Cheesy Ham and Hashbrown Casserole — 🐷🧀🥔 This EASY casserole is made with just six ingredients and serves a crowd! Frozen hashbrowns are mixed with diced ham and coated in a CHEESY sauce before being baked until golden. A perfect recipe to use up leftover ham from the holidays! The casserole can even be assembled in ADVANCE and baked off later which makes it handy for brunch or busy weeknights.
Easy Ham and Cheese Hashbrown Casserole
This cheesy hashbrown ham casserole is quick and easy to assemble and calls for just six basic ingredients! It can be served as a breakfast casserole for brunch. But it’s not just brunch food.
It can be a stand alone main dish or serve it as a hearty side to baked chicken, meatloaf, pork chops, and more.
The casserole reminds me somewhat of Funeral Potatoes, except this version has no Cornflake topping and it uses a few store-bought shortcuts like cream of chicken soup. After the cooking chaos surrounding the holidays, I’m more than willing to use a few shortcuts to save time!
Here’s why else you’ll love this ham hashbrown casserole:
- There’s so much texture in every bite! The middle of the casserole remains super creamy while the edges and top become golden and slightly crispy.
- It can be made with leftover ham. After Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’m always swimming in ham. Put that ham to good use by adding it to this recipe. You can use store bought ham though, of course.
- The ingredients are flexible. Don’t make another run to the grocery store if you don’t have the exact ingredients called for in the recipe card! Most of the ingredients are easy to swap out using whatever you have on hand.
- Egg-free. A lot of breakfast and brunch-inspired casseroles, including my own Bacon Cheddar Casserole, have eggs in them but this one doesn’t. Just pointing this out in case you’re making it for someone who is egg-free.
- You can assemble the casserole in advance. Just mix everything together, throw it into a casserole dish, then cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake it.
Ingredients for Ham and Hashbrown Casserole
To make the cheesy hashbrown casserole with ham, you’ll need to gather the following ingredients:
- Cream of chicken condensed soup – Low-fat or reduced sodium versions will work but you do need to use it in order to add thickness and body to the cheese sauce.
- Cream cheese – Full-fat cream cheese, sold in a brick, that’s softened to room temp is what you want here. Don’t use cream cheese that’s labeled as lite, fat-free, spreadable, or whipped.
- Milk – My preference is whole milk, although 2% will work. I haven’t experimented with plant-based milk but cashew milk could work since it’s thicker than other options.
- Shredded cheddar cheese – I like white cheddar, or sharp cheddar cheese but you can use most any cheese you’d like.
- Hash browns – I use frozen hash browns that I thaw first. Either shredded and diced will work. You can also use refrigerated hash browns if you have them on hand.
- Ham – use leftover honey baked ham or pineapple glazed ham, cooked and cubed deli ham works too although I don’t recommend ham cold cuts because the slices are a bit too thin.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Hashbrown Casserole with Ham
This ham and cheese hashbrown casserole comes together in about 15 minutes, then the oven does the rest of the work for you!
Here’s a look at how the casserole is assembled:
- In a large bowl, stir together the condensed cream of chicken soup, softened cream cheese, milk, and half the cheese.
- Add the hashbrowns and diced ham, then mix until combined.
- Transfer the mixture to an 11×7-inch baking dish that’s been greased with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cheese. Tip – If you’re going to make this in advance, stop now, cover, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking it off.
- Otherwise, cover with foil and bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil, then continue baking for 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown and serve hot and fresh.
Recipe FAQs
I used a 7×11-inch baking dish, which is also the same size essentially as a 2-quart baking dish. A square 9×9-inch baking dish will work. I would not use a 9×13-inch though because the casserole will be much thinner. I recommend a ceramic or glass pan, and not metal, for more even cooking.
Both will work well in this recipe, it just depends which texture you prefer for your ham and cheese hash brown casserole. Frozen (that you thaw) or refrigerated are also fine.
Yes, you can. Simply peel and shred 1.5 pounds of Russet potatoes and continue with the recipe as instructed.
Use cubed ham, not sliced ham like you’d use for making sandwiches (cold cuts). You can either use leftover holiday ham – my recipes for honey baked ham and pineapple glazed ham would work great here. Or, purchase an unsliced piece of ham from the deli counter and cube it yourself.
