This vintage ham loaf recipe transforms simple ingredients into a hearty, flavorful meal and is the perfect way to use up leftover holiday ham!
Vintage Ham Loaf Recipe
If you’ve got leftover ham in the fridge and aren’t quite sure what to do with it, let me introduce you to a little piece of comfort food heaven: Granny’s Ham Loaf.
This recipe has been in my collection for over 20 years, and it’s one of those dishes that feels like a warm hug from the past. It takes humble ingredients—ham, cracker crumbs, eggs—and transforms them into a tender, savory loaf that’s topped with a sweet, tangy glaze that’s downright irresistible.
This dish is also called Amish Ham loaf because it likely originated from the Pennsylvania Dutch communities in the late 1800s. Over the years, it became a common dish throughout the midwest, which explains how it ended up in our family recipe book!
Why I Love This Recipe
Growing up, my mom always found a way to stretch leftovers into something that tastes brand new. This ham loaf is another way of making sure nothing goes to waste—especially after holidays when there is often a bit of ham left.
It looks like a traditional meatloaf, but don’t be fooled—the texture and flavor are totally different. The ground ham mixed with cracker crumbs gives it a unique, almost melt-in-your-mouth feel. And that glaze? It’s the sweet and savory cherry on top.
I’ll admit, I don’t cook ham all that often these days. And usually, what little is left disappears fast once my kids pack up their “leftover containers.”
But recently, I bought a ham to try Granny’s ham salad recipe (another gem), and for once—I had extra. Naturally, it was time to bring out the ham loaf.
Every time I make a recipe for this blog, I’m instantly reminded of Granny’s kitchen—the warm smells, the clink of her old Pyrex dishes and the way she made even leftovers feel special.
If you’ve got some ham on hand, I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. It might just become one of your new go-to comfort meals, too.
Let me know if you make it—I’d love to hear how it turns out!
–Sara
Ingredients
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- 1 1/2 pounds baked ham
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
Sweet and Tangy Brown Sugar Sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 TB vinegar
- 2TB water
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Helpful Kitchen Tools
- Mixing Bowls
- 9×5 inch Loaf Pan
- Food Processor or Meat Grinder
Instructions
You don’t need any fancy equipment—just a food processor or meat grinder to grind the ham, and you’re good to go.
Plan for about three hours to be able to make and serve. It takes about 20 minutes to prepare. One and a half hours to bake. And about half an hour to cool.
To Prep: Preheat oven to 325°F and coat a 9X5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. You can also line with parchment paper to make it even easier to remove from pan.
- Chop crackers in the food processor until you have 1 cup of crumbs. You will need about 1 ½ cups of crackers.
- Chop ham into pieces and process in batches that allow you to pulverize the ham. For my food processor, I filled the bowl until the half-way point.
- Combine ham, cracker crumbs, eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Put meat mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.
- Combine the ingredients for the topping mixture in a small bowl.
- At the one-hour mark, pour the topping mixture over the ham loaf.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for about half an hour.
- Serve in slices while still warm.
Prep Tips
- Ham – The recipe calls for one and a half pounds of ham. I used a kitchen scale. If you don’t have a scale this amount of ham filled a gallon bag about halfway. It almost filled a 2-quart bowl. This recipe also says ground ham. Since I don’t have a meat grinder, I used my food processor. I processed until it looked “ground” to me.
- Crackers – In this recipe, cracker crumbs are used like you would use bread crumbs in a traditional meat loaf recipe. Granny’s recipe didn’t specify a type of cracker, so you can use whatever you have on hand. I had some gluten-free crackers on hand and I used those, but I think something like Ritz crackers would also taste fabulous.
- Preparing the Pan – For a recipe like this that has a sugar glaze, it’s important to prepare the baking dish so you have the least amount of sticking. I used a non-stick spray for baking and then lined the pan with parchment paper. I like to cut the paper so it is the width of the length of the pan and the long side of the paper hangs over the side. Once you loaf is baked and cooled a bit, you can easily lift the entire thing in one piece from the pan.
- Storage – Keep leftovers wrapped in aluminum foil or in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 3-4 days.
More Recipes To Use Leftover Holiday Ham
Ham Loaf