Ultimate Ham Salad
Are you ready for the ultimate ham salad recipe? It’s the perfect combination of creamy and crunchy, easy to whip up (less than 15 minutes), and will truly wow you with flavor!
Creamy salads are my jam. And it’s so easy to turn leftovers from my honey baked ham after Easter into this deliciously creamy and crunchy salad. But if you’re thinking about the traditional blitzed ham salad spread (that looks a bit unpalatable and reminiscent of wet cat food), think again.
My version of ham salad is more similar to my chicken salad recipe – it’s solid and chunky and meant to be eaten with a spoon! It’s loaded with diced ham, celery, onion, and dill pickles, then tossed with creamy mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. The perfect spring and summer salad I’d say!
Ham Salad Ingredients
The goal is to chop everything the same size for a uniform texture. It makes this salad easy to eat and pleasing to the eye. Here is what you’ll need.
- Ham: This is a great leftover ham recipe if you made one for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas! But if you’re making this on the fly, grab a pack of uncured ham steaks. I’m using this applewood smoked version, but you can use any flavor.
- Vegetables: Diced celery, red onion, and dill pickles add that delicious crunch. Plus, the dill pickles lend a briny and dilly touch!
- Sauces: Similar to my other creamy salads, this one uses a mix of mayonnaise and Dijon mustard.
- Fresh Herbs: All you need is freshly chopped parsley!
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make Ham Salad
You’re going to love how easy it is to make this salad! Add the ham, celery, pickles, red onion, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper into a large mixing bowl.
Stir all the ingredients until everything is well coated with the mayonnaise and Dijon. Then top it off with a sprinkle of chopped parsley.
Serve it up! You can serve this up as a side salad, a potluck salad (it’ll get devoured fast!), as a sandwich, wrapped up in lettuce leaves, or enjoy it on a bed of leafy spinach greens. It’s super delicious no matter how you serve it.
Storage Tips
This ham salad will keep in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Just make sure to store it in an airtight container.
Helpful tip: Don’t leave this salad at room temperature for long. The mayonnaise in it could spoil the dish quickly!
More Creamy Salad Recipes
I’ve got lots of salad recipes to choose from when you’re craving a light and refreshing meal. But if you’re in the mood for something creamier, you’ll love the salads below!
I hope you enjoy this ham salad recipe as much as I do! If you make it, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this recipe in the comment box below.
Ultimate Ham Salad
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups small diced ham
- 2 celery ribs, diced small
- ¼ cup small diced dill pickles
- ¼ cup small diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the ham, celery, pickles, red onion, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Stir all of the ingredients until well combined, and adjust any of the seasonings if necessary.
The flavours blend so nicely in this delicious ham salad. The time consuming part was cutting the ham so as not to get any fat or gristle-like pieces. Other than that, it was very quick to put together. I would suggest taste testing before adding salt because the ham and dill pickles are inherently salty.
I made a batch of this today for lunch for the next few days and it was soooo good! I used green onions instead of red, because I had a bunch that needed to get used. I didn’t add any additional salt, because I felt with the ham and the pickles it was salty enough. As tasty as it was today, I know it will be even better tomorrow after having sat overnight.
Glad this ham salad turned out great with green onions Karen!
This recipe was so much better than I imagined it would be! Super flavorful and more than pleasantly surprised. Thank you!