This savory ham and potato casserole is wonderfully cheesy, flavorful, and super satisfying. It’s a delicious way to use leftover ham, and it can do double duty as a brunch recipe or a dinner dish. I love using sharp white cheddar cheese, but smoked gouda or gruyere are other tasty choices!
Meet your new favorite comfort food:
A Savory Brunch Recipe (That Isn’t Eggs)
Cheesy, garlicky, hearty ham and potato casserole. Couldn’t you just dive right in? The flavors and textures are reminiscent of tartiflette, a creamy potato and bacon casserole from the French Alps. This is satisfying fare that’s perfect for a snow day—but you don’t have to be mountainside to enjoy it! 😉
With all the sweets around this time of year, a savory recipe is extra welcome. You know I love a good make-ahead breakfast casserole or easy frittata when hosting for the holidays, but not everyone likes or can have eggs, so I set out to create an eggless casserole that’s just as delicious and deserving of a prime spot on the brunch table. It’s also a wonderful choice in the spring when planning your Easter brunch recipes.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Ham & Potato Casserole
- As flavorful as ham and cheese strata, but with potatoes instead of bread
- Egg-free alternative to breakfast casserole & quiche
- As welcome for brunch as it is for dinner
- Creamy, cheesy gravy-like sauce comes together easily on the stove
- A great way to use up leftover cooked ham
- Make-ahead friendly
- Satisfying, cold-weather comfort food
Key Ingredients You Need
- Potatoes: I recommend Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes for this casserole. Both hold their shape pretty well, and at the same time, taste buttery soft. You need to briefly pre-cook them, but only for about 5–6 minutes. Feel free to peel them, or leave the peels on.
- Cooked ham: If you have leftover ham, go ahead and use it here. Or just buy an 8-ounce ham steak, which is what I did for the pictured casserole. Instead of ham, feel free to use cooked sausage or bacon.
- Cheese: I use white cheddar, just like I do in butternut squash mac and cheese. You could also use regular cheddar, smoked gouda, gruyere, pepper jack, or a mix. Potatoes aren’t picky.
- Smoked paprika + ground mustard: This is a common flavor combo in many brunch and ham recipes, such as ham and cheese breakfast strata and deviled eggs. (And even beer cheese dip!) Don’t worry, this dish does not taste like mustard.
- Parsley: I usually use dried parsley in the sauce and then garnish the finished casserole with fresh, but you can use either.
- Milk: Whole milk makes the best cream sauce texture, though low-fat, or nondairy milks would work in a pinch. Do not use nonfat milk.
You also need butter, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and flour.
Prep the Potatoes First: Peel, Cut, Boil
You need to par-boil the potatoes for this casserole. Peel and chop the potatoes, then boil for just a few minutes, to give them a head start on softening. Gather your sauce ingredients in the meantime.
Make a Quick & Creamy Homemade Sauce
You’ll make an easy (but uber-flavorful) gravy-like cream sauce, flavored with garlic and onion, smoked paprika and ground mustard, and some herby parsley. The sauce starts like the filling for this turkey pot pie. Bring it all together with some butter and flour for thickening, and use milk as the liquid. It’s pretty easy.
Now all you have to do is combine everything, and bake. Here’s the pre-cooked and drained potatoes, ham, and cheese:
Stir it all together with the creamy sauce (just toss it all right in the greased baking pan). Any 3–4-quart baking dish works, such as a 9×13-inch pan. I use a round 4-quart baking dish.
Bake the casserole covered, and then when it’s almost done, sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven uncovered. (What’s a casserole without some cheese on top?!) You know it’s ready when the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbling all over.
You Can Prep It Ahead
The best part about this casserole, and recipes like this baked cream cheese French toast casserole and reader-favorite everything bagel breakfast casserole, is that you can prep it ahead.
To make it ahead, assemble the casserole, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove it from the refrigerator, allow it to come up to room temperature for about 30 minutes, and then bake as directed; you may need to add an extra few minutes to the bake time. I added these instructions to the printable recipe card below.
Here’s What to Serve With Ham & Potato Casserole
If serving this casserole for brunch, it nestles nicely alongside platters of fresh fruit, eggs, bacon or sausage, smoked salmon, slow cooker cinnamon rolls, or whole wheat blueberry pancakes. (None of which require the oven!)
Flavor tip: add a drizzle of hot sauce on top before serving!