If you don’t have any ham, I bet you could substitute it with cooked and crumbled bacon or breakfast sausage.
No, the condensed cream of chicken soup provides richness, creaminess, and lots of concentrated flavor in this recipe. It cannot be omitted or substituted without having to make other recipe modifications.
Go for it! Use any shredded cheese that sounds good to you. I bet shredded Parmesan cheese, Pepper Jack cheese, mozzarella cheese, Colby Jack cheese, and Swiss cheese would all be fine depending on what you like.
Yes, this is a great make-ahead breakfast or side dish recipe for the holidays. To make ahead of time, prepare the casserole up to the point of baking, then cover with foil and store in refrigerator until ready to bake, for up to 24 hours.
Make sure to allow the casserole to sit out at room temp for about an hour before baking it since a very cold baking dish will really slow down the bake time.
What to Serve with Ham Hashbrown Casserole
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- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken condensed soup, (1 can)
- ½ cup cream cheese, softened to room temperature (do not use lite, fat free, whipped, or ‘spreadable’ cream cheese)
- ½ cup milk, whole or 2% recommended
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided, (mozzarella, Jack, pepper Jack may be substituted)
- 3 cups hash browns, I use frozen that I thaw, refrigerated are also fine, see FAQs for more info
- 1 cup cooked ham, diced (leftover ham of almost any kind works, or use a piece of ham from your grocery store’s deli case, and cube it; don’t use thin-sliced ham like cold cuts)
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- fresh parsley or thinly sliced green onions, optional for garnishing
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Preheat oven to 375F, spray your baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
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To a large mixing bowl, add the condensed soup, cream cheese, milk, half the cheese, and whisk to combine. Tip – It’s important that the cream cheese be very well softened to room temp or this step is unnecessarily challenging.
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Add the hash browns, ham, salt, pepper, and stir to combine.
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Turn mixture out into prepared baking dish, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
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Evenly sprinkle the remaining half the cheese over the top, cover tightly with foil, and bake for about 30 minutes. Tip – If you’re making this in advance, cover and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before baking. Before baking, allow the casserole dish to sit on your counter for 30-60 minutes, or until it’s not chilled. Baking with a cold casserole dish may cause uneven baking, or may unnecessarily add time to the baking process.
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Remove the foil and allow the casserole to bake, uncovered for about 10 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden browned.
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Optionally garnish with parsley or green onions and serve immediately. Anything with melted cheese is always better served hot and freshly made.
Storage: Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in the microwave or as desired.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 314kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 58mg, Sodium: 779mg, Potassium: 446mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 566IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 195mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Recipes to Make Using Leftover Ham:
Monte Cristo Casserole — All the flavors of a classic Monte Cristo sandwich but in breakfast casserole form! Layers of tender brioche bread with cubed ham, sliced turkey, Swiss and cheddar cheeses are topped with an egg mixture before being baked off to perfection!
Pineapple Ham and Swiss Sliders — Grilled pineapple slices brushed with a soy and ginger marinade add a Hawaiian-inspired twist to these irresistible sandwiches! Juicy ham, melted Swiss cheese, and melted butter are impossible to resist!
Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup — An incredibly EASY and comforting soup that can be made with leftover holiday ham or deli ham! Your slow cooker does all the work to meld the flavors together.
Ham and Cheese Sliders — 🙌🏻🎉 Baked juicy ham and Swiss cheese nestled in soft Hawaiian rolls and brushed with a buttery Dijon, onion, and poppy seed topping! Fast, EASY, and a party and family FAVORITE! Everyone is going to want THIS recipe!
Classic Macaroni Ham Salad — 💚🧡💛 This fast and easy pasta salad recipe with tender elbow macaroni, bell peppers, carrots, celery, ham, and a super creamy dressing is a family FAVORITE!
Cheesy Ham Scalloped Potatoes – 🧀🥔🧡 Take scalloped potatoes to the next level with this recipe for creamy, CHEESY scalloped potatoes with diced ham! The silky smooth cheese sauce makes this a guaranteed family FAVORITE side dish for family dinners or holiday celebration meals like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or any time in between when you’re craving comfort food! Also a great recipe to use leftover ham.
