Mac and Cheese with Ham is a creamy, cheesy, comforting meal. The addition of diced ham turns mac and cheese into a hearty main dish meal. It really is one of the BEST Mac and Cheese Recipes!
Ingredients
This is a pretty basic mac and cheese recipe that begins with a bechamel sauce made with butter, flour, and milk. I added both sharp yellow cheddar cheese and white cheddar for a total of 3 cups of cheese.
The cheese along with 1 pound of cooked pasta, (I used the traditional elbow but any shape will do), and diced ham are added to the bechemel. I also like to add a small amount of nutmeg for flavor.
Baked In The Oven
The whole mixture is poured into a casserole dish, topped with buttered Panko crumbs and baked until hot. If you like, you can add a little cayenne pepper or diced jalapenos to spice it up.
How To Serve
Mac and Cheese with Ham is creamy and filling. Perfect comfort food for any time of year. Add a simple salad and you have a super easy, kid-friendly meal.
Storage
Best eaten shortly after it is made but leftovers will keep for 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If leftovers are a little dry, add a splash of milk or half-and-half before reheating.
More Mac and Cheese Recipes
- Super Creamy Mac And Cheese
- Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch Mac and Cheese
- Flamin Cheetos Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Mac and Cheese with Ham
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow pasta,, cooked and drained
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups shredded yellow sharp cheddar
- 1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar
- 8 ounces ham,, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup panko crumbs or homemade bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Melt butter in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Add milk in a slow, steady stream whisking to keep from lumping.
- Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until mixture is thick and bubbly. Whisk frequently during this time.
- Season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Reserve 3/4 cup of cheese and place remaining cheese in pot and stir until melted.
- Remove from heat and stir in cooked pasta and ham. Transfer to a lightly greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.
- Combine panko crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of mac and cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally posted Ovetover 26, 2014.
The addition of leftover ham was a great idea, the milk thickened up well and the topping was tasty, but we thought it was a bit tasteless — good but not great.
Do you use baked or raw ham,
Fully cooked ham!
Just fixed this just used velveta, American and cheddar. Some butter, milk pepper and only salted my water. Used 2 cups of noodles and about 8 ounces of ham. Cooked for about 30 min in oven this is how I fix my Mac and cheese anytime I fix it minus the velveta. I have to make the Mac and cheese for any get together with family.
Great recipe – I want to make it ahead and freeze it, how long do you think I should cook it from frozen?
Most recipes is 1/4th of flour and 2 cups of milk…is 4 cups correct?? I just don’t wait to be too milky
I thought the same but 4 cups of milk is perfect! Baking at 375F for 30 minutes and the milk disappears and it comes out not dry and not at all milky! Perfect!
It looks perfect. I want to add some heavy cream to it though because it gives a great flavor but at which point would it be best for me to incorporate it into the recipe? Help thanksgiving is next week!
This sounds so good. I am eating boxed Mac n cheese with cubed ham. Would cubed ham work for this recipe? And if so would it be the same amount of ham as the diced ham called for? Also I don’t have a 9×13 pan. I have a large circular baking dish. Would that work?
Loved the recipe. But as a I’m not a great cook….more specific measurements would he awesome. I did a lot of googling…but what is a 1/2 stick of butter? How much dry pasta makes a 1 pound of pasta? I did find the info…but it would have been much easier if it was in her recipe.
Thanks
Wow. You really don’t cook. Half a stick of butter is just that. You take a stick of butter and cut it in half. As for the macaroni, the box (or bag) is clearly marked with the weight. You go by the dry, uncooked weight.
Not all of us are able to buy butter in sticks…is one stick equal to 1/8 Or 1/4 of a pound?
1 stick equals 8 tablespoons or 1/4 a pound.
Our butter is packaged in 1-lb. packages. No sticks here. This must be a USA measurement. The sarcasm is not appreciated.
In Canada our butter doesn’t come in sticks and measurement are metric.
I live in Canada too and have been buying butter that is 4 sticks in one box for many years. Look for the boxes of butter instead of the foil wrapped one pound piece. There are 4 sticks in each box for one pound so one stick is 1/4 pound and half a stick is 4 tablespoons as each stick is 8 tablespoons. 🙂
Obviously American. Try and remember you’re only one country, not the whole world.
For future reference if you look at the stick of butter there should be markings on one side that give you different measurements for butter also.
Keep cooking!
1/2 a stick of butter probably means 4 tablespoons (one full stick of butter would be 8 tablespoons). Assuming of course that this person is in the US and uses butter that is packaged 4 sticks to a pound. I just made this as it is written and it turned out great
I made this with homemade penne noodles from my Philips Noodle Maker Machine using mostly semolina flour. Also panko and butter crumb topping and extra diced jalapenos. It was amazing with the homemade noodles.
Oh wow! I bet it was amazing with the homemade noodles!.
Hey Christin
I used medium shell pasta, a smoked ham steak, a little bit of smoked gouda and added smoked paprika. Sooo good! That smoky flavor made it perfect for the holidays. I had made it for my 6 year old and I myself usually don’t like mac and cheese, but it was perfect! Kids and adults alike enjoyed it. Great recipe!
That sounds marvelous!