoes casserole is the perfect recipe for leftover ham: it’s hearty, delicious, and so easy to make.
The classic combination of ham and cheese is made even better with tender potatoes and creamy bechamel sauce. Complete with garlic and onion for extra flavor, this is exactly the sort of dish you’ll be grateful you have leftovers to enjoy!
Best of all, ham casserole can easily be made ahead of time to meal plan for the week, or to take to a gathering like a potluck. Or, if you have a busy day ahead of you, you can prep it in the morning, then bake it later in the day!
Ham Potato Casserole FAQ
Ham and potato casserole pairs perfectly with roasted or steamed vegetables, like Garlic Roasted Carrots, or a salad with a tangy dressing, like Buttermilk Ranch Salad or Lemon Kale Caesar Salad (simply exclude the chicken). Asparagus, broccoli, and roasted cauliflower are also great choices for pairing with ham and potato casserole.
You can freeze ham and potato casserole before baking it. Prepare the entire dish and add it to either a freezer bag to store flat, or a freezer-safe baking dish. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil if storing in a dish. Label with the freezing date, and store for up to 2 months. When ready to enjoy, bake straight from the freezer in a greased baking dish at 375°F for about 1 hour until heated through.
Ham and potato casserole uses bechamel sauce, which uses flour in the roux base. However, you can use sweet rice flour instead of all-purpose flour when making the roux for bechamel to make this dish gluten-free.
Potato and Ham Casserole Ingredients
- Cubed potatoes, I recommend yukon gold
- Diced ham, you can use leftover ham (try one of my ham recipes for dinner!)
- Olive oil
- Diced onion
- Minced garlic
- Bechamel sauce (flour, butter, milk, salt)
- Salt and pepper
- Cheddar cheese
Ham casserole uses bechamel sauce as a creamy sauce added to the dish. For this recipe, you will need about 4 cups. When preparing the bechamel sauce above (which makes about 1 cup), adjust the ingredients as follows:
- butter
- flour
- milk
Ham and Potatoes Casserole Instructions
- Coat a 2-quart baking dish with vegetable spray. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare your bechamel sauce. You will need to create a roux, then add milk and thicken. See: Bechamel Sauce Recipe
- In a large skillet over medium-heat, add olive oil, diced ham, onion, and garlic, and saute for approximately 8 minutes until the onions are softened and the ham is crispy.
- Turn the heat off, then add the cubed potatoes, bechamel sauce, and one cup of the cheddar cheese to the skillet. Mix well.
- Spread this mixture into the prepared baking dish, then top evenly with additional cheddar cheese. Bake for 1 hour in preheated oven until the potatoes in the center of the casserole are knife-tender.
- Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Ham Casserole Make-Ahead Instructions
- Prepare the casserole as instructed. Wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Reheat at 325 degrees for approximately 35 minutes until heated through. Enjoy!
Ham Potato Casserole Variations
- Sausage potato casserole: Replace diced ham with diced or ground sausage for a tasty alternative to this dish! Similar to my favorite breakfast casserole.
- Broccoli cheddar casserole with potatoes: Instead of ham, you can also use vegetables like broccoli in this dish. Broccoli makes a great pair with cheddar cheese and potatoes!
- Use other cheeses: I love cheddar cheese in this creamy potato casserole, but you can also use other easily melted cheeses like gruyere.
Recipes with Ham
Try more of my favorite leftover ham recipes.
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📋 Recipe
Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole
Equipment
- 1 2-quart baking dish
- 1 Pan for bechamel
Ingredients
- 21/2 pounds cubed potatoes potatoes of your choice – I recommend yukon gold
- 2 cups diced ham you can use leftover ham for this recipe
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 4 cups bechamel sauce follow our recipe; see notes for measurements
- 2 cups cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Coat a 2-quart baking dish with vegetable spray. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare your bechamel sauce. You will need to create a roux, then add milk and thicken. See: Bechamel Sauce Recipe
- In a large skillet over medium-heat, add olive oil, diced ham, onion, and garlic, and saute for approximately 8 minutes until the onions are softened and the ham is crispy.
- Turn the heat off, then add the cubed potatoes, bechamel sauce, and one cup of the cheddar cheese to the skillet. Mix well.
- Spread this mixture into the prepared baking dish, then top evenly with additional cheddar cheese. Bake for 1 hour in preheated oven until the potatoes in the center of the casserole are knife-tender.
- Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Ham casserole uses bechamel sauce as a creamy sauce added to the dish. For this recipe, you will need about 4 cups. When preparing the bechamel sauce (which makes about 1 cup), adjust the ingredients as follows:
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 6 Tablespoons flour
- 6 cups milk
- Crisping the potatoes with the onions in a skillet will bring out extra flavor in the ham. It is amazing when prepared like this.
- This casserole can be prepared 2 days before and reheated at 325 degrees for approximately 35 minutes.
4 stars based solely on the recipes false prep time of 10 minutes. To prep all the ingredients, it took 30-45 minutes.
I didn’t have anything on hand pre-prepped. I had to wash, peel, and chop potatoes (10-15 mins), chop ham, make the bechamel sauce (20 mins), shred 2 cups of cheese (3 mins), then fry the ingredients as described. All in all, the recipe took closer to 2 hours from start to finish (including 1 hour 10 mins for baking).
5 stars for flavor though.
Thank you so much for your review, Kiki! We’re glad you enjoyed it and will take your timing into account.
Is there any reason I can’t just build the bechamel right over the sautéed onions and ham?
Hi Julia! You could definitely do that if you’d like, I’m sure it would work out fine. I’d personally push the ham and onions to the side of the pan as much as possible and work on the bechamel in the middle of the pan (or even just remove them and set aside). There might be some discoloration to the bechamel of course, but it should work out just fine otherwise. We basically do the same thing with our smothered pork chops recipe and its onion gravy. Start with the onions and ham, though, just so the bechamel doesn’t cook too much or curdle.
I’m confused about the amount of white sauce. The recipe calls for 4c but the notes show a 6c recipe. Thanks for your help!
Hi Lois! Sorry for the confusion. Once it’s cooked down and thickened enough, those measurements should be approximately correct.
This was absolutely delicious!! Thank you for the recipe!
P.S. (Just an fyi. The list of ingredients before the “make it” button says 10 1/2 lbs potatoes. 😉)
So glad you enjoyed it, Lois! Thank you!
This seems like a LOT of food for a 2 qt dish- is this correct? It looks like a 13 x 9″ pan would be more appropriate?
Ours worked just fine in a 2 qt rectangular dish, Jenni! It should be fine. I imagine a 13 x 9 would also work if you would rather use one.