Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham is a delicious, cheesy potato casserole made with layers of potatoes, ham, and a homemade sharp cheddar cheese sauce. It is a classic recipe for scalloped potatoes taken up a few notches, for a dish the whole family will love!
This Ham and Potato Casserole makes an obvious choice for a holiday side dish, but thanks to the addition of the ham, it can stand alone as an entree as well when paired with Roasted Broccoli or Roasted Asparagus.
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham is a perfect way to change up traditional scalloped potatoes into a dish that is worthy of being the star of dinner.
Tender potatoes and salty ham are married together perfectly with a creamy, cheesy sauce. This ham and potato casserole is hearty, substantial, and oh so cheesy! It is a dish my family can never seem to get enough of!
Trust me when I say you need these Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham in your life. Whether you serve as a side dish or use to transform your leftover holiday ham into a delicious family meal, these cheesy scalloped potatoes will hit a home run!
Ingredients Needed
- Leftover Ham: You can use leftover baked ham, Instant Pot Ham, or even a ham steak cut into dices.
- Potatoes: Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes are best for scalloped potatoes, as they get a creamy texture as they bake.
- Cheese Sauce: This is a homemade cheese sauce that is made with a roux, milk, and sharp cheddar. It is creamy, cheesy, and absolutely delicious. Plus 100% made from scratch!
How to Make Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
Step One: Prepare Potatoes and Ham
- Scrub your potatoes well and peel if desired. I leave the peels on my potatoes for extra nutrients, but it is a matter of personal preference.
- In order for the potatoes to cook evenly, you want to slice them into 1/8 inch thick slices. I recommend using a mandoline to thinly slice the potatoes to make your job easier, but of course, a sharp knife will work as well.
- Dice your ham into small bite-size chunks.
- Then layer the potatoes and ham in a buttered 2-quart baking dish. Be sure to evenly space your ham so that each bite of the casserole is studded with the salty ham.
Step Two: Make Cheese Sauce
Do not be intimidated by the thought of making a homemade cheese sauce–it is really much easier than it may sound. The best tip I can give you is to grate the cheese yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is often coated in anti-caking agents and will not melt as uniformly into your sauce. It is worth the extra few minutes it takes to grate the cheese yourself.
- Melt the butter in a large stock pan over medium heat.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste from your roux–don’t skip that step!!
- Slowly add in the milk, whisking to incorporate into flour mixture. Add seasonings.
- Whisk continuously until the mixture is bubbly and begins to thicken.
- Turn off the heat and stir in cheese to melt.
- Once the cheese sauce is made, pour over the potatoes and ham and use your hands or a spoon to gently push down the potatoes and ham into the sauce. This will ensure that the scalloped potatoes and ham do not dry out.
- Sprinkle with paprika for color and a bit of flavor if desired.
Step Three: Bake
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for one hour. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 25-35 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender and the sauce is bubbly.
Pro-Tip: I prefer my potatoes to be soft but still retain their texture after baking. If you prefer potatoes that are falling apart, you can parboil the potatoes for 7-9 minutes. Then let the potatoes cool and then slice into 1/8 inch slices. The final result will be very, very soft potatoes that melt into the sauce.
More Uses for Leftover Ham
- Ham and Swiss Roll
- Cubano Pizza
- Easy Monte Cristo Sandwich
- Easy Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Ham and Cheese Hot Pockets
- Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced ham
- 6 cups russet potatoes scrubbed and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cup milk
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2 1/2 quart baking dish.
- Layer half the potatoes in the baking dish and top with 1 cup diced ham. Repeat layers.
- Heat the butter over medium heat until melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, to remove the flour taste from the roux. Slowly whisk in milk, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder and cook until milk is just about boiling. Whisk in the cheese until melted. Remove from heat.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the ham and potatoes. Use your hands or spoon to push the potatoes and ham into the cheese sauce before baking. This ensures that nothing dries out. Sprinkle with paprika if desired.
- Cover with foil and bake for 60 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- If you are using a very salty or smoked ham, decrease the amount of salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- My 6 cups of sliced potatoes was about 2.5 pounds or 3 large potatoes. I find it is easier for you to measure the potatoes after slicing by cups.
- If you like your potatoes really fall apart tender, you can parboil the potatoes whole for 7-9 minutes and then slice any layer in your casserole. This step is not necessary but does make the potatoes very creamy and falling apart tender. Personally, I prefer my potatoes to have a bit of texture and chew left to them after the baking.
- I used my 2 1/2 quart oval dish but any 2-3 quart casserole dish will work as long as it is deep enough to pour the cheese sauce over.
- I love to use sharp cheddar cheese in this Cheesy Ham Bake for really pronounced cheese flavor, but if you have Swiss, Colby, or even mozzarella--use that.
- The paprika sprinkling on top is COMPLETELY optional. It just adds color.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2016 but was updated in 2019 with new tips.
This is a recipe I will make again and again. Reminded me of a youthful favorite. The only change I made was to add a bit of pepper. A true comfort food.
Oh I absolutely LOVE hearing this Karen! Thank you for sharing.
I have tried SO many different scalloped potatoes and ham recipes and none seemed to come out right. So, I wasn’t expecting to have success with this one. Your recipe was AMAZING. The family loved it! Def keeping this one in my recipe box. Thank you!!!!
Thank you so much Melissa for taking the time to let me know how much you enjoyed these Scalloped Potatoes. I am so happy they were a hit!
Made this tonight. It was very good, the wife liked it which is important. Stuck to the recipe mostly, did layer in some chopped onion and garlic because they are two of the best things in the world… also added a splash of milk before baking because we like things on the juicy side, but wouldn’t consider any of those things to be major changes. Will make again for sure. This is kind of a hybrid of scalloped potatoes and ham, and augratin potatoes. Good comfort food
Hi Dan! I am so glad you and your wife enjoyed! I love the addition of onion and garlic (my kids prefer it without though!) I hope you will be enjoying this for years to come.
Made this for dinner tonight and my boyfriend and I absolutely loved it!
—thank you! 🙂
I am so happy to hear that!!
Ohhhh my goodness! This is a delicious recipe! So happy I found it! I had some leftover ham from the weekend and this was the perfect way to use it up. I did the parboiling of the potatoes beforehand and it really does make them nice and tender – not rubbery or chewy like some scalloped potatoes and ham can be. So, thank you for that amazing tip! I also minced up 1/2 of a sweet onion, added an additional cup of shredded cheddar to the sauce and I also put in some freshly ground black pepper. I want to make this when I have family over so I can show off your recipe! Thank you SO much for this yummy goodness! Can’t wait until I can have leftovers tomorrow 😁
YAY!!! Thank you so much Brittany for sharing your results and modifications. It makes my heart so happy every time people sit down and enjoy one of my recipes. Enjoy those leftovers.
This recipe made our post-Thanksgiving meal almost as fabulous as Thanksgiving itself. Thank you for posting it!
That is awesome Carol! Thank you so much for sharing.
Do you think I could make this in the crock pot?
Hi Megan! This casserole can be made in the slow cooker, layer the potatoes and ham and then make the sauce on the stove top. Pour over the potatoes and ham, being sure to push down the layers so the sauce covers the potatoes. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or until potatoes are tender. This is a recipe you will really want to grease your slow cooker or use a crock pot liner, as this can be a bit messy to clean up in the crock pot. Enjoy!
The whole family loved this! I did add sliced jalapenos in the middle on half. I personally liked the half with the hot peppers, but some of my family doesn’t like hot peppers. The heat did migrate to the other half a little bit.
Oh Arlene, I LOVE the idea of jalapenos I may try that for my family (half and half) like you did for the same reasons.
Just made this casserole tonight, with a few substitutions…. add the finely sliced onions on each layer, and also poured half of the cheese sauce on each layer. For the sauce I didn’t have milk so I used 1 cup good chicken stock and 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cut the salt back to 1/2 tsp (Maldon smoked sea salt) and shredded a cup of pepper jack cheese. It was amazing! I know it wasn’t exactly your recipe, but that just proves that yours is so wonderful that it can be adapted to endless variations! Thank you so much for posting it! I think next time I may add some shredded cabbage…. and dill!
Hi Sandi. Thank you for sharing your adaptations. I truly try to create recipes anyone can adapt based on what you have and enjoy. And I think cabbage is genius.
Saw this recipe online and decided to try it for dinner this evening. What a hit this casserole turned out to be for my husband and son. Made it with a small thinly sliced onion on the mandolin like Davey mentioned in your comments and what an absolutely delicious dish this was! Thank you for the great recipe. It will become one of our family’s favourites.
YAY!!! I love hearing when people love my recipes–especially when the family enjoys! And I am with you and Davey, I love the addition of onions–but my kids not so much 😉 I hope you enjoy this recipe for years to come.