65 Easy Sides for Ham (& Make-Ahead Ideas)

Deciding what to serve with ham? Discover the best ham side dishes whether serving spiral ham for Easter, Christmas, brunch, or a ham steak dinner. This delicious collection of easy recipes can be made ahead of time and helps you plan out your holiday meal flawlessly!

What To Serve With Ham

When deciding on the best side dishes for ham you’ll want recipes that are quick and easy to throw together! Many of these easy ham sides can be prepped ahead of time and baked before serving for a Easter dinner, Christmas, brunch or any holiday meal

You have plenty of options for what goes with ham, as far as vegetables, bread, salads, and dessert. Consider how much you wish to prepare ahead of time and what kind of oven space you’ll have to cook the ham with side dishes.

Also, don’t forget the appetizers! Many of these appetizer recipes can also be made ahead of time or are freezer-friendly. If you are looking for a great side dish for brunch, any of these easy breakfast recipes would pair perfectly or choose one these tasty quiche sides!

• Deviled eggs
• Jello salad
• Mac and cheese
• Rolls
• Green salads
• Green bean casserole
• Roasted vegetables
• Potatoes
• Corn casserole
• French bread
• Steamed veggies
• Mashed potatoes
• Soup
• Fruit salad
• Wild rice
• Coleslaw
• Garlic bread
• Scalloped Potatoes
• Peas
• Brussels sprouts
• Pasta salad
• Potato pancakes
• Roasted asparagus

how to serve ham and reheating tips

Besides finding a delicious side dish, you may be wondering how to serve ham at a party or holiday gathering. Luckily spiral hams do not have to be piping hot to take advantage of the best taste and texture!

• Ham can be served warm, straight from the oven, slow cooker, or even Instant Pot at room temperature or cold.
• The USDA recommends it sit out for no longer than 2 hours, but that still gives guests plenty of time to graze.
• To serve cold spiral or ham steak place on a tray with rolls or Hawaiian buns, sliced cheddar cheese, and a collection of gourmet mustards for luncheons or brunch.
• Sliced ham can also be quickly reheated in a skillet with a little olive oil or melted butter. Cook about 2 minutes per side, or until warm and golden.
• To reheat a large amount of spiral ham place in a roasting dish with a little water or chicken broth in the baking tray. Cover securely with foil and heat in a 325ºF oven for about 10 minutes per pound.

What Goes With Ham?

Once you decided on the type of ham to serve, such as honey, brown sugar, or bourbon glazed, it’s time to start thinking about what goes with ham.

When planning a menu, a lot of thought goes into what I’ll serve with my main dish. You don’t want to a frazzled, sweating mess in the kitchen while your guests are trying to relax.

It’s much more becoming to be a frazzled sweaty mess the days before guests arrive! Therefore, consider casseroles that can be assembled before serving, such as baked Velveeta mac and cheese or something that takes minutes to throw together, like corn casserole.

Below are many more easy make-ahead sides to save you time and energy! Choose from salads, breads, vegetables, desserts, and even brunch ideas. Choose a dish or two from every category to make a decadent meal everyone will remember!

Make-ahead Side Dishes

When planning on what to serve with ham, I like to decide on make ahead side dishes first. Then, fill in any gaps with baked ham accompaniments that are quick and easy to prepare while guests are there.

Many of these recipe options are the perfect side dish for a spiral Easter ham, but can also work if you are wondering what to serve with ham steak.

Bread

Bread is very freezer friendly, so this is the first thing I make. Be sure it has completely cooled before transferring to the freezer so ice crystals don’t form on your baked goods.

Leave the bread unsliced before freezing. If preparing biscuits, wrap individually in plastic wrap and then freeze in an airtight container. For baked rolls, leave them in the pan and cover securely.

When ready to serve, set out bread to come to room temperature first. Remove any plastic wrap, cover with foil, and rewarm in 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes before serving.

• Quick breads
• Rolls
• Potato Bread
• Cornbread
• Rye or Marble Rye
• Brioche
• Challah
• Scones
• Garlic Bread
• Muffins
• Biscuits

Deviled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs will stay good up to a week in the refrigerator. Usually I boil a huge batch, peel them up to 3 days before serving, and prepare the filling up to 2 days ahead of time.

Store the filling in a large resealable ziplock bag to pipe when ready to fill. If you plan on adding anything crunchy, like candied bacon, mix that in when filling the egg whites.

Pipe the filling into the eggs no more than 12 hours ahead of time. Cover well to avoid a crust forming on top of the yolks. Sprinkle on any crunchies, like scallions, nuts, or bacon right before serving.

Salads

While the greens should be dressed and tossed right before serving it alongside baked ham, these salad recipes either use make ahead dressings, or may be prepared entirely in advance.

Vegetables

When making vegetable side dishes for ham, you may want to do some prep work before to save time and stress, especially if serving for holidays such as Easter or Christmas.

Veggies that don’t have a high water content, such as carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower can be prepped up to 3 days in advance. If you would like to peel and cut potatoes, cover with water and refrigerate overnight.

Higher water content vegetables, such as mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, or tomatoes should be washed and sliced just before using. Salad greens can be washed, dried, cut, and refrigerated in an air tight container. Placing a paper towel in the container helps soak up excess moisture.

Cakes and Dessert

Cakes are a great option for holiday ham dinners because they can be baked ahead of time and frozen. All of these cakes may be made in advance, assembled with frosting, and then frozen.

For best results, place the whole cake in the freezer. When the frosting is solid, wrap it securely with plastic wrap. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then set out at room temperature at least 6 hours before serving.

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What to serve with ham problem solved! Happy cooking and please leave me a comment below if you have any questions regarding timing or make ahead preparations.

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