Skillet Mac and Cheese with Ham (Cast Iron)

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Mac and Cheese with Ham turns a humble box-dinner memory into a full cast iron skillet supper. Creamy, baked, and loaded with chunks of ham, it is the best reason to cook a little extra at the holidays.

If you love cheesy comfort food, you will also want my Hot Pimento Cheese Dip and my Skillet Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole.

Skillet mac and cheese with ham on a blue plate with the cast iron skillet behind

Quick Look at this Recipe

✅ Recipe Name: Mac and Cheese with Ham
🕒 Ready In: 1 hour (10 minutes prep, 45 minutes cook plus rest)
👪 Serves: 6 people
🥣 Main Ingredients: macaroni, sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, cream cheese, diced ham, evaporated milk
📖 Dietary Info: Contains dairy, egg, and gluten. Easy gluten-free swap below.
⭐ Why You'll Love It: a one-skillet, custard-style baked mac that never goes grainy and is the perfect home for leftover ham.

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Quick Look at this Recipe
Why You'll Love This Mac and Cheese with Ham
What Makes This Ham Mac and Cheese Different
Ingredients You'll Need
How to Make Mac and Cheese with Ham
Add Some Vegetables (Optional)
Expert Tips
What to Serve with Mac and Cheese with Ham
Storage and Make-Ahead
Mac and Cheese with Ham FAQs
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
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Why You'll Love This Mac and Cheese with Ham

One cast iron skillet, start to finish. You build the sauce on the stovetop and bake it in the same pan. No separate casserole dish to scrub.
It is the ultimate leftover ham recipe. Got a hunk of Easter or Christmas ham staring at you? Dice up about 3 cups and you have dinner.
The sauce stays creamy, not grainy. The custard base of egg, evaporated milk, and cream cheese sets up smooth and rich instead of breaking the way a quick cheese sauce can.
Kid-approved, adult-upgraded. Familiar enough for picky eaters, with enough depth from the seasonings and ham to feel like a real meal.

What Makes This Ham Mac and Cheese Different

Most mac and cheese recipes start with a flour roux. This one skips it. Instead, you melt butter and cream cheese in the skillet, then whisk together a custard of egg, evaporated milk, a little whole milk, and a spoon of mayonnaise.

There is a reason for each of those. The egg gently sets the custard as it bakes, so the dish slices and serves instead of sliding around. The evaporated milk is concentrated and stable, which is what keeps the sauce from going grainy or oily in the oven. The spoon of mayonnaise sounds odd, but it adds a quiet tang and helps everything stay emulsified and smooth. You will not taste mayo in the finished dish. You will just notice the sauce is silkier than usual.

A splash of hot sauce goes in too. The dish is not spicy. The hot sauce just rounds out the flavor and keeps all that cheese from tasting flat.

Ingredients You'll Need

Ingredients for mac and cheese with ham including macaroni, cheddar, cream cheese, diced ham, eggs, evaporated milk, milk, mayonnaise, butter and seasonings

Here is what goes into this macaroni and cheese with ham. Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

Pasta. About 10 ounces of macaroni or elbows. Other short shapes work too.
Butter and cream cheese. The base of the sauce. Set them out early to soften if you think of it.
Sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack. Grate them fresh off the block. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking starch that keeps it from melting smoothly.
Egg, evaporated milk, whole milk, and mayonnaise. The custard that binds it all together.
Seasonings. Salt, black pepper, dry ground mustard, onion powder, and a little hot sauce.
Diced ham. About 3 cups. Leftover holiday ham is perfect here. So is a thick deli slab.
Fresh parsley to finish.

Macaroni and elbows are the classic pick because the cheese clings to every curve, but you have room to play. Stick with smaller shapes that hold sauce: shells, bowties, corkscrew, or penne all work. And when you add the grated cheese, add it by the handful and fold it in. A big pile of cheese hitting hot pasta clumps into a mess.

How to Make Mac and Cheese with Ham

Creamy custard cheese sauce base melting in a cast iron skillet

Melt the butter and cream cheese in the skillet, then whisk in the egg custard.

Cooked macaroni added to the creamy cheese sauce in the skillet

Stir in the pasta, cooked one minute shy of the package.

Diced ham stirred into the macaroni and cheese

Fold in the diced ham.

Grated cheddar cheese folded into the skillet mac and cheese with ham

Add the cheese by the handful, top, then bake until golden.

Add Some Vegetables (Optional)

Mac and cheese is a friendly base for sneaking in vegetables. Frozen peas are the classic match with ham. You can also stir in sauteed onion, mushrooms, corn, diced tomatoes, or zucchini. Roasted broccoli, cauliflower, or bell peppers fold in nicely too. Add about a cup of cooked or quick-cooking veg when you stir in the ham.

Expert Tips

Cook the pasta one minute shy of the box. It keeps cooking in the oven. Pull it early so it does not turn to mush. This is the single biggest fix for soft baked mac.
Be patient with the cream cheese. It is stubborn. A whisk and low heat coax it into the butter smoothly.
Reserve some cheddar for the top. That top layer is what browns into the good crust.
Want it extra golden? After the covered bake, uncover and run it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. Watch it closely.
Like a crunchy top? Toss a third of a cup of panko with a tablespoon of melted butter and scatter it on before the uncovered bake.
Rest it 5 minutes out of the oven. The custard firms up so it serves in tidy scoops instead of a puddle.

Baked mac and cheese with ham in a cast iron skillet with a serving on a blue plate

What to Serve with Mac and Cheese with Ham

This is rich, so I like to balance it with something fresh or crisp.

Garlic Butter Skillet Corn for a sweet, buttery side that comes together fast.
A green vegetable like my Skillet Roasted Asparagus to cut the richness.
Warm, crusty Artesian Italian Bread for swiping the plate clean.
And if you are cooking the ham fresh, start with my Dutch Oven Ham and save the leftovers for this skillet.

Storage and Make-Ahead

Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If they seem dry, stir in a splash of milk before reheating.
Reheat: Warm gently in the oven or microwave with a splash of milk to bring the creaminess back.
Freezer: Freeze cooled portions in airtight containers or vacuum-sealed bags for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat with a little milk.
Make-ahead: Assemble up to the point of baking, cover, and refrigerate up to a day. Add a few extra minutes to the covered bake since it starts cold.

Mac and Cheese with Ham FAQs

What kind of ham is best for mac and cheese?

Leftover baked or holiday ham is ideal because it is already cooked and full of flavor. A thick slab of deli ham or a ham steak works too. Dice it into bite-size pieces, about 3 cups, so you get ham in every forkful.

Can I make mac and cheese with ham ahead of time?

Yes. Assemble it right up to baking, cover, and refrigerate for up to a day. Bake straight from the fridge and add a few extra minutes to the covered time since it starts cold.

Why is my baked mac and cheese grainy or oily?

Grainy sauce usually comes from pre-shredded bagged cheese or from overheating. Grate your cheese fresh off the block and fold it in by the handful over gentle heat. This recipe also uses evaporated milk and an egg custard, which stay smooth and stable in the oven.

Can I make this gluten-free?

Yes. Use your favorite gluten-free short pasta. The sauce has no flour in it, so the rest of the recipe stays the same.

How do I keep the pasta from getting mushy?

Boil it one minute shy of the package directions. The pasta finishes cooking in the oven, so pulling it early keeps it tender with a little bite instead of soft and mushy.

Can I add vegetables?

Absolutely. Frozen peas are the classic with ham. Onion, mushrooms, corn, diced tomatoes, zucchini, or roasted broccoli and cauliflower all work. Stir in about a cup when you add the ham.