Last updated on November 5th, 2018 at 11:31 am
These Ham and Cheese Pockets are completely homemade all from scratch! Great for lunch, snacks or picnics! So good and delicious, your whole family will fall in love with these!
You know what makes my belly really happy? This is it right here! Ham and cheese pockets, completely homemade. This sandwich brings me happiness and comfort. They’re oozing with gooey cheese and loaded with yummy ham! It’s kind of like a grilled cheese, but way better. It’s a glorified grilled cheese sandwich. Maximum taste and maximum calories, but hey, who’s counting calories!
There’s no special sauce here, no veggies, these pockets are simple. A homemade dough, which I don’t want you to get scared of because it’s really easy to make, loads of cheddar cheese and loads of ham. Plain and simple! I know I’ve told you numerous times that hubs loves sandwiches of any kind. This is how I make my man happy. I bake him ham and cheese pockets like this. And because of this I get his never ending unconditional love. It’s true what they say, the way to a man’s heart, truly is through his stomach. The trick is knowing what your man likes. Ok, who am I kidding, it’s no trick, men are simple, they like simple comforting food. Meat and potatoes, and sandwiches loaded with cheese and ham, skip the veggies. I should know, I’ve been married for 17 years!
Now enough about men, let’s talk ham and cheese. So the dough, my friends, very easy, don’t let dough scare you. But if you do want to save time you could buy Pillsbury crescent dough, I suppose, and that would work just fine, though nothing beats your own dough.
After you make the dough just roll it out into a big rectangle and layer out about 2 cups of cheddar cheese over half the dough. Then take your ham slices and layer them over the cheese. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and press on the edges of the dough a bit, though you don’t have to seal it too much, no need.
Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces then place them on a baking sheet that’s lined with parchment paper. Brush them with a bit of egg wash, and then sprinkle some nice Parmesan cheese over the top and just for some color I sprinkled a bit of Parsley.
Let them rise again for another half hour, then bake them for 20 to 25 minutes and your job is done. Eating time! I dare you to eat only 1!
LOOKING FOR MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES? TRY THESE:
- One-Skillet Ham and Cheese Gnocchi
- Leftover Ham and Cheese Penne
- Bacon Omelette Goat Cheese Ciabatta Breakfast Sandwiches
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
Ham and Cheese Pockets
Ingredients
For Dough
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- â…” cup water lukewarm
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup butter unsalted, melted
- 2 eggs
For Pockets
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 8 slices ham sliced medium
- 1 egg beaten, for egg wash
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tbsp parsley dried, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar and water together and let the yeast rest for about 10 minutes, until it dissolves and starts bubbling up.
- In the bowl of your mixer add the flour, salt, butter, eggs and yeast mixture and mix for about 5 minutes. Dough should be soft, but not sticky. If dough is sticky add a bit more flour and continue mixing until it comes clean from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size in a warm place. It should take about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough so that it's about 14 inches by 18 inches and about 1/4 inch in thickness. On half of the dough sprinkle all the cheddar cheese. Lay the ham slices over the cheese. Fold the dough over the filling and if you want you can pinch the ends together, but not really necessary.
- Cut the dough into 8 pieces. Place the pockets on the prepared baking sheet.
- Brush with egg wash. Sprinkle each piece with Parmesan cheese and parsley. Let the pockets rest and rise a bit, for about half hour.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Notes
- These ham and cheese pockets freeze well. Simply wrap then in aluminum foil or parchment paper then place them in large freezer bags. To reheat, pot them directly in the microwave for a minute or until heated through (aluminum foil removed).
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
Originally shared May 2015.
Just made this today. The bread was very soft and pillowy.. to be honest it was bloody amazing. Best bread recipe I’ve ever tried if you want a bread without a crusty exterior. Jo is my new baking God.
🙂 So happy you enjoyed this!
Could you replace the active dry yeast with a quick rise yeast. Would that affect the rising. (By no means a baker)
You can, absolutely! The difference between active dry yeast and quick rise yeast is that the quick rise yeast doesn’t require you to activate it, you can just add it with the rest of the ingredients. Just keep in mind you still need to add the water and sugar.
the dough is it like a pizza dough? coz i wanna try it with marinara and some pepproni so its kinda like pizza pockets
It’s a bit softer than pizza dough with that butter but that would taste amazing! Give it a go.
This sounds great I’ll be trying this out maybe play with different centres. Ready made sandwiches what more do you need
Exactly!
These looks SUPER GREAT, Jo! My wife just saw these and said, “Why haven’t you made these for me yet?” I better get cooking!
Recipe looks so good. Do you have to use the dough hook to make the dough??
If you’re doing it in the mixer, yes. You could also just knead it by hand.
Thank you so much, this is so good love the recipe, it is my littleones first day of school lunch, I am sure she will love it.
I don’t leave reviews but I have to for this. I had extra Easter ham and a craving for Hot Pockets. I followed the dough instructions but let it rise in my food processor and didn’t let it rise a second time. I also only mixed it for 30 seconds and kneaded it when it came out a few hours later. I added about extra 1/2 cup of flour to get it soft, not sticky. It was better than a hot pocket! The dough was out of this world soft and yummy! The gentleman friend loved it!
Yay! That’s so awesome, Renee! So glad you both liked it. 🙂
Once these are cooked can they be frozen and then reheated?
Yes, you can! Just thaw them out a bit and pop them in the microwave, or you can pop them directly in the microwave for a minute or so until heated through.
Can you use instant yeast? If so, is the sugar and water necessary?
Yes you can, the sugar isn’t really necessary, but I would still check the expiry date on the yeast to make sure it’s good.
We made these for lunch today! One jumped into my mouth & disappeared completely before I remembered my better half also needed lunch…my bad. But it was so yummy I couldn’t help myself. When he took his first bite, his eyes went wide, got a big smile on his face, & said “wow”. Once again, I’m so thankful I found your website!!!!!!!!
We used a bread maker, then after I cut the pockets I tried to seal them by pinching & using a fork. All the cheese stayed in while I transferred them to the baking sheet. But they popped open & leaked cheese as the cooked. I will try to seal them better in the future. Any advice for that?
Thank you for the amazing recipe!!!!! The look on my Hubby’s face when he tried it, really made my day. ?
So glad you liked these! I usually just pinch them with my hands, you could either use an egg wash to seal the ends, or just some water, that should help a bit.