Ham Salad Recipe

This easy Ham Salad Recipe is a creamy spread made with chopped ham, mayo, and simple mix-ins like celery and relish. It's a little sweet and ready in just 10 minutes! The perfect use for leftover holiday ham!

Anyone else remember ham salad sandwiches from their youth? Growing up, it was a fridge staple at our house all summer long. After a full day at the pool, sunburned and starving, there was nothing better than a ham salad sandwich on soft white bread. It tasted like summer. Like popsicles, board games and puzzles, and nowhere to be.

This is a nostalgic recipe for me, and I think that's exactly why I love making it. It's creamy and a little savory, with just enough sweetness from the pickle relish and a nice crunch from the celery. This delicious ham salad takes about 10 minutes and, if you have it, uses up leftover holiday ham in the best possible way. If you grew up eating this, I think you're going to love coming back to it. (And if you're someone who also keeps pimento cheese in the fridge at all times - another throwback to my youth - we are the same person.)

Why You'll Love This Ham Salad Recipe

No cooking involved (assuming your ham is already cooked, which it almost always is). This is honestly just chopping, stirring, and pulsing in the food processor. You don't even need to turn on the stove.

It's also the perfect way to repurpose leftover ham from Christmas or Easter. That big hunk of ham that's been sitting in the fridge for three days? It's about to become the best sandwich of the week. And if you don't have leftover ham, a ham steak from the grocery store works treag too.

Key Ingredients

Just a handful of ingredients are all you need for this old-fashioned ham salad recipe. These are the standouts. (See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients.)

• Ham. Of course! Leftover ham is what you want here, if possible. It has the most flavor. A ham steak from the grocery store is a solid backup. Deli ham works in a pinch (just pat it dry first since it tends to be wetter), and boneless ham is fine too. If you're using country ham, go easy on the celery salt since country ham is already pretty salty.
• Mayonnaise. Real mayo, please. I know some of you grew up with Miracle Whip (raising my own hand!), and I respect that deeply, but this is a mayo recipe. Miracle Whip has a tanginess that takes it in a different direction IMHO. I use Duke's, and I will go to my grave defending it as the best, but use whatever real mayo you love.
• Sweet pickle relish. This is the ingredient that makes it taste like the ham salad you remember. It adds sweetness and a little brine. You can swap it for dill pickle relish if you want something less sweet and more tangy. I've made it with half sweet, half dill, and that's great too!
• Vidalia onion. I like Vidalia because it's mild and a little sweet. Yellow or white onion works too, just know it'll have more of a bite. Red onion or even green onions add some color and a sharper flavor if that's what you're going for.

How To Make The Best Ham Salad

Step 1: Chop everything up. Roughly chop the ham, celery, and onion. The food processor will eventually do most of the work, so the pieces don't need to be too tiny.

Step 2: Make the dressing. Add the mayo, sweet pickle relish, a touch of Dijon mustard, and celery salt to a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined.

Step 3: Add it to the food processor. Transfer the ham, celery, onion, and dressing to the bowl of a food processor in batches and pulse until it's slightly smooth. You want it spreadable but still with some texture. Stop before it turns into a paste.

Step 4: Taste it. Give it a taste before you call it done. Want more relish? More mustard? A little more salt? Taste and adjust as you go.

Step 5: Pile it onto bread and eat it! White bread is the move here. Soft, fresh white bread. That's it.

Tips for the Best Ham Salad

• Don't skip the food processor. You can absolutely chop everything super small and mix this by hand, and it'll taste good, but the food processor is what gives you that classic, slightly smooth texture that holds together on a sandwich. Even a small one works fine.
• Watch your ratios. I've tested this recipe many times and one thing you want to be careful of is to not add too much mayo or dijon. If you don't use enough mayonnaise, the ham salad will be dry. But too much mayo and it becomes a soupy mess. 
• Do it in batches. If you have a smaller food processor, don't try to cram everything in at once. Two batches, combined at the end. (You can mix all the ingredients in a large bowl - the ham, celery, onion, and dressing - then add it to the food processor to make the batching a bit easier.)
• Give it at least 30 minutes in the fridge if you can. It firms up a bit, and the flavors come together in a way they just don't when it's freshly made. Not required, but worth it.
• Taste before you salt. This is a big one! Ham can be anywhere from lightly seasoned to quite salty, depending on the cut and brand. Taste the mixture before you add celery salt so you don't overdo it.

