The Best Leftover Ham Bone Recipes – 13 Recipes You Have To Try

Versatile, flavorful, delicious, and the perfect party pleaser, ham bone is a popular food right the way across America.

However, we somehow always seem to end up with some leftovers, and unless you live in the south, the chances are you don’t know how to reuse it.

The fact you’ve landed on this post would suggest you’re struggling to find a recipe too. 

If so, don’t worry because you’re in luck. In this post, we want to help you make the most out of your leftover ham bone (see also ‘The 34 Best Leftover Ham Recipes To Try Out‘). So much so, that we’ve done the research and compiled a list of the best 13 ham bone recipes. 

In today’s post, we’ll take you through our list, detailing all the options you have at your disposal. Some of our favorite options include potato and ham soup, collard greens with a ham bone, and party ham rolls.

Let’s take a look at the list!

1. Ham Bone And Bean Soup

We’ll start our list with a truly delicious option and one you’ll find yourself coming back to time and time again. Super simple to make, this ham bone and bean soup only contains 10 ingredients.

If you love a hot soup on a winter’s night and something with a kick of heat, this recipe is ideal.

With only a ingredients such as onions, navy beans, and ham bone, this dish is enhanced and made more complex with the addition of herbs and spices.

This helps unleash more intense flavors and adds to the overall comfort aspect of the soup.

2. Party Ham Rolls

Why not use your leftover ham bone to make some delicious party ham rolls for the whole family.

Easily made using a range of different types of ham, this is the perfect recipe if you want to feed the whole family or make a quick bite to eat for guests.

This recipe features freshly baked rolls loaded with cheese, mustard, and of course ham. Full of flavor, filling, and super tasty, you definitely won’t have any ham bone left after these sandwiches.

Why not make your party rolls a little more interesting with some fresh salad and tomatoes.

3. Ham And Potato Soup

Made in just 40 minutes, the next ham bone recipe on our list is this wonderful ham and potato soup recipe. Super simple, yet incredibly delicious, this soup is thick, creamy, fulfilling, and healthy.

Packed with veggies, this is the perfect winter dinner for you and the family. Simply dice your ham and veggies, and get the soup cooking.

While this recipe contains few ingredients, the beauty of it is that you can add more ingredients if you prefer. For example, you could add parsnips and carrots.

4. Collard Greens And Ham Bone

Something a little different next, this collard greens with ham bone recipe is the perfect recipe to up your collard greens game.

In fact, if you live in the south, the chances are you’ve already tried this recipe before. It might be a bit unhealther, but it’s also a lot tastier.

The ham bone helps to give the collard greens a saltier, meaty kick. It is this kick that balances out the bitterness of the collard greens beautifully. 

Aside from giving you the perfect chance to use your leftovers, this recipe also lets you avoid those boring collard green recipes we’re all used to.

5. Ham Pot Pie

If you’re looking for something more substantial, use your leftover ham bone to make this wonderful ham pot pie. Pot pies aren’t just for chicken, as this ham pot pie recipe demonstrates. 

A perfect comfort meal, this recipe takes your ham and a variety of veggies and cooks them in a creamy sauce. The pie fillings are then baked in a flaky, buttery homemade pie crust.

The creaminess of the pie, the saltiness of the meat, and the sweetness of the vegetables come together wonderfully to create a mouthwatering pie for the whole family.

6. Ham And Potato Croquettes

You can even use your leftover ham bone to make some great side dishes, this ham and potato croquette recipe being the prime example. This recipe is great for many reasons.

For starters, it looks great and tastes even better. Secondly, it freezes really well, and finally, it lets you use your leftover mashed potatoes as well as ham bone.

Giving your potatoes and ham a bit of Spanish flair (see also ‘27 Of The Most Authentic Spanish Recipes‘), easily make these croquettes by combining the two ingredients, adding seasoning, and deep frying each croquette. 

If you’re feeling a little naughty, these croquettes are a great snack.

7. Red Beans And Rice

If you love Cajun-inspired food, you’ll absolutely love this red beans and rice recipe . Packed full of flavor, the dish may sound pretty simple but the flavors are unbelievable. 

Loaded with veggies, herbs, spices, rice, beans, and of course your ham bone, this recipe is an awesome healthy comfort food option.

Enhance the flavor and spice things up a little by adding a dash of hot sauce, or maybe even mix things up by adding a drop of vinegar into each serving. 

