Leftover Ham and Cheese Penne

Last updated on June 6th, 2018 at 04:55 pm

Leftover Ham and Cheese Penne – incredibly creamy and cheesy penne loaded with ham and peas, perfect use of that leftover ham from your holiday dinner.

At the risk of sounding boring by talking about the weather, I’m going to mention it, simply because it’s been GORGEOUS!! I seriously love it, but I’m still afraid that a scary winter storm will still hit us before our summer month, July. And if I weren’t so greedy, I would think about my poor dog who would die for one more snow storm so she can run around and play in the snow. But I am greedy and I want this spring weather to last until July. There that’s all I’m going to say about weather. I love it, and I want it to stay like this.

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Moving on. Ham and cheese! It’s a combination that’s been around for… well who knows how long, but a very very long time. So we know it’s been tried and tested and you can’t go wrong. Now I’ll be honest with you, we didn’t celebrate Easter this past weekend because we’re Orthodox and our Easter is in May, so I had no leftover ham. But we always have ham in the house, and if I were like you with lots of leftover ham in the fridge and wondering what you’re going to make with it all, then I’m here to help with this ham and cheese penne.

Penne loaded with ham and peas and an obscene amount of cheese. This is a very simple dish and if you wanted a pasta bake you could even put this in a casserole dish, top it with some Parmesan cheese, and some breadcrumbs and bake it for about 30 minutes at 350 and you’ve got yourself a nice casserole. I, however, wanted it more saucy, because if you were to bake it the pasta would absorb more of that sauce and would dry up a bit. Totally delish either way.

Made a video for you too! So with that I’m keeping this post short, to which you’d probably be happy about. No hard feelings, I know you love me.

Try these other delicious uses for your leftover ham!

• Leftover Ham and Cheese Breakfast Muffins
• Leftover Ham and Bean Soup

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!

4.75 from 4 votes

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Leftover Ham and Cheese Penne

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Leftover Ham and Cheese Penne - incredibly creamy and cheesy penne loaded with ham and peas, perfect use of that leftover ham from your holiday dinner.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6

Calories: 764 kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients

• 1 lb penne uncooked
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 cups ham cooked, chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
• 1 cup Mozzarella cheese shredded
• 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated (optional)

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Instructions

1. Cook the penne al-dente according to package instructions.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for about 5 minutes until the onion softens.
3. Add the ham to the pot and cook for about 8 minutes until the ham starts to brown slightly.
4. Stir in the chicken broth and heavy cream, then season with salt and pepper. Add the cheeses and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring, until the cheese melts.
5. Add the pasta, peas, stir and cook for a couple more minutes.
6. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

You can use any type of pasta that you have in your cupboard. Preferably small types like farfalle, shells, rotini, etc.

 

Use milk or 10% cream instead of heavy cream if you'd like to cut down on calories.

 

Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

 

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