What Kind of Ham Should I Use?

Leftover baked ham is the best choice for ham salad because it has the most flavor and best texture. Ham salad is pretty forgiving, though, so most types of ham will work. Here's a breakdown of other kinds of ham you could use

• Leftover baked ham. This is the best choice. Most flavor, great texture. And it's a great way to use that extra easter ham!
• Ham steak. Ham steak from the grocery store is a good option when you don't have leftovers on hand. 
• Deli ham. Deli ham works but tends to be wetter. Pat it dry before chopping, and don't expect quite as much depth of flavor. 
• Boneless ham. Easy to find and works well, similar to baked ham. 
• Country ham. Country ham is salty and smoky, and gives you a richer result. Just cut back or skip the celery salt completely since it brings plenty of seasoning on its own. (Remember to taste as you go!)

Variations Worth Trying

Everyone has a "best ham salad recipe" and while I happen to believe that mine rocks, there are certainly some variations you may like to try. Here are a few ideas:

• Add a hard-boiled egg. Some old-fashioned ham salad recipes include them, which makes it a bit more substantial and gives it a texture somewhere between ham salad and egg salad. Two chopped hard-boiled eggs folded in works nicely.
• Swap the relish. Sweet relish is classic, dill pickle relish is tangier and less sweet. Half-and-half is a good compromise for all you fence-sitters (and quite good!). And, if you don't have relish on hand, some chopped dill pickles will do just fine. 
• Make it spicy. A dash of hot sauce, a pinch of cayenne, or using hot relish instead of sweet gives it a kick that pairs really well with crackers. 
• Lighten it up. Swap half the mayo for plain Greek yogurt. It stays creamy, and you honestly can't tell that much. 
• Serve it as a dip. This works great as a cracker spread for a party or easy snack. Put it in a bowl and surround it with butter crackers, celery sticks, some cute little cornichons, or whatever you have. It fits right alongside some old-fashioned pimento cheese on a party spread if you want to do a little Southern spread situation. 
• Lettuce wraps. Skip the bread entirely and spoon it into butter lettuce wraps for a lighter lunch. 

How To Serve Ham Salad

On white bread is always my first answer. That's how I grew up eating it, and I still think it's the best way. But, I'll never turn down ham salad, and it's also good on crackers as a snack or easy appetizer, on slider buns for a party spread, in lettuce cups if you want to skip the bread, or on sourdough if you want something with a little more substance. Serve it alongside simple 4-ingredient pasta salad, my pear and arugula salad, or a fresh Mediterranean cucumber salad for the perfect summer lunch. Add some homemade Yukon chips, and you're golden.

If you're putting together a full sandwich spread for a party or shower, my English Tea sandwiches and a bowl of ham salad with crackers make a really good combination. And if you're in the creamy-sandwich-filling headspace, my southern grilled pimento cheese sandwich and easy curry chicken salad are both worth bookmarking for the week. 

Storage

Ham salad will keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days when stored in an airtight container. It actually tastes better on day two once everything has had time to sit together.

Can you freeze ham salad?

You can, but I'd rather you didn't. Mayo-based salads tend to separate when frozen and thawed, leaving you with a watery, grainy consistency that's not great. Make it fresh and eat it up within a few days.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Delicious Ham-Salad-Like Recipes!

If you try this ham salad recipe, let me know what you think by leaving a star rating and a comment below! And if you're up for it, snap a pic and share it with me on IG @frontrangefed.