Ham and Cheese Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
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What do you like to make with your left over baked ham? I usually toss it in scrambled eggs or omelets, add it to a sandwich or on occasion I’ll make ham fried rice with it, but one of my favorite things to do it with it is to make this easy yet delicious Ham and Cheese Salad. It may not seem like much but with good quality ham (preferably from a left over baked ham) and homemade ranch it it really is incredibly delicious!
Normally I always chop up (/basically shred up) the leftover ham in a food processor for this salad, as mentioned in the recipe, but for picture purposes I thought the tiny diced cubes might look just a little better (not the food processor version looks bad by any means just not as clean cut I guess).
The food processor method is soooo much faster and strangely enough I think it even tastes a little better that way, but if you don’t have a food processor you can chop it up like so (I don’t however recommend buying the packages of tiny ham cubes at the store though I’ve tried those before and didn’t like them).
Really the eggs are optional here but it’s a great way to make this more of a main dish salad, making it more filling. Plus, ham and eggs just go together so why not together in salad? If you don’t plan on having a baked ham anytime in the near future your next best option would probably be a ham steak.
Also, you can definitely make this salad into a cobb salad, simply add chicken and tomatoes as mentioned in the notes below the recipe. I hope your family loves this salad as much as my family does!
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Ham and Cheese Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded or cubed ham*
- 4 large eggs, hard boiled, peeled and sliced
- 24 oz iceberg lettuce blend
- 3/4 cup (3 oz) mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup (3 oz) medium or mild cheddar cheese
Homemade ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used 1/4 cup light 1/4 cup regular)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, then more as needed
- 2 1/2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp)
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt**
Instructions
- For the ranch dressing: Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Add additional buttermilk if needed 1 Tbsp at a time to reach desired consistency (it should be somewhat thick, not very runny). Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.
- For the salad: Divide lettuce among 4 large salad bowls. Top with ham and cheese. Add one sliced egg to each salad. Drizzle with ranch and serve immediately after adding dressing.