Everyone will love this macaroni and cheese ham casserole. Easy to make, creamy, cheesy, and filled with chunks of ham and shredded cheese. This homemade macaroni and cheese with ham is a family favorite!
MACARONI & CHEESE CASSEROLE
I’ve made this macaroni & cheese ham casserole 3x in the last two weeks. Not even joking… If you’re anything like me then you will make something over and over again if the kids actually eat it willingly, with no whining.
All 4 of my kids had two helpings and quite literally licked their plates clean.
If that’s not a winner dinner then I don’t know what is 🙂
Point of all this, is that you should probably plan on making this semi-homemade, super easy macaroni & cheese ham casserole as soon as you possibly can.
Plus the leftovers are fabulous! My kids did not even complain when I served this for lunch for the next two days after having it for dinner. So basically they’ve been eating pasta, cheese, and ham for two weeks straight, haha!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE MACARONI & CHEESE
I love that this recipe is semi-homemade. Meaning, it uses some fresh ingredients but also adds in a convenient item to make it so easy. This casserole has real cheese in it, creamy sour cream, elbow pasta noodles, milk, ham, and a can of condensed cheddar cheese soup.
- 1 lb box of elbow pasta
- shredded cheese
- milk
- can of condensed cheddar cheese soup
- sour cream
- onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
- ham
HOW TO MAKE MACARONI & CHEESE HAM CASSEROLE
- Cook the elbow pasta according to the package instructions. Aim for the ‘al dente’ cook time as the pasta will cook slightly more as it’s in the oven.
- While the pasta is cooking, combine the milk, sour cream, condensed cheddar soup, and the seasonings. Stir together with a whisk to mix it well. Add the ham and shredded cheese and stir to combine.
- Drain the noodles once they’re done cooking and add into the cheese and ham mixture. Stir together until everything is combined.
- Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and cover with foil.
- Bake for 25 minutes and then sprinkle some additional cheese on top and bake for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
MY TIPS FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE
- I like using either honey ham or black forest ham for this recipe (but any variety of ham will work fine). I would highly suggest you get some fresh shaved ham at the deli counter. It tastes so much better and it’s very similar in price to the prepackaged ham.
- I normally don’t use a lot of black pepper in my cooking because of kids. But in this recipe you need it. My kids don’t complain and it adds such a nice flavor to the casserole.
- For best result use full-fat sour cream and a higher fat milk. I use whole milk.
- Use any cheese you want. I always have Colby Jack cheese in my fridge so that’s what I use. You could use Pepper Jack for some spice, Mozzarella, and even Swiss cheese if you like the flavor. It is much better to use two different kinds of cheese when you make this. Which is why I love the Colby Jack because it already is two different cheeses in one block.
- I am guessing any pasta shape will work but I can only vouch for the elbow pasta because that is what I have always used in this recipe.
- Remember to salt the pasta water before you add the pasta noodles in. It adds so much flavor to the cooked pasta. Plain pasta can be quite bland so adding even a teaspoon of salt to the cooking water will make a huge difference.
Macaroni & Cheese Ham Casserole
Everyone will love this macaroni and cheese ham casserole. Easy to make, creamy, cheesy, and filled with chunks of ham and shredded cheese. This homemade macaroni and cheese with ham is a family favorite!
Ingredients
- 1 box (16 oz) elbow pasta
- 1 can (10.75 oz) cheddar cheese soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups shredded or diced ham
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese, divided
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
-
Cook pasta to 'al dente' according to package instructions. Pasta will cook slightly more while baking in the oven which is why you want it cooked to 'al dente'.
-
While pasta is cooking, combine cheddar cheese soup, sour cream, milk, and the seasonings in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a whisk to combine well. Add ham and shredded cheese (reserve 1/2 cup for the top) and stir to combine everything together.
-
Drain the pasta. Do not rinse. Add the cooked & drained pasta to the bowl and stir together until everything is combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish and cover with foil.
-
Cook for 25 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle cheese on top of casserole. Cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Recipe Notes
The cheddar cheese soup is made by Campbell's brand. It's just like the cream of chicken soup but cheddar cheese instead.
We just heat the leftovers in the microwave and we love it as is. If it's too dry for your liking, simply add a small splash of milk to moisten it up a bit.
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