Leftover Ham Alfredo Pasta is a one pot pasta made with cooked ham, sweet peas, pasta shells, and a creamy, dreamy alfredo sauce. Turn your holiday ham, or any ham, into this crowd-pleasing comfort food in under 30 minutes!
Leftover Ham Alfredo Pasta Recipe
Do you know what to do with leftover ham?
Last year, I created a recipe around a hunk of leftover ham from Sunday’s holiday dinner with friends.
Guys, this is my jam!
I tossed a few, simple ingredients into one pot and made dinner magic happen.
Meals using leftovers don’t always go like this.
But, with this recipe, it totally went like this.
Talk about a no fuss dinner!
This dish requires a few, quick prep steps, like chopping onion, grating garlic, and dicing ham, then you’re off to the races!
Can I freeze leftover ham?
The answer is yes!
To do so, you can seal leftover ham in a freezer bag and store immediately.
Be sure to include a package date on your bag, and consume the ham within 6 weeks of that date to avoid freezer burn.
When you pull the ham out of the freezer, go ahead and make my alfredo pasta recipe!
How do you make homemade alfredo sauce?
I usually make alfredo sauce in a pot by itself. But, for this leftover ham recipe, the sauce is made in the same pot with the pasta {see full recipe below}.
It’s this easy…
- sauté onion and garlic
- add chicken stock and pasta shells; boil until soft
- add frozen peas, diced ham, and half and half
- simmer
- stir in parmesan cheese and serve
Leftover Ham Alfredo Pasta Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil
- onion
- garlic
- reduced sodium chicken broth
- uncooked pasta shells (I used orecchiette)
- frozen peas
- leftover ham
- half and half
- parmesan cheese
- black pepper
- fresh parsley
Kitchen tools I use for this recipe:
- chef knife and cutting board
- microplane fine grater (for cheese)
- garlic press
- 11” stainless skillet (no lid necessary)
- wooden spoon
Want more recipes that utilize protein leftovers?
Rotisserie Chicken Teriyaki Lettuce Cups
One Pot Chicken and Broccoli Rice
Skip The Takeout Chicken Fried Brown Rice
Leftover Ham Alfredo Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 large White Onion diced; about 1/2 cup
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 3 cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Orecchiette Pasta Shells uncooked
- 1 cup Frozen Peas thawed
- 1 cup Ham diced
- 2/3 cup Half and Half
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Tbsp fresh Parsley chopped
Instructions
- In an 11” skillet on medium flame, heat EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL until shimmering (about 2 min).
- Add ONION and GARLIC; saute until tender and fragrant (about 3 min).
- Add CHICKEN BROTH and PASTA SHELLS; increase heat to high to reach boiling point.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook (uncovered) about 10 minutes; NOTE: pasta will not fully cook during this stage.
- Add PEAS, HAM, and HALF AND HALF; turn heat to HIGH to bring sauce just to a boil.
- Reduce heat to med-low and simmer until pasta shells are cooked to your liking; stirring frequently (3-5 minutes).
- Fold in PARMESAN CHEESE, season with BLACK PEPPER, and garnish with fresh PARSLEY; serve warm.
- Note: I didn’t salt this recipe due to the sodium in the chicken broth, ham, and the parmesan cheese.
RECIPE NOTES
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, and are estimates based on unbranded ingredients acquired from a nutrition database. For accurate calculations, please refer to brand packaging information and consult your nutritionist.
Nutrition
Traci Antonovich
About my recipes: Minimal meat & more plants!
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