In our opinion, this is one of the tastiest and best family-friendly recipes you can make using ham bone.

8. Ham Stock

By far one of, if not the most versatile thing you can do with your leftover ham bone is make a ham stock. Full of natural flavor and not too greasy, ham stock is an amazing base for a wide range of dishes. 

This includes stews and soups amongst other things. This gives you the chance to make your leftover ham bone go further and also save it for future use, as it can be easily frozen for up to one year.

This is probably a better option if you have a lot of ham bone leftover. Simply make a big batch, split it up, and freeze it ready for when you want it. 

9. Pea And Ham Soup

Made in the slow cooker or on the stove, this soup recipe is flavorsome and incredibly tasty. If we’re being totally honest, it doesn’t look like the tastiest of soups, but once you get a taste of it, you’ll never look back. 

This recipe features peas, ham bone, and diced ham. The saltiness of the hams and smooth, mild flavors of the peas go together brilliantly. Compared to other soups, the thick texture and rich flavor make it much more filling than others. 

Adding some croutons to the top of the soup will give it a lovely crunch. 

10. Japanese Cold Noodles

If you have leftover ham bone and want to try something completely new and different, why not follow this Japanese cold noodle recipe.

Combining a wonderful selection of flavors, this noodle dish is easy-to-make, tastes great, looks awesome, and is quite healthy.

What’s not to like?

Known as Hiyashi Chuka, this dish is a typical summer’s dish that would be eaten in Japan. It combines fresh ingredients to create the perfect balance of savory, sweet, and salty and comes with plenty of nutrients and vitamins.

A great thing about this recipe is that you can use any ingredient you want.

11. Pasta Fagioli Ham Bone Soup

The next recipe on our list is this slow cooker pasta fagioli ham bone soup recipe. This hearty soup is so thick and filling that you can hardly call it a soup at all.

Packed with veggies, ham bone, and a very generous serving of pasta, this soup tastes great. In fact, we probably like it more than any other pasta-based soup we’ve ever had. 

The hot, saucy-like broth elevates the dish and adds another element of coziness, whilst the herbs and spices used to season the dish offer that fresh burst of flavor.

12. Ham And Cheese Quiche

The penultimate recipe on our list is this fantastic ham and cheese quiche recipe. Quiche is a great choice because it can be eaten on multiple occasions. Whether it be brunch with friends, a quick lunch, or a light evening supper, quiche fits the bill.

This quiche recipe makes use of your leftover ham and turns it into a tasty dish that can be stored in the refrigerator and picked at whenever you need it.

Consisting of various cheeses, onion, milk, eggs, and ham, you can keep things nice and simple or enhance flavors by adding other ingredients and spices.

13. Ham Bone And Black Bean Soup

Finally, we’ll finish this list with a delicious smoky ham and black bean soup recipe. Spicy, smoky, and full of goodness, this recipe is absolutely perfect for a cold night by the fire.

Relatively light, salty, and beautifully rich, the flavors are complex, yet not hard to combine. 

If we’re being totally honest, this recipe is one of those meals you can’t really explain until you’ve tried it. Having said that, you can probably tell how good it’s going to taste simply by looking at it and smelling it. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does Ham Bone Last?

If your ham bone is uncured, uncooked, and fresh it will last approximately 3 to 5 days in a refrigerator. After that, you will probably start to see and smell the meat going bad. At this stage in proceedings, throw it in the bin.

Can You Freeze Ham Bone?

Yes, ham bone can be frozen and used at a later date. This makes it much easier to reuse your ham bone and gives you the chance to make multiple dishes with it.

How Long Can You Leave Ham Bone In A Freezer?

Ham bone can be left in a freezer for up to 3 months. After 3 months, you should throw the meat out. We recommend using the meat as soon as possible to avoid a loss of flavor and texture.

Final Thoughts

That concludes our list of tasty leftover ham bone recipes. As you can see from our list, there’s’ a wide range of different things you can do with any leftovers. 

There are other recipes out there but if you want to make the best use of your leftovers, you simply have to try at least one of the recipes from this list.

Despite varying in terms of the ingredients they contain, all of the recipes on our list are quite versatile in the way they can be adjusted and adapted to suit your needs and requirements. 

Now you have this list of recipes at your disposal, why don’t you give a few of them a try!