Creamy Old-Fashioned Ham Salad
If you have five minutes to spare, make this creamy Old-Fashioned Ham Salad recipe, and you’ll know exactly why it’s a go-to lunch in the South! Savory chunks of ham and boiled eggs are coated in a rich, tangy mayo-based dressing, then piled high between two slices of soft bread. Simple, filling, and delicious!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Old-Fashioned Ham Salad
- Serves: 3 cups
- Main Ingredients: chopped smoked or baked ham, mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, peeled and chopped boiled eggs, spicy brown mustard, pepper to taste
- Why You'll Love It: If you have five minutes to spare, make this scrumptious and creamy old-fashioned ham salad recipe and you'll know exactly why it's a go-to lunch in the South.
A Simple Ham Salad You Can Make Your Own
Similar to chicken salad and tuna salad, this ham salad is one of those old-timey recipes that use up leftovers and scraps of ham to make an easy, satisfying meal.
There are as many ways to make a ham salad spread as the day is long! So if you don’t have your own old-fashioned ham salad recipe, feel free to take this one and customize it to your taste or make it up with what you have on hand. Don’t have spicy brown mustard? Use a bit of regular mustard and add a little more pepper. Prefer a different mayonnaise than what I use? Go for it. Tweak it, mix it up, taste it, and make it your own.
Fact is, I can think of very few recipes as simple as this one! But while we’re at it, my Classic Southern Tomato Sandwich, Pimento Cheese Sandwich, and Fried Bologna Sandwich are definitely worth a mention!
Recipe Ingredients
- Spicy brown mustard
- Sweet pickle relish
- Mayonnaise
- Boiled eggs
- Black pepper to taste (I usually don’t add salt because the ham is salty, but add it if you like)
- Chopped ham
Tasty Variations To Try
- Swap out the mayo for sour cream or non-fat Greek yogurt if you prefer.
- Not a fan of spicy brown mustard? Dijon or yellow mustard work just as well.
- Toss in a rib of chopped celery for a satisfying crunch.
- Pecans or walnuts make a great addition if you love a little nuttiness.
- Pickle lovers, don’t be shy! Throw in 1/2 cup of chopped dill pickle.
- A handful of fresh chopped parsley can really brighten things up.
- For a bit of a zesty kick, a dash of lemon juice goes a long way.
- Shredded cheddar cheese is always a welcome addition!
- Like a bit of bite? Chopped green or red onion does the trick.
How to Make My Old-Fashioned Ham Salad Recipe
1. Chop Ham & Eggs
First, chop up your cooked ham into cubes. You’ll want to do the same for your boiled eggs too.
Note: You can use a food processor if you’d like – it depends on how fine you want the salad to be!
2. Make Your Salad
Next, place your chopped ham in a mixing bowl.
Then add the mayo, pickle relish, mustard, and black pepper to taste.
Stir all this until well blended. Then add your chopped boiled eggs, stirring gently.
3. Serve & Enjoy
Your ham salad spread is now ready! This recipe makes about three cups of delectable ham salad. You can refrigerate it for a while (an hour is best) to let the flavors blend, or you can eat it right away.
Serve it on sandwiches, homemade dinner rolls, or crackers – whatever’s calling you!
Storage
Store leftover ham salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Because it uses mayonnaise, I don’t recommend freezing. Lucky it’s super easy to make from scratch!
Old-Fashioned Ham Salad FAQs
Yes, store-bought ham works perfectly! I usually pick up whatever’s on sale at the deli counter or throw in some leftover holiday ham. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite ways to use up those holiday leftovers… beats eating the same ham dinner three nights in a row!
Your eggs should be fully hard-boiled for this recipe. I usually boil mine for about 10 to 12 minutes, then pop them straight into an ice bath to stop the cooking. This also makes them way easier to peel!
Yes, and honestly, I think it tastes even better the next day! Making it the night before gives all those flavors time to really come together. Just cover it tightly and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Honestly, you can’t go wrong with potato chips and a fresh green salad. The crunch of the chips and the tang of the pickles are a great match for the rich, savory flavor of the ham salad!
Did this recipe hit the spot? Give it a star rating and leave a comment below. Bonus points if you tell me what you served it with!
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped smoked (or baked ham) diced as finely as you like
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sweet pickle relish
- 2 peeled and chopped boiled eggs
- 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop up the ham with a knife or food processor (however fine you want it to be).2 cups chopped smoked (or baked ham)
- Place the ham, mayonnaise, relish, mustard, and pepper in a bowl. Stir with a spoon until well blended. Gently stir in the chopped boiled eggs.2 cups chopped smoked (or baked ham), ½ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup sweet pickle relish, 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard, pepper to taste, 2 peeled and chopped boiled eggs
- Serve on sandwiches, rolls, or crackers.
Oh, yummmmmm:) Now I have to get a ham and make some. I never had this growing up as ham was the cured kind served with hot biscuits and red-eye gravy. However, I was first introduced to boloney salad in Germany, of all places. Fleishwurst salad is a favorite from my days there. It was made the same way as the ham salad here. Have to look for the Southern Living article; congrats!
Christy, I thought my Southern Living subscription must have run out. I ran out and bought the issue and guess what was in the mailbox when i got home?
I don’t know why in my parts people call ham salad “ham salad” when it doesn’t even have ham in it but bologna ..to me that was always a turn off. I can’t picture eating bologna ground up I have a hard time eating it at it’s normal state lol. This looks so good, I make my chicken salad almost just like this but without the mustard. I will give this a try sometime, I’m sure my clan will love it.
I have to admit that I’ve never had ham salad because I always thought of it as having to be ground up in a food processor which was such a turn-off for me. But, after seeing this salad with the larger chunks of ham, I think I’ll try it. It looks delicious.
Ham salad makes a good stuffed tomato filling to avoid the bread. I sometimes put a tad of horseradish in it to zing it up. I do grind mine finer and that way I can toss in odds and ends of lunch meat or cold cuts. In my part of the country, when the coal mines were thriving, bologna was called “miner’s ham” and that is what most ham salad really was. We do not generally use the eggs in it in this locale but I will give that a try.
Ah I just read your comment after I posted mine, I often wondered why they called it ham salad when using bologna. Thanks for that tidbit of info!
The comments about adding onion reminds me of a few years ago when my mother made ham salad and used some onions my father had planted out back. Well, it turned out that the onions were actually young leeks that had been mislabeled at the nursery! My parents don’t have a palate for unusual foods, didn’t finish theirs and told me I didn’t have to eat mine. I kind of liked the unique pungent flavor, though. I wouldn’t mind making it myself sometime.
That was a much happier surprise than the time I picked peppers off of a habanero that had been mislabeled as a bell pepper. I should have known bell peppers don’t turn orange, but…
All I have to do is hear the words “ham salad” and I immediately think of my Dad. He loved it.
As a kid, I remember seeing him make it all the time. But… his all time favorite was baloney salad! Or bologna for you purists. LOL Have you ever had that? It’s so good. Ground up baloney, mild cheddar cheese, pimentos, pickle relish and mayo. That’s it. I love it on toasted bread.
I think I may whip up some ham salad and baloney salad this weekend.
Thanks for making me remember how much we loved both, Christy. *hug