Leftover ham tastes more delicious than fresh one. When you think it doesn’t get any better, the air fryer takes the recipe to another level!
You can eat the leftover ham as it is or create delicious recipes using the air fryer. The recipes I’m going to share make incredible meals that everyone in your family would love!
The recipes you can make with leftover ham in air fryers are:
- Glazed Ham Loaf
- Ham Casserole
- Ham Sliders
- Linguine Carbonara
Let’s get started!
1. Glazed Ham Loaf
Glazed ham loaf is a meatloaf made with ground beef or ham. Instead of raw ground beef or ham, we’ll use leftover ham to make this incredible dish.
What you’ll need:
- Leftover Ham: It’s better to grind ham in a food processor or pulse it up before proceeding further. It’s only for leftover ham; otherwise, you can use it for steaks too!
- 1 cup of ground pork: Ham is salty, so use the ground pork to balance the flavor.
- Eggs & Crumbs: Panko crumbs or dried bread crumbs and eggs bind the loaf together and adhere to its shape.
- 1 chopped onion to enhance flavor.
- Spices: Add dry mustard and garlic to balance the salty taste of ham!
- Glaze: To prepare the glaze, use brown sugar and butter. It becomes sweet and sticky, perfect for glazing the leftover ham.
Procedure
Step 1: First, cook the butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar on medium heat. Place it aside to cool down when it melts and becomes a sauce.
Step 2: Combine the minced ham and ground pork in a small bowl. Add a little bit of garlic and mustard. Make rectangular hams of any size or larger if you want.
Step 3: Add two large sheets of aluminum foil to the air fryer basket. Then place the prepared ham in the middle of the basket.
Step 4: Cover the ham’s top and sides with a butter-and-brown-sugar glaze.
Step 5: Air fry at 350 F for 15 minutes.
Serve it warm.
Note: If the pre-cooked ham is medium-sized, it won’t need more than 15 minutes in the air fryer. You can glaze it the day before since you’re essentially just reheating it. The majority of precooked hams will air fry for 10 minutes per pound.
2. Ham Casserole
Make a ham casserole with your leftover ham in the air fryer. It is a finger-licking meal that you can prepare in just 15 minutes. The air fryer cooks it with much more ease than the oven.
What You’ll need:
- Sauce: Alfredo sauce is a delicious combination for ham, but you can also use mustard sauce or BBQ sauce.
- Ham: Use leftover ham.
- Rosemary: Rosemary adds taste and color to this recipe.
- Mozzarella cheese with Boccioni: Add 1 cup of mozzarella cheese with a half cup of Boccioni to give cheese depth.
Procedure
Step 1: Set an air fryer to 180C or 350F.
Step 2: Combine the sauce, ham, and cheese in a dish and place it in the air fryer. Place the remaining cheese and rosemary sprigs on top of the casserole.
Step 3: Cook the dish in the air fryer for about 7-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the sauce starts to boil.
Step 4: Serve it with pasta or spaghetti!
3. Ham Sliders
As the name implies, ham sliders are delicious snacks and go-to lunch recipes for the kids! It is perfect for small gatherings too!
What you’ll need:
- 12 dinner buns and ham slices
- 1 and a half ounces of cheddar cheese
- 6 tbsp. melted butter
- 1.5 teaspoons of grainy mustard
- 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp of poppy seeds
- 1 tsp of minced onion
Procedure
Step 1: First of all, preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, Combine the butter, mustard sauce, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, and dried onion.
Step 2: Brush the buns with 1 tsp of oil. Then add a ham slice and mozzarella or Swiss cheese. Spread the butter mixture on top of the buns after assembling.
Step 3: Next, put them into the air fryer’s basket. Cook for about 20 minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll know they’re done until the cheese has melted and the buns have been golden brown.
Serve them hot alongside pickle masala and mustard sauce.
Check the tutorial for making Ham sliders:
4. Linguine Carbonara
Traditional spaghetti combined with carbonara is called “Linguine Carbonara.” It’s incredibly creamy that comes from tender linguine noodles, ham, and peas. Carbonara sauce is the backbone of this recipe!
Even though you can substitute pancetta or Italian sausage for the ham in spaghetti, the ham makes the dish a complete meal.
All in all, this is the most delicious way to use leftover ham!
What You’ll Need:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 lb. of fresh linguine
- 1/4 cup of chopped onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 cups of diced ham
- 1 cup of dry white wine
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 3 egg yolk
- 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley and pepper to taste!
Directions For Making Carbonara Sauce
Heat a 6-inch pan in the air fryer at 140 degrees Celsius. Coat the pan’s sides with butter. Air fry garlic for 5 minutes at the same temperature. The melted butter would help the garlic stay in place and not fly into the air fryer. After that, add mushrooms and air fry for about 3 minutes.
Stir in water and spices with the leftover ham only. Air fry for another 5 minutes at 140 degrees. Air-fry until it starts to thicken and some water is left.
Your carbonara sauce is ready within 3 minutes! Don’t omit the water because the air fryer quickly dries out the sauce.
Preparing the Linguine
Boil the linguine in a large saucepan of salted water for 8 minutes. You can add peas along with the spaghetti to save time. Or boil it separately for 15 minutes in a small pan of salted water.
The linguine is also ready! Assembling is what’s left!
- Add the carbonara sauce to the cooked linguine and blend them with a spatula.
- You can use chopped parsley to garnish the linguine carbonara!
Nutritional Value
This dish contains 1018 kcal in total. These calories are divided into the following nutrients:
| Nutrients | Amount (g/mg) |
| Fat | 33g |
| Cholesterol | 186mg |
| Sodium | 965mg |
| Carbohydrates | 133g |
| Potassium | 386mg |
| Sugar | 2.5g |
| Fiber | 7.5g |
Is It Possible To Reheat The Ham In An Air Fryer?
Ham can absolutely be reheated in an air fryer.
Preheat the air fryer for 3-5 minutes at 325°F. Set the timer for 10 minutes per pound and place the aluminum foil-wrapped ham in the air fryer basket. Remove from the air fryer with tongs or oven mitts and carefully open the foil to allow steam to escape.
What Can’t You Cook In An Air Fryer?
There are a few foods that should never be cooked in an air fryer.
- Battered foods
- Fresh greens
- Whole roasts
- Cheese
- Raw grains
- Hamburgers
- Toast
- Popcorn
Conclusion
To conclude, I’d like to say that:
- You can experiment and create meals and savory foods with leftover ham. You can make the salad and sweet dishes and serve them alongside my shared recipes.
- It’s easy to reheat them or create instant dishes in no time. I discussed 4 delicious recipes that were made using leftover hams.
- Ham salads, casseroles, sliders, and glazed hams, are all delicious treats for everyone in the family.
- They go for lunch as well as family dinners. Try them out, and you won’t regret it!