Use up that leftover ham and leftover mascarpone cheese with this Healthy Leftover Ham Pasta with Peas! It's a quick, easy, and delicious leftover ham recipe with a creamy sauce that's ready in 30 minutes! It's ideal for busy weeknights.
Made with pantry items such as canned tomatoes, canned mushrooms, frozen peas, and dried herbs, this recipe is an easy way to use up Picnic Ham or any ham leftovers! It's popular after holiday meals such as Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It pairs well with this Cucumber Kimchi recipe.
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Not sure what to do with leftover ham? Looking for more healthy ham recipes? Check out these healthy leftover ham ideas!
🥘Ingredient Notes
If you're looking for leftover holiday ham recipes, this one not only uses up that extra ham, but it uses pantry ingredients you're likely to have on hand, as well as frozen peas. And it's quick, easy, delicious, and done in 30 minutes! For this recipe, you'll need:
- Leftover ham. You can use any type of leftover ham.
- Pasta. I use fusilli pasta because spirals of fusilli are perfect for holding onto rich and creamy sauces. I also like the way it presents.
- Canned diced tomatoes and canned Mushrooms. These are both economical and convenient.
- Mascarpone cheese. This easy recipe also uses up leftover mascarpone cheese and makes this dish creamy and delicious!
- Frozen green peas. Frozen peas are economical, convenient and add a nice splash of color!
- Oregano and Basil. Dried oregano and basil are convenient and economical as well. I often use my air fryer dehydrated herbs from the summer.
*See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities
📖 Variations & Substitutions
- Creamy Cheese: Although you can use cream cheese instead (as the original recipe did). I just find mascarpone cheese a little smoother and less tangy than cream cheese; it's my favorite creamy cheese and works perfectly in this dish!
- Pasta: You can also use any pasta you like, including penne pasta or rigatoni. Longer noodles such as spaghetti and fettuccine don't work as well.
- Ham: you can use any leftover ham for this recipe, including slow cooker ham or spiral ham.
- Herbs: you could use fresh herbs, if you prefer but you'll need to double the amounts.
- Canned tomatoes and Mushrooms: you can use fresh if you prefer.
🔪How to Make Leftover Ham Pasta with Peas
- Step 1: Cook pasta in large pot as per package directions until al dente. Drain through a colander.
- Step 2: Meanwhile, in a large skillet, fry ham with onions until onions are soft.
- Step 3: Add chicken bouillon powder mixed with boiling water, then add tomatoes and garlic.
- Step 4: Whisk in mascarpone cheese and mix until incorporated.
- Step 5: Cook for 10 more minutes, then add frozen peas and canned mushrooms. Then simmer for another 3 mintutes.
- Step 6: Drain pasta and add to pan or simply mix the pasta and ham together in the serving bowl (or casserole dish) you plan to serve it in, as I did. Then add basil and oregano and stir it in.
- Step 7: Garnish: Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and basil.
Top Tip
Whenever I make one of my recipes with mascarpone cheese, like my No Bake Black Forest Tiramisu or my Raspberry Tiramisu Cutie Pies, I always have leftovers of mascarpone cheese. This recipe gets two birds with one stone because it uses up both my leftover mascarpone cheese and leftover ham!
I recently made My carrot cake doughnut muffins for a potluck and only used a very small amount of mascarpone, so this was the perfect recipe to use up the rest. Mascarpone cheese freezes really well, so I just left it in the freezer until I was ready to make this!
🥗 What to serve with Leftover Ham Pasta
You can't go wrong with serving Baguette Garlic Bread or Breadmaker Breadsticks with this Creamy Leftover Ham Pasta dish! If you're looking for something lower-carb, try my Greek Yogurt Cloud Bread! Veggie side dishes such as these Healthy Glazed Carrots (shown) also pair well with this recipe!
👪 Serving Size
This Leftover Ham recipe makes 6 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
❔FAQs about Leftover Ham
Ham that's stored in an airtight container can be refrigerated and eaten for up to 3-5 days.
You can freeze ham for 1-2 months if it's stored in an airtight container. However, keep in mind that freezing ham before or after cooking can alter flavor and texture. Any ham that's been frozen and then defrosted, might look and feel spongy, watery, and even taste a little saltier. It may not be ideal for serving as is, but is better suited for use in cooked dishes, such as soups, pizza, or casseroles.
I'm really a turkey girl when it comes to holiday dinners, but once in a while, I like to change it up and have ham at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. This recipe is perfect for those holiday ham leftovers as well.
If you are looking for healthy leftover ham recipes that you can make into a delicious meal, you can go waaay beyond ham and split pea soup and ham sandwiches, starting with this delicious ham and pea pasta!
However, if you want a delicious hearty soup too, try my Leftover Ham and Macaroni Soup!
🍲More Leftover Recipes
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📋 Healthy Leftover Creamy Ham Pasta with Peas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 375 g - box of pasta (spiral, rigatoni, fusilli etc)
- 2 cups leftover ham, chopped into ½ inch cubes
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 28 oz - can diced tomatoes and juices 798 mls
- 1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 500 g -bag of frozen green peas about 2 cups. defrosted
- 1 284 ml can of mushrooms
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon basil
Garnish:
- parmesan cheese
- basil sprinkles for garnish
Instructions
- Cook pasta, as per package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside.1 375 g - box of pasta (spiral, rigatoni, fusilli etc)
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, fry ham with onions until onions are soft.2 cups leftover ham, chopped into ½ inch cubes, 1 onion, finely chopped
- Add chicken broth, then add tomatoes and garlic.½ cup chicken broth, 1 28 oz - can diced tomatoes and juices 798 mls, 1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- Whisk in mascarpone cheese and mix until incorporated. Cook for 10 more minutes over medium-low heat.½ cup mascarpone cheese
- Then add frozen peas and canned mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes.1 500 g -bag of frozen green peas, 1 284 ml can of mushrooms
- Add pasta, basil, and oregano to the skillet and mix. Or at this point, you can simply mix them in the serving bowl you plan to use.½ teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon basil
Garnish:
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and basil.parmesan cheese, basil sprinkles for garnish
Carol Anderson
Hi, I just found your site n signed up cuz not only do your left-over-waste-not-want-not recipes impress me, but also your bologna story made me laugh! During C-19 lock down I had lots (10 pkg for $10 couldn't pass it up!) of hot dogs to invent recipes with. My last, before throwing in my towel effort, was hot dog TACOS! UGH! Tasted ok, but even after browning, they were still PINK! Could not get past that! Used some Instant coffee granuals to knock down the hot dog pink a bit, but it was STILL THERE! You have my sympathy.... isn't bologna just rolled out hot dogs?? 😂
Carol
Terri Gilson
Hi Carol,
Yes, I would say that bologna is about the same as rolled-out hotdogs! haha...Oh and do I ever feel for you having to eat hot dog tacos- OMG!
Well, I hope you enjoy the recipes!
Terri