Leftover Ham Casserole with noodles, ham, corn, creamy garlic sauce and crunchy panko topping, no cream of soup. Easy comfort food dinner for busy days!
If you have leftover holiday ham, this easy dish is the perfect way to use it. We also love the Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup.
This is my go-to easy dinner to make with leftover ham. My whole family enjoys it! It's an easy and delicious comfort food meal you can make with ham or chicken. Serve it with a simple salad or roasted veggies. The creamy cheesy garlic sauce is made from scratch in just 10 minutes. No cream of soup or condensed soup needed! The crunchy topping made with melted butter and panko breadcrumbs is the perfect finishing touch for this creamy pasta dish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped ham
- wide egg noodles
- butter
- garlic
- half and half or whole milk
- cornstarch
- Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper
- shredded cheddar cheese
- shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 can whole kernel corn
- panko breadcrumbs or crushed Ritz crackers
How to make Ham Casserole?
Step 1: Make the sauce
- Saute garlic in melted butter.
- Add seasoning and saute for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
- Add cornstarch mixed with half and half. Stir well.
- Simmer until the sauce thickens.
- Add cheese and stir until melted.
Step 2: Noodles
- Cook noodles in salted water. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Combine ham, corn and noodles with sauce.
Step 3: Bake
- Spread the noodle mixture in a casserole dish.
- Mix panko breadcrumbs with melted butter and sprinkle over the top.
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What to serve with it?
I like to serve it with a simple salad, like my Perfect Caesar Salad, Sauteed Spinach or Easy Broccoli Salad. My kids also love it with roasted carrots or broccoli.
Can I make this dish ahead of time?
Yes! You can make the dish and store it in the fridge overnight and bake the next day. You can make the sauce a day ahead and assemble the dish before baking.
Can I freeze this dish?
Yes, this ham casserole can be easily frozen. Assemble the dish and do not add the panko topping. Cool it completely and wrap it with plastic wrap. Place in a freezer-safe dish and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge, then bring to room temperature before baking.
Expert tips
- use bite-size pasta: you can use wide egg noodles, penne, bow tie or macaroni.
- make the sauce ahead of time to save on prep OR use store-bought Alfredo sauce (roasted garlic kind, if possible)
- protein: you can use any cooked meat you like: ham, shredded or cubed chicken, bacon OR skip it and add white beans
More easy casseroles:
- Beef Noodle Casserole
- Tater Tot Casserole
- Instant Pot Chili Mac
- Sweet Corn Casserole
- Turkey Tetrazzini
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Leftover Ham Casserole
Ingredients
for the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ¾ cup half and half
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
for the casserole:
- 4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
- 15 oz can whole kernel corn drained and rinsed
- 2 cups chopped leftover ham
for the topping:
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ cup panko breading or crushed Ritz crackers
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to instructions on the packaging. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add garlic and stir. Saute for 3 minutes, or until very fragrant.
- Add seasoning and stir in. Saute for 1 minute.
- Mix cornstarch with half and half. Slowly, pour it over garlic, stirring constantly.
- Simmer until the sauce thickens. Add cheese and stir until melted. Set aside.
- Butter a 9"x7" casserole dish.
- Combine noodles, ham, corn and the sauce and spread the mixture in a prepared baking dish.
- Combine melted butter and Panko breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the noodle casserole.
- Bake casserole in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until it bubbles on the edges and the topping is toasty and golden.
- Remove from oven and cool before serving.
Notes
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
- You can use chopped cooked chicken in place of ham.
- Make it vegetarian and add 2 cups of cooked white beans.
- Use Ritz crackers instead of panko breading, or use more cheese and skip the crunchy topping.
Rose O. says
I was looking for a recipe to use up leftover ham. I used a recipe for sliders with ham, and yesterday we made this casserole. Exceptional
Patricia Trotter says
I'm actually making for dinner but I'm using oat milk since I have a large container of oat milk no one wants to use. FINGERS CROSSED
Tiffany says
This recipe was absolutely delicious! My whole family absolutely loved it. It's wonderful as-is, but is also delicious with green beans (or mixed veggies or anything you have on hand). I also have tried it with adding dried onions with the garlic paste and adding a dash of garlic salt and garlic powder with the other seasonings and those were great additions. This recipe is wonderful because you really can use whatever you have on hand (no egg noodles? just use any pasta you happen to have - we really love it with farfalle or really any type of pasta). I haven't tried it with any meat other than ham, but we all agree it would probably be delicious with chicken or ground beef or really anything you have or keep it plain and have a delicious mac and cheese! Really great recipe (and I'm pretty picky about recipes that I recommend, but I highly recommend this one)!
Anne says
Delicious! Didn't have half and half so I used milk instead, was still fantastic. Thanks for the great recipe!
Anna says
Thank you for making my recipe, Anna! I am so glad it was a hit!
Sharon White says
Thank you Anna for this delicious casserole! I love your recipes and always look forward to your emails! The whole family enjoyed this casserole with our leftover Easter ham. I had all the ingredients on hand too! No trip to the store!💕
Anna says
You are so kind, Sharon! Thank you!! I am so glad the casserole was a hit! That's wonderful!
Elizabeth Anderson says
I made this and my friends loved it. Thanks for the receipe!
Anna says
That's wonderful! Thank you, Elizabeth!
Kathleen Ruppert says
Great meal for my picky eater and my hardy eater!!
Alison Pack says
It was nice to be able to put the last bits of ham to good use, but I'm sorry to say that we found this dish to lack a flavor zing.
Anna says
Thank you for giving my recipe a try, Alison!
Bob says
I added peas and carrots but forgot to add Parmesan cheese to the sauce. A little seasoned salt would have helped too.
Elise says
Hello, this was absolutely delicious! I have a quick question though…
Is the 1/2 cup of Parmesan shredded or is it the kind in the green container?
Am says
Made as written with exception of half and half frozen peas and carrots and a tsp of Better Than Boullion chicken stock to sauce mix. We loved the recipe.
Beth says
This was an awesome base for a ham and corn recipe! I had most of the ingredients on hand. Leftover ham and corn on the cob. Because I have a medical condition that causes me fatigue, I do a lot of dishes "hamburger helper" style to cut down on extra pots. So I threw everything into a large skillet and used dry milk and water bc we didn't have fresh on hand. Threw in maybe 2 handfuls of the dry milk and 1-2 cups water and then 1/2 bag of the noodles, ham and 3 ears of corn that I had made the night before and cut off the cob. I didn't even need corn starch... the corn and pasta thickened it all up. Last of all, threw panko breadcrumbs in the butter on top and put on low broiler for about 10 min. They didn't get brown but still crunchy and my husband and I thought it was awesome, thanks! I hope that this helps others who have medical conditions or are in a time crunch to think out of the box to make recipes even easier!
Beth says
not sure why 3 stars are showing, meant to give it 5
Anna says
Thank you, Beth! I am so glad the casserole was a hit! Adding fresh corn is perfect. Thank you for the comment!
Beth says
We had this tonite. Just as the recipe was written and it was a hit. Even with my picky great nieces. Everyone had seconds. This will be a recipe we use often. So glad I found this recipe.
Nina says
Thank you for posting this,,
We both really liked it and will make it again.
I used 3 cups of pasta instead of 4 so it would be creamier, I used cream corn instead of whole kernel for the extra creaminess as well, I mixed parts half & half and regular milk , I also used French fried onions on top instead of crumbs.
Michael says
This was amazing. Adjusted it to what we had in the house and it was gone in no time! Great recipe, thank you.