Old Fashioned Ham Salad

Have lunch ready to serve up in under 10 minutes! This Old Fashioned Ham Salad is loaded with cubed ham, celery, and dill pickles in a creamy sauce. Spread this ham salad on a bun, in a lettuce wrap, or with crackers.

In this Article:

• How to Make Old Fashioned Ham Salad
• Tips & Tricks for Old Fashioned Ham Salad
• Variations to Old Fashioned Ham Salad
• Old Fashioned Ham Salad FAQs
• Recipe

This ham salad recipe is great to use with leftover ham from the holidays. But you can also buy cubed ham at the store to eat this salad all year round!

If you want another great salad-sandwich option, try my egg and ham salad sandwich! Or sink your teeth into my ham and cheddar sandwiches, which are also super easy to make.

This Old Fashioned Ham Salad recipe is...

• Made with 6 ingredients
• Creamy
• Great for using up leftover ham from holidays
• Easy to store
• Budget friendly
• Gluten free

How to Make Old Fashioned Ham Salad

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix well and adjust seasoning to your taste.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Full directions for how to make Old Fashioned Ham Salad are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Tips & Tricks for Old Fashioned Ham Salad

Dicing Ingredients

Make sure to dice your ingredients nice and small. This is key to making a good ham salad. You can use a chopper or even a vegetable mandoline. They key is to get your ingredients cut up into small pieces.

Leftover Ham

If you use leftover ham, make sure that the ham isn't loaded with other flavors, or it will affect the flavor of your salad. Plain or very lightly flavored ham is best. If you use a pineapple ham, just know that it will still retain that sweet pineapple component in your ham salad.

Variations to Old Fashioned Ham Salad

Pickles

I used pickle relish, but you are welcome to leave it out. You could also swap out the plain relish with a sweet pickle relish if you would like a sweeter ham salad.

Green Onions

Green onions can be mixed into your salad for a bolder flavor. Only add a few, or they will take over the flavor of your salad.

Apples or Grapes

Dice up apples or even red grapes to mix into your ham salad. Chicken salads can have fruit, so why not ham salads? The diced fruit will add a nice sweetness to your salad.

Lemon

Squeeze a little lemon over your salad for a nice twist of citrus flavor if you want. Just don't add too much lemon juice—you just want a slight twist of citrus flavor!

Old Fashioned Ham Salad FAQs

Can you make ham salad in advance?

You can definitely make this ham salad in advance. Just whip it up and store it in the fridge until you're ready to eat. I recommend making it up to 24 hours in advance.

Can you freeze ham salad?

You actually can freeze ham salad. The only downside is that the celery won't have that crisp, fresh texture. But if you're ok with that, you can store the salad for 1–2 months in the freezer. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before you plan to serve it.

Does this recipe double well?

You can easily double this recipe! If you want to make a larger batch of salad, go right ahead. Just double or triple the recipe as you'd like to fit the amount you want to serve.

Recipe