Use leftover ham and frozen vegetables to make this easy, flavorful cheesy crust ham pie - a delicious new take on traditional pot pie. Bake in individual ramekins for easy serving or regular casserole dish - it's up to you.
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One of the reasons I like making a big ham for holidays (or any day) - besides eating it, of course - is to have the leftovers. I'll make soups like harvest vegetable ham bone soup, breakfasts like asparagus and ham egg cups and casseroles like this pot pie with a cheese-filled crust.
TIP: Buy a couple of hams when they're on sale around holidays and freeze the others to bake later to have ham for sandwiches and recipes.
I originally found this simple and delicious ham pot pie with a cheesy biscuit crust from the Cook's Country Lost Recipes Cookbook. I'm not normally a big pot pie fan, but I was looking for a way to use up some ham and it had cheese in the crust, hello? I had to try it! After adapting it for our tastes and to make it in easy-to-serve individual sizes, and it's become one of our favorite dishes.
The combination of creamy peas, mushrooms, green beans, and ham topped with the flaky, crispy, cheesy crust creates a healthier from scratch "comfort food" that appears on our menu regularly, sometimes with other vegetables in the filling.
While you might think that preparing a crust is not for weeknights, this one really can be. It uses a food processor and is rolled out fairly easily, taking literally minutes.
Cheesy Crust Ham Pie
This cheese crusted ham pie recipe is as simple as any type of pot pie: you make the gravy or sauce for the filling first and then add vegetables and meat.
For this recipe the filling consists of an easy to make white sauce to which you add onions, peas, mushrooms, and green beans. And of course leftover ham, cut into fork-sized pieces.
After serving a baked ham, I cut the meat off the bone, slice some for sandwiches, and the rest I cut into small pieces and freeze. Then I have cooked ham ready to go when I'd like to make a recipe like this or use it for salads like our favorite chef's salad.
All pot pies have a crust - some have a full lower and upper crust and some have just the top crust. The easiest pot pies are the type with just a top crust.
What is different about this recipe is the addition of grated cheese in the crust. Which also takes it up a huge notch in the flavor department in my opinion. Especially if you use a sharp cheddar cheese.
Since this crust is made in a food processor, it comes together quickly. After pulsing the dough ingredients, you transfer it to wax paper, add the cheese and knead it until it comes together, which takes just a few minutes.
To make the round tops for ramekins or to top a larger casserole, simply roll the dough between the wax paper and then use a biscuit cutter to cut the dough into circles.
A 3-inch biscuit cutter perfectly covered the top of 1-cup sized ramekins in one piece and a 1-inch cutter will make smaller circles to fill a larger-sized baking dish.
Do I have to use ramekins?
You can always serve this in a regular 3-quart casserole dish, but baking it in small 1-cup sized ramekins makes them so easy to serve and perfectly proportioned.
In fact, I probably wouldn't think of serving this to guests when I'd have to plop it in a bowl or all over a plate, but in ramekins? It all of a sudden looks like a restaurant dish! (Can you tell I think ramekins are great? I also use them for scrambled eggs, for a whole wheat chicken & bacon pot pie and even big crumb berry crisp!)
Ramekins are inexpensive and are great to have on hand to use for holding snacks at parties, condiments on the table, or serving up small portions (one of my tips for maintaining a healthy weight).
Here are some options I found for you if you'd like to add 1 cup (8 ounce) ramekins to your kitchen:
World Market is also a great place to find lots of styles of ramekins at great prices.
Really, if you think pot pie is for a different generation, think again - you can make it taste amazing with this flaky cheese crust and any kind of vegetables you want. I love it with carrots, asparagus, kale, spinach - really anything you like!
Side Dish Ideas - it's pretty much a one-dish dinner, but it's nice to amp up the veggies with a salad:
- Orange Almond Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Caesar Salad with Classic Dressing
- Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad
Delicious Cheesy Crust Ham Pie (A Leftover Ham Recipe)
Ingredients
Filling:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 pound sliced mushrooms*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups cooked chopped ham
- 1 cup frozen peas*
- 1 cup chopped green beans fresh or frozen*
Dough:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
- 6 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese preferably sharp
Instructions
Make Filling:
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms (or any other vegetable you're using that may need cooking first) and garlic - cook for another few minutes.
- Stir in the salt, pepper, flour and mustard and cook about 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk and cook until slightly thickened, about another 5 minutes.
- Add the ham, peas and green beans. Stir together and transfer to 8 1-cup ramekins or a 13x9-in baking pan. Set aside.
Make Dough:
- Pulse the flour and cayenne in a food processor; add the softened butter and pulse until the flour resembles course cornmeal.
- Transfer dough to a floured work surface, sprinkle with the cheese, and knead until the dough can be formed into a ball (it may look too dry, but after a few minutes kneading it will come together).
- Roll the dough out between wax paper to about 1/4" thickness and cut into rounds with biscuit cutters. Re-roll until the crust is used up. Place crust pieces on top of the filling in the ramekins or baking dish (it's okay for the filling to showing through).
- Bake until filling is bubbling and top is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes for 1-cup ramekins or 30-35 minutes for the baking dish. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe has been updated - it was originally published April 2009.
Other Real Food Baked Dishes to Try:
Sausage, Bean & Greens Gratin Recipe
Baked White Fish with Parmesan Herb Crust
Quick Mini Meatloaves with Chipotle Honey BBQ
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