Ham is a friendly protein that gets along with just about everyone. That said, there are certain dishes that really compliment this ingredient’s salty, smoky, sorta-sweet personality. Below are our go-to dishes, with a few recipe options for each. But first, a couple of our favorite ham recipes in case you’re on the hunt:
A beautifully baked ham served as the centerpiece of a holiday table or Sunday dinner is a glorious thing. The subtly sweet, salty, smoky flavor of the ham just seems to say “celebration.” But while the ham may be the star, you still need supporting actors in the form of side dishes to make it a meal.
Don’t make the mistake of only focusing on starchy potato or veggie sides. Be sure to serve a fresh, vibrant salad as well! The contrast of cool, crunchy greens and vegetables perfectly balances the rich savoriness of the ham. Not to mention, salads provide color, nutrition, and variety to please all palates.
But with so many salad possibilities, it can be tricky to narrow down your best options to complement the ham As a busy home cook, I’ve learned some foolproof salad recipes that pair beautifully with any type of baked, roasted, or glazed ham Here are my top 12 recommendations for spectacular salad sides to serve with your holiday ham.
1. Classic Wedge Salad
The wedge salad is a steakhouse classic for good reason – it’s simple and delicious! Just iceberg lettuce wedges drenched in a creamy blue cheese dressing and topped with tomatoes, bacon, and onions. The crisp cool lettuce and bold dressing stands up well to ham’s richness.
2. Greek Salad
You can’t go wrong bringing together ham with a medley of tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, onions, olives, and feta cheese tossed in a red wine vinaigrette. The salty tang pairs perfectly with the slight saltiness of ham.
3. Spinach Strawberry Salad
For a fruit-filled salad, a spinach base tossed with sweet strawberries, bleu cheese crumbles, toasted almonds, and red onion is excellent with baked ham’s caramelized edges and cloves.
4. Caprese Salad
Alternate thick slices of fresh mozzarella cheese and juicy tomatoes, layered with torn basil leaves and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The simplicity allows the ham to take center stage.
5. Crunchy Apple Coleslaw
Shredded cabbage and carrots tossed in a creamy poppyseed dressing and studded with tart green apples give great texture and sweetness to serve with salty ham slices.
6. Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Warm roasted sweet potato chunks tossed with arugula, feta, and toasted pecans drizzled with a zesty citrus vinaigrette are divine with a savory and smoky glazed ham.
7. Pasta Salad Primavera
A pasta salad with broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, olives, and Italian dressing is vibrant, fresh, and satisfying. It holds up well as leftovers too!
8. Cranberry Pecan Salad
Mix together fresh spinach, dried cranberries, crumbled goat cheese, and toasted pecans. The tang of the fruit and nuts complement baked ham stuffed with cloves.
9. BLT Salad
Chopped lettuce, crispy bacon pieces, juicy grape tomatoes, avocado, and buttermilk ranch dressing gives you all the flavors of a classic bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich in salad form.
10. Taco Salad
Line a bowl with shredded lettuce and top with taco meat, cheese, tomatoes, black olives, salsa, and crushed tortilla chips for a fun Mexican-inspired take. The spices pair great with a maple bourbon glazed ham.
11. Ambrosia Fruit Salad
A retro fruit salad with pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut, and marshmallows covered in a vanilla yogurt dressing feels simultaneously nostalgic and fresh.
12. Broccoli Bacon Salad
The savory, crunchy combination of raw broccoli florets, bacon, raisins, sunflower seeds, and red onion in a sweet and tangy dressing is addictive with any style of baked ham.
When planning your next glazed spiral cut ham dinner or holiday spread, be sure to include a bright, fresh salad on your menu! Not only do salads allow you to highlight seasonal produce, they add nutrition and balance. With so many diverse flavors, textures, and colors to choose from, there’s a salad out there for everyone.
Our Best Side Dishes for Ham
This mac and cheese has two secret ingredients: garlic powder and white pepper. They add a can’t-put-your-finger-on-it savoriness that’ll have people asking for thirds.
Aside from ham, almost nothing goes better with asparagus. It’s best in the spring, but you can find it in stores all year. When you mix walnuts, panko breadcrumbs, and grated Gruyère cheese, you get a crunchy topping that everyone will love, even kids!
Recipe developer Rebecca Firkser insists that roasted cauliflower doesn’t have to be boring. She makes a delicious vegan side dish with raisins, garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes in just 30 minutes. It goes great with a ham dinner.
A special-edition mac and cheese that would love to join your holiday feast. If you can’t find truffled mustard, you can add truffle oil instead, to taste.
Mac and cheese, but make it cozy. Canned pumpkin and brown butter are up to the task. Baking it in a sheet pan means lots of crispy bits.
A holiday feast isn’t complete without cranberry sauce in one form or another. This recipe warms it up on the stove with butter and balsamic vinegar to make a thick, syrupy glaze that is poured over the sprouts that have been roasted.
More than 100 people have said nice things about this recipe since it was named Genius in 2011. They have said things like “Perfect,” “This recipe is the bomb!” and “a staple at every holiday dinner.” ” Hey, can I come?.
This green bean salad has plenty of tang, thanks to crème fraîche, sherry vinegar, and whole-grain mustard. If hazelnuts aren’t your thing, walnuts would also be very good here.
A Big Little take on the classic. All you need are green beans, mushrooms, cream, and shallots. Oh, and no oven required.
The beauty of these sauteed Brussels sprouts is that they can go any number of ways. You can add honey to make them sweet, red pepper flakes to make them spicy, grated Parmesan cheese to make them salty, and even nuts or pan-fried bacon for extra crunch.
Here’s a foolproof formula for a side dish: blanched vegetables plus your favorite vinaigrette. In this case, it’s crisp-tender green beans with a honey-mustard-ish dressing.
If you think that mashed potatoes are too rich, try adding some tangy things like buttermilk and white wine instead of just whole milk or cream.
A corn pudding that doesn’t want you to call it “sweetie. ” Garlic, ground mustard, hot sauce, and sharp cheddar make this uber-savory.
Sweet potatoes are, ahem, sweet, which is where these chipotles come in handy. They add a slow-burn smokiness that ham echoes.
This recipe trusts in a single clove of garlic. If you’re me, you’ll double or triple (or quadruple?!) this, because you can.
Like the Instant Pot potatoes above, these ones are all about—say it with me—balance. This tastes so much better with just a little vinegar. Malt vinegar is my favorite, but white, white wine, or apple cider vinegar will also work.
“If you love smoked paprika, the odds are high that you’ll love these carrots. It’s a magical mix of honey, vinegar, cumin, cayenne, and smoked paprika that’s used to coat them before they’re roasted in a hot oven, writes recipe developer Dorie Greenspan.
A spoonful of white miso wakes up stodgy creamed greens. Start with kale, then try it on spinach, mustard greens, escarole, you name it.
When you cook with milk or cream, like in our December Recipe of the Month, add a garlic clove, a bay leaf, and a few sprigs of time. These overachievers infuse the dairy to become more than the sum of its parts.
Which is to say, there is no cream (shhh). Instead, there’s zingy Greek yogurt. Labneh would be A++, too.
Maybe making bread so close to a ham-worthy get-together unsettles you. And sure! These freeze-ahead rolls totally get that.
A show-stopping cheesy-creamy dish that is easy to make—especially if you buy the kale already chopped and washed, which is what I do almost all the time.
Cooking potatoes in a cast-iron skillet is the best way to get them crispy and golden brown while in a cream sauce. It’s an upgrade to the practically perfect potato casserole.
If parsnips aren’t your thing, don’t let that deter you. Carrots—or turnips or rutabaga—would be happy to hop in here.
Ritz crackers create a crunchy-buttery topping for this corn casserole. For a bit of heat, just add ground cayenne or hot sauce to taste.
A sweeter way to eat collard greens that have been braised. The greens are sautéed in coconut milk and then finished cooking in coconut milk, vegetable broth, lime juice, and tamari until they are soft.
Is there anything happier than a basket of warm corn muffins on a holiday table? No. The answer is no! (Just make sure there’s soft, salted butter alongside. ).
Farro and winter squash that are chewy are mixed with feta, walnuts, and sharp mustard greens, which are some of our favorite foods. If you want to make fewer dishes, which who doesn’t?, this could be your salad and starch all in one.
Our test kitchen’s best cornbread has a brown-buttery crust, plush interior, and unabashedly corny flavor.
Most cheesy grits are made with cheddar cheese, but we really like the taste of tangy goat cheese and sharp Parmesan together.
Potato salad, emphasis on the salad—no mayo involved. Baby arugula adds some peppery-greenery, something most holiday tables could use more of.
Tear into one of these cuties and you’ll probably wonder how they become so pillowy and soft. That’s all thanks to milk and egg, which enrich and tenderize the dough.
“When you see Kyle, you’re always happy and a little surprised by how much you like him. He’s like one of those friends you don’t think about much,” Amanda Hesser writes.
This spicy-sweet vinaigrette would love to team up with hearty greens (like kale) or delicate ones (like butterhead). But don’t stop there: Why not dress up just-roasted squash or steamed broccoli?.
Alison Roman combined two side dishes into one quick recipe: roasted carrots on top of a bed of greens. This goes so well with ham.
Instead of a classic round shape, these rolls are folded over, like envelopes. Read all about the family story behind them here.
Not many people claim to love turnips, but they’re kind of a must-have for an Easter brunch. Everyone will love them as a side dish after being roasted and dressed with a Dijon vinaigrette and fresh tarragon.
The secret to this luxury hotel recipe? Tuck a pat of butter inside each roll before baking. And yes, you should still butter them afterward, too.
Choose your holiday adventure! Our Automagic Menu Maker is here to help.
Classic Ham Salad
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