Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham is the ultimate mixture of tender pasta in a sharp white cheddar cheese sauce with hearty chunks of ham. Comfort food at it’s best, this Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham recipe will be your favorite 30 minute meal to treat yourself to.

Favorite food in the whole Universe.. and GO!!

Mine hands down is macaroni and cheese.  I will admit to having a secret love for the processed, neon orange stuff but homemade Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham is where it’s at. Al dente pasta, a decadent rich white cheddar sauce and big chunks of ham makes THIS GIRL happy, happy, happy.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that good macaroni and cheese is anything but figure friendly, I have had to tame my love affair to just special occasions and really bad days… both, however, are subject to a real or imagined status. Zombie Apocalypse?  Mac n cheese for dinner!! Dropped my keys on the ground and I had to brush dirt off them? Mac n cheese to turn that bad day around!

It’s all very subjective when it comes to this dish.

HOW DO YOU TOP BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH HAM?

You can top your Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham any way you and your family like.  I prefer to top my Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham with .. um .. more shredded cheese and bake it until the cheese is all crunchy.  You can also top your macaroni and cheese with breadcrumbs mixed with a bit of butter, crumbled Cheez-its or Doritos and even crumbled bacon.

CAN BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH HAM BE FROZEN?

Yes! To freeze your Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham, transfer the macaroni and cheese to a buttered 9-by-13-inch freezer-to-oven baking dish. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake your macaroni and cheese still frozen and covered with foil at 350° for 1 hour. Remove foil and broil for 2-3 minutes for the crunchy brown cheese topping, if that is what you like. Macaroni and cheese with ham can be frozen for up to 2 months.

HOW DO YOU MAKE BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH HAM?

Easy! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of water to boil. Add in the pasta and cook for 3 minutes.  Drain and set the pasta aside.  In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Once melted, add your flour and whisk to combine.

Pour in your milk and while continuing to whisk, bring to a low boil.  Add in your seasonings and continue to stir.  Remove from the heat and whisk in your cheddar, swiss and Parmesan cheeses. Once all the cheese is melted, add in the pre-cooked ham and check for seasoning and flavor.

Combine the pasta, ham and the cheese together and pour into a buttered 13 x 9 baking pan.  Sprinkle the Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham with more cheese and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes before serving.

This Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham is a family favorite meal, it’s ready in JUST 30 minutes and is so easy to make that you will probably never make the blue box version ever again.

HELPFUL TIPS

•  I recommend using a good quality cheese and to choose one that is in block form.  The pre-shredded bags are convenient but they seem to produce a lot of grease. The only pre-shredded cheese I have found that melts nicely and doesn’t get too greasy is Sargento.
• Don’t do what I do EVERY TIME. If you use a whisk to combine your ham into your cheese sauce, the ham chunks will get stuck inside of the whisk and you will have to bang the heck out of it to release your hammy goodness. Be smarter than me.. use a big spoon 🙂
• Food is fun .. feel free to change up the cheese choice if you have a better preference.

Looking for more easy pasta dishes?  Try my Ground Beef Stroganoff, my Creamy Macaroni and Cheese or my Tuscan Chicken Pasta.

ENJOY!!

If you like food as much as I do, obviously we should be best friends now! Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest … and yup, even Instagram to never miss a new recipe!

Have you made this recipe yet? Your feedback, ratings and comments mean the world to me and help ME write recipes better recipes for YOU!

4.65 from 17 votes

Print

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham is the ultimate mixture of tender pasta in a sharp white cheddar cheese sauce with hearty chunks of ham. Comfort food at it's best, this Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham recipe will be your favorite way to treat yourself. | A Wicked Whisk | https://www.awickedwhisk.com

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8

Calories: 580.2 kcal

Author: Heather

Ingredients

• 16 ounces elbow macaroni pasta
• 8 ounces thick cut pre-cooked ham chopped

Cheese Sauce

• 3 tbl butter
• 3 tbl flour
• 5 cups whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• 8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese
• 4 ounces swiss cheese
• 4 ounces monterey jack / cheddar cheese for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add in the pasta and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and set the pasta aside.

2. While your pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

3. Once melted, add your flour and whisk to combine.
4. Pour in your milk and while continuing to whisk, bring to a low boil.
5. Add in your seasonings and continue to stir.

6. Remove from the heat and whisk in your cheddar, swiss and Parmesan cheeses.

7. Whisk to combine and once all the cheese is melted, add the pre-cooked ham and check for seasoning and flavor.

8. Combine the pasta, ham and the cheese and pour into a buttered 13 x 9 baking pan.

9. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

10. Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham

Amount Per Serving (8 g)

Calories 580.2 Calories from Fat 263

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 29.2g 45%

Saturated Fat 17.4g 87%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g

Monounsaturated Fat 2.7g

Cholesterol 98.6mg 33%

Sodium 1120.9mg 47%

Potassium 283.7mg 8%

Total Carbohydrates 52.6g 18%

Dietary Fiber 6.2g 25%

Sugars 9.4g

Protein 33.6g 67%

Vitamin A 20.6%

Vitamin C 2.8%

Calcium 64.3%

Iron 22.4%

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