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.
We make our ham salad like this too – but when I don’t have relish – I just cut up some pickles and put a little pickle juice in! Oh and Christy we made the Mud Hens and our mouths were doing a happy dance! Even my husband who doesn’t like marshmallows! thank you and God bless you and your family!
Blessings to you Laura, I am so glad you enjoyed the Mud Hens!!
I will make it without eggs. None of us in my family eat eggs. I sometimes add chopped up bacon to mine for extra flavor. And if you really want to try something unique, chop up some cucumber and mix it in. My boys love it.
Hmmm, I haven’t thought to try cucumbers in it Cathy. I will have to give it a try!!
Another of my faves, we never had mayo so it generally got a bit of oil and vinegar dressing and the mustard and of course chopped onions, green if we had them, regular usually, and sometimes chives and baby horseradish leaves in spring.
Of course there was Lima beans and ham bone, or hambone scrapple. Fried ham, plain old ham sandwiches, and so forth. Mom got every cent worth of food value out of the ham. She would sometimes get a whole ham, usually for an occasion like Easter, but she would buy a smoked picnic several times a year and we would have a ham dinner for company on Friday and then the leftovers would get used up over the next week. So good.
I’m trying this with some leftover homemade tartar sauce since it has pickles, mustard, mayo and some capers already in!!
Christy, my family loves good old fashion ham and egg pie with left-over ham. I was sure that would be one of your ways to use the left over ham. That was even a request for Easter dinner along with the sliced ham. If you haven’t tried it, it is delicious also.
Hi Christy. I very much enjoy your posts and recipes.
You and I seem to be a lot alike; I know, you must have heard that a thousand times or more! I can tell from your writing that we probably have the same core values, we love family, we love to cook and share our bounty, we are avid recipe collectors, and other similarities. We also have a degree in home economics (I taught in public and private schools for 26 years). I also tested recipes for General Mills (Betty Crocker). Upon retirement, I wrote and had published “Recipes for Body and Soul”. If you are interested, you can read about it at amazon.com.
Oh my goodness, we do sound a lot alike!! I will definitely have to check your book out, thank you so much for sharing that with me!
I had dishes just like those when i was first married but with 7 childrennthey slowly got broken. Those are the good ole days! Your Ham Salad looks so good i think i will make some for my supper.
I hope you enjoy the Ham Salad Beulah!! I can only imagine all the things that got broken with 7, it seems like with just 2 it is something daily…LOL