Old-Fashioned Ham Salad Recipe
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If you have five minutes to spare, make this scrumptious and creamy old-fashioned ham salad recipe and you’ll know exactly why it’s a go-to lunch in the South.
I’ve had more requests for a ham salad tutorial than I can count since starting Southern Plate, so I’m hoping y’all will enjoy this one.
Similar to chicken salad and tuna salad, this is one of those old-timey recipes that use up leftovers and scraps of ham to make something pretty, filling, and delicious. (Click here for more recipes that use leftover ham.)
There are as many ways to make a as the day is long. So if you don’t have your own old-fashioned ham salad recipe, feel free to take this one and customize it to your taste or make it up with what you have on hand. Don’t have spicy brown mustard? Use a bit of regular mustard and add a little more pepper. Prefer a different mayonnaise than what I use? Go for it. Tweak it, mix it up, taste it, and make it your own.
Fact is, I can think of very few recipes as simple as this one. I’ve been getting a lot of comments lately from really nice folks thanking me for having such simple recipes and I want to thank you for being kind enough to read them and taking the time to comment! I think cooking really should be uncomplicated, though, and I’ve found that it’s the simple recipes that tend to taste the best.
Of course, that could be due to the fact that I won’t actually go to the trouble of making a complicated recipe. Either way you look at it, here is another simple but good one for ya. Hope you get to try it soon!
Recipe Ingredients
- Spicy brown mustard
- Sweet pickle relish
- Mayonnaise
- Boiled eggs
- Black pepper to taste (I usually don’t add salt because the ham is salty, but add it if you like)
- Chopped ham
How to Make My Old-Fashioned Ham Salad Recipe
First, chop up your ham into cubes.
You’ll want to do the same for your boiled eggs too.
Place your cooked ham in a mixing bowl.
Add the mayo.
See how easy this is already?
Then the pickle relish.
Add in your mustard.
Don’t stress if you don’t have this exact type of mustard. Just use what you have on hand and roll with it. Some of the best recipes came about by folks using what they had on hand.
Finally, season with black pepper to taste.
Here we go. It’s ready to stir!
It doesn’t look too pretty right now but hang in there with me.
After you have everything all stirred up, add in your chopped boiled eggs.
Stir gently. Your ham salad spread is now ready! This recipe makes about three cups of delectable ham salad.
You can refrigerate it for a while (an hour is best) to allow the flavors to blend well or you can just eat it right now.
Guess which one I’m gonna do?
Now to make the best ham salad sandwich!
Let’s build the perfect ham salad sandwich for lunch! Start with your favorite spread, (such as more mayo, aioli if you have some handy, or good ole butter).
Load up on the leafy greens.
Then add the ham salad.
Enjoy!
Storage
Store leftover ham salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Because it uses mayonnaise, I don’t recommend freezing. Lucky it’s super easy to make from scratch!
Recipe Notes
- Now, I am not a big mayo person. I often try to get Duke’s because so many of y’all have told me how much you love it, but I mostly just use it to mix things up with, so sometimes I just grab whatever I can find first. If you have a favorite mayo, be sure to use that in this recipe.
- Instead of mayonnaise, you can also use sour cream or non-fat Greek yogurt.
- A lot of folks chop up their ham for ham salad in the food processor. If you like it really fine, that is the best way. I’d just as soon chop it up coarsely with a knife as opposed to having to get the food processor out and then go to the trouble of cleaning it afterward, but it’s totally up to you! Big old chunks of ham are a beautiful sight! You’ll notice from the photo that I also don’t cut the skin off my ham — I just leave it on there. I don’t see any reason to add an extra step to things. You can if you want, of course, but if you’d rather not, just consider it a wee more on the gourmet side.
- Here are some variations to make this old-fashioned southern ham salad sandwich recipe your own:
- Substitute the spicy brown mustard for Dijon mustard or yellow mustard.
- Add 1 rib of chopped celery.
- Add the chopped nuts of your choice, like pecans or walnuts.
- If you like pickles, add 1/2 cup of chopped dill pickle.
- Another option is some chopped fresh parsley.
- For a zesty flavor, add a dash of bottled or fresh lemon juice.
- Add shredded cheddar cheese.
- Add chopped green or red onion.
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve this old-fashioned ham salad recipe?
Ham salad is perfect as a savory sandwich spread or as a dip with crackers. Serve it on homemade rolls with fresh greens for an unbeatable lunch.
Try these other sensational sandwich recipes next:
Chicken Salad Recipe for Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped smoked or baked ham diced as finely as you like
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
- 2 peeled and chopped boiled eggs
- 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop up the ham with a knife or food processor (however fine you want it to be).2 cups chopped smoked or baked ham
- Place the ham, mayonnaise, relish, mustard, and pepper in a bowl. Stir with a spoon until well blended. Gently stir in the chopped boiled eggs.2 cups chopped smoked or baked ham, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish, 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard, pepper to taste, 2 peeled and chopped boiled eggs
- Serve on sandwiches, rolls, or crackers.
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Oh, yummmmmm:) Now I have to get a ham and make some. I never had this growing up as ham was the cured kind served with hot biscuits and red-eye gravy. However, I was first introduced to boloney salad in Germany, of all places. Fleishwurst salad is a favorite from my days there. It was made the same way as the ham salad here. Have to look for the Southern Living article; congrats!
Christy, I thought my Southern Living subscription must have run out. I ran out and bought the issue and guess what was in the mailbox when i got home?
I don’t know why in my parts people call ham salad “ham salad” when it doesn’t even have ham in it but bologna ..to me that was always a turn off. I can’t picture eating bologna ground up I have a hard time eating it at it’s normal state lol. This looks so good, I make my chicken salad almost just like this but without the mustard. I will give this a try sometime, I’m sure my clan will love it.
I have to admit that I’ve never had ham salad because I always thought of it as having to be ground up in a food processor which was such a turn-off for me. But, after seeing this salad with the larger chunks of ham, I think I’ll try it. It looks delicious.
Ham salad makes a good stuffed tomato filling to avoid the bread. I sometimes put a tad of horseradish in it to zing it up. I do grind mine finer and that way I can toss in odds and ends of lunch meat or cold cuts. In my part of the country, when the coal mines were thriving, bologna was called “miner’s ham” and that is what most ham salad really was. We do not generally use the eggs in it in this locale but I will give that a try.
Ah I just read your comment after I posted mine, I often wondered why they called it ham salad when using bologna. Thanks for that tidbit of info!
The comments about adding onion reminds me of a few years ago when my mother made ham salad and used some onions my father had planted out back. Well, it turned out that the onions were actually young leeks that had been mislabeled at the nursery! My parents don’t have a palate for unusual foods, didn’t finish theirs and told me I didn’t have to eat mine. I kind of liked the unique pungent flavor, though. I wouldn’t mind making it myself sometime.
That was a much happier surprise than the time I picked peppers off of a habanero that had been mislabeled as a bell pepper. I should have known bell peppers don’t turn orange, but…
All I have to do is hear the words “ham salad” and I immediately think of my Dad. He loved it.
As a kid, I remember seeing him make it all the time. But… his all time favorite was baloney salad! Or bologna for you purists. LOL Have you ever had that? It’s so good. Ground up baloney, mild cheddar cheese, pimentos, pickle relish and mayo. That’s it. I love it on toasted bread.
I think I may whip up some ham salad and baloney salad this weekend.
Thanks for making me remember how much we loved both, Christy. *hug