Healthy Leftover Creamy Ham Pasta with Peas

We tend to go through 'food phases' in my house. Maybe it's the same for you? For a period of time, we'll buy a lot of one thing, make lots of stuff out of it, then move on to something else.

Well, we went through a very long ham phase. Our local Co op grocery store kept putting them on sale and they were such a good deal, we just couldn't resist. So, I had to find LOTS of recipes for leftover ham. And this Healthy Leftover Creamy Ham Pasta with peas is one of my favorites! But I have to admit that my least favorite food phase was our bologna phase...

I hated the bologna phase even more than the cheap frozen fish phase. Although, I did come up with this awesome Easy & Healthy Fish Taco Recipe. We were trying really hard to save money on our grocery bill and making stuff out of bologna seemed like a good idea at the time. It's just protein after all, right? And I convinced myself that I could really challenge myself as a cook and recipe developer. Well.... maybe not so much.

Although I have had to come up with lots of leftover ham recipes for dinner over the years and this was not easy, it's waaaay easier than bologna! I did make a fancy bologna sandwich for a cooking contest once and it was actually really awesome, but I pretty much wanted to throw in the towel after the bologna spaghetti experience. It's not that it tasted that bad, it's just that I couldn't get past the fact that my spaghetti sauce had bologna in it. And that was it for me. I discovered that there is really only so much you can do with bologna.

I think I've had to mentally block out the other stuff we made with bologna. 

📖 Variations & Substitutions

Creamy Cheese: This easy recipe also uses up leftover mascarpone 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!

Pasta: You can also use any pasta you like. 

Ham: you can use any leftover ham for this recipe, including slow cooker ham or spiral ham.

🥘Ingredients

If you're looking for healthy leftover ham recipes, this one not only uses up that extra ham, 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
• pasta
• onion
• chicken bouillon
• canned diced tomatoes
• minced garlic
• mascarpone cheese 
• frozen green peas
• oregano
• basil
• canned mushrooms

You may also want to try my other healthy leftover ham recipes.

💭 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. 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!

👪 Serving Size

This Leftover Ham recipe makes 6 servings. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.

🍽Equipment

You don't need any special equipment for this leftover ham pasta- just a cutting board, a good knife, a frying pan and a large pot.

🌡️Storage

Store this leftover ham recipe in an airtight sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

🦺Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

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.

So I guess the moral of the story is that you can only do so much with bologna, so stick to bologna sandwiches. But if you are looking for healthy ham recipes that you can make into a delicious meal, you can go waaay beyond ham soups and ham sandwiches, starting with this delicious ham and pea pasta!

⭐ Reviews

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4.89 from 9 votes

📋 Healthy Leftover Creamy Ham Pasta with Peas Recipe

Use up that leftover ham and leftover mascarpone cheese with this Healthy Leftover Creamy Ham Pasta & Peas recipe! It's a quick, easy and delicious leftover ham recipe in 30 minutes!

Course dinner

Cuisine American, Canadian

Keyword leftover ham, pasta, peas

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 356kcal

Author adapted from: Fusilli with Ham and Peas, from Canadian Living's Best 30 minutes and Light, Pg. 15, Elizabeth Baird

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 375 g - box of pasta (spiral, rigatoni, fusilli etc)
• 2 cups leftover ham, chopped into ½ inch cubes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon base (powder)
• ½ cup boiling water
• 1 28 oz - can diced tomatoes and juices 798 mls
• 1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic
• ½ cup mascarpone cheese * can substitute cream cheese
• 1 500 g -bag of frozen green peas about 2 cups
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon basil
• 1 284 ml can of mushrooms

Garnish:

• parmesan cheese
• basil sprinkles for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook pasta in large pot until done. 
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, fry ham with onions until onions are soft. Add chicken bouillon powder mixed with boiling water,  then add tomatoes and garlic. 
• Whisk in mascarpone cheese and mix until incorporated. Cook for 10 more minutes, then add frozen peas and canned mushrooms
• Drain pasta and add to pan. Then add basil and oregano. 

Garnish:

• Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and basil.

Notes

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Nutrition Facts

📋 Healthy Leftover Creamy Ham Pasta with Peas Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 356 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 39mg13%

Sodium 512mg22%

Potassium 160mg5%

Carbohydrates 47g16%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 16g32%

Vitamin A 265IU5%

Vitamin C 1.6mg2%

Calcium 43mg4%

Iron 1.1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 356kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 512mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Vitamin C: 1.6mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1.1mg

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