If this will be a main dish for dinner, serve this comforting casserole with some green sides like a fresh salad, steamed green beans, or asparagus. Or make it a side dish to accompany a lighter main, like crab cakes, seared scallops, or baked lemon herb salmon. Lots of ways to enjoy this versatile dish!
Cheesy Ham & Potato Casserole
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Yield: serves 10
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This hearty ham and potato casserole is cheesy, flavorful, and satisfying. It’s a delicious way to use leftover ham, and it can do double duty as a brunch recipe or a dinner dish. For other ingredient suggestions, see recipe Notes below.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (about 915g) potatoes (I recommend Russet or Yukon Gold)
- 2 cups (about 300g or 8 ounces) cubed ham
- 1 and 1/2 cups (150g or 5.25 ounces) shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, divided
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (100g) chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a large onion)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley (or 2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley)
- 3 Tablespoons (24g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (480ml) whole milk
- optional, for garnish: chopped fresh parsley, green onion, chives, or hot sauce
Instructions
- Peel potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (just eyeball it). You’ll have just over 6 cups chopped potatoes. Cover with water in a medium pot. Bring to boil. Once boiling, boil for just 5–6 minutes. You don’t want the potatoes super soft and tender just yet, only slightly softened. Drain.Â
- Grease a 9×13-inch or any 3–4-quart oven-safe dish. Add warm drained potatoes, ham, and 1 cup (about 100g) of shredded cheese. Gently toss together. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C).
- Melt the butter in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, smoked paprika, ground mustard, parsley, and flour until combined and flour has absorbed any liquid. Reduce heat to low, and then slowly stir in the milk. Simmer for 3–5 minutes or until thickened into a gravy consistency. Remove from heat. Taste and, if desired, add more salt, pepper, paprika, mustard, or parsley to taste.
- Pour warm sauce over ham and potatoes. Toss gently to coat.
- Bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil, sprinkle remaining cheese on top, and return to the oven for 5–10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbling around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh parsley, green onion, chives, or a drizzle of hot sauce.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Reheat as desired. To reheat the entire casserole, cover with aluminum foil and reheat in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 20 minutes.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: This is an excellent make-ahead recipe because you can assemble it before baking up to 1 day in advance. Assemble the casserole through step 5. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator, and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Continue with step 6, adding an extra 5–10 minutes to the bake time before adding the cheese topping.
- Freezing Instructions: To freeze the unbaked casserole, assemble it then cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then bake as directed. You can also freeze the baked and cooled casserole. Cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then cover with aluminum foil and reheat in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 20 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Vegetable Peeler | 9×13-inch Baking Dish or any 3- to 4-quart Oven-Safe Baking Dish | Box Grater
- Ham: Instead of ham, feel free to use the same amount of cooked and chopped/crumbled sausage, or about 1 and 1/2 cups chopped/crumbled bacon.
- Cheese: Instead of white cheddar, feel free to use regular sharp cheddar cheese, smoked gouda, gruyere, pepper jack, or a mix.
- Ground mustard: This is a common ingredient in cheesy and/or brunch dishes; it adds a sharp kick and depth of flavor. I don’t recommend skipping it.
- Milk:Â Whole milk makes the best cream sauce texture, though low-fat, or nondairy milks would work in a pinch. Do not use nonfat milk, and do not use half-and-half because it’s too thick.
As soon as my husband finished his 2nd helping of this, he announced, “I’ll have this twice a week, please.” And he never says stuff like that! We both enjoyed it very much and I’m so glad to have leftovers for tomorrow! 🙂
Can this be made in crockpot? We will be serving for a church luncheon.
Hi Carolyn, we can’t see why not! We’re unsure of the time to set on your slow cooker. Let us know what you try.
I’m going to try this recipe for after our Lent service this Wednesday! Could I substitute the milk with oat, or almond, milk? Thank you in advance.
Hi Jan, a non-dairy milk will work in a pinch, although the sauce may not be as creamy.
This recipe is so very delicious! We’ve made it multiple times for ourselves but this time was for a brunch and we made a double batch. It was a hit!
Delicious and filling! I added a 10-oz. package of thawed frozen corn. A side of steamed broccoli, and it was a great balanced meal!
Great recipe to use leftover ham. Very tasty
Delicious! We had leftover ham and this was the PERFECT way to use it up. Even both picky kids ate it. I served peas on the side–I probably would have added them to the potatoes before baking but the younger kiddo hates peas. Instead those who wanted some mixed them in after baking and they were great. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Solid cold weather casserole. Thank you for sharing
This was so delicious! I used almond milk, but otherwise followed the recipe. I think this will become a staple in our house and I’m so excited for all the leftovers. Thank you!
This sounds so good. For just the 2 of us, I’ll cut the recipe in half. Thanks for a great recipe idea.
I added worstershire sauce and Dijon mustard fir some tang! I did a mix of white and sweet potatoes since that what was on hand! Delicious!
We both had seconds. Economical and delicious.
This was excellent! I used sharp cheddar and pepper jack cheeses and then topped with crumbled fried onion pieces. Served asparagus spears as a side.
Your recipes are fantastic. You go the extra mile to add something that makes them special. I surely appreciate the work you do atha t makes them delicious.
Excellent recipe for comfort food! I followed the recipe as written (except I used Swiss not cheddar because it was what i had). It was delicious served with buttered peas on the side.
i only have baby potatoes, do I have toparboil them and if how long
Hi Nayna, you will still want to par-boil the baby potatoes for a few minutes to give them a head start on softening. Same time, if they’re about the size of the potato chunks in the written recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
This recipe was incredible. I made it on Christmas day since I had family visiting and everyone asked for the recipe afterwards. My spouse has Celiac’s and I discovered I’d run out of GF flour so I improvised with a cornstarch slurry. I’m already thinking about doing it again and it’s only been 2 days!
A new go-to recipe for me!
I made this for Christmas Eve to accompany the ham I was serving, so I left the ham out of my recipe and replaced it with an additional pound of potatoes. I used shredded Swiss, rather than cheddar. There was plenty of sauce. It was delicious and well received by my guests.
Made this tonight using a couple of frozen cooked boneless pork chops and frozen large cubed hashbrowns (both of which I thawed for a couple of minutes in the microwave). I also added some frozen corn. I halved the recipe but I think i’d make a bit more sauce next time. A good hearty dinner 🙂
First, you are my go to site for perfect instructions, I give you my Gold Medal award. Here are my concerns:
Can I scallop the potatoes instead of cubing them from your recipe “Ham and Potato Casserole?
I know I will be slicing them thick, how much extra time should I plan on in order for them to cook all the way through? Recipes usually say 50 minutes covered and 15 minutes appropriately uncovered. So, if I’m cutting them thick should I plan on 1 1/2 hours to cook? Finally, can I over cook them. P.S. My first try they were UNDER Seasoned! So, now I’m going to try yours. With lots of respect, Rosemary
Hi Rosemary, you can certainly slice the potatoes, like you would for scalloped potatoes. The bake time depends on how thick you slice the potatoes. I would say the bake time would be slightly extended, perhaps 40 minutes covered and the last 15 or so minutes uncovered. You can always prick the potatoes with a fork to check their doneness towards the end of bake time.
Your Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole was a complete winner at a Christmas party today.
This was delicious! My husband really enjoyed this casserole – I was trying to use a ham up!!
This recipe was delicious. I halved it for the two of us and we both enjoyed the casserole.
This was a huge hit for dinner tonight. The ham we had for thanksgiving was salty and the thought of leftovers was not a pleasant one. Knowing that potatoes are way to go with salty fixes, I googled ham and potatoes and stumbled across your recipe. I eliminated the salt called for, halved the recipe as there are only three of us, and served it with salad. It was perfect! Great flavor, the potatoes did the trick of getting rid of the extra salt and there were no leftovers! Everyone was pleased, including the sometimes critical son. Thank you for a great recipe!
Made this recipe to use up more of the free ham I got from Omaha steaks. I followed the recipe exactly except for not having any parsley. It came out great. The sauce by itself was cheesy with just a hint of spiciness. The russet potatoes were perfectly cooked and the ham added more texture and taste. Next time, I’ll cut the potatoes into slightly smaller chunks.
Thanks again for a great recipe and clear instructions.
Thanks for your cheesy ham and potato casserole. Perfect and delicious dish. Easy and quick to prepare on busy days before the holidays.
This is a very tasty casserole. My husband & I both enjoyed it. Only thing I changed was adding more cheese to the top. Sally’s recipes are always so reliably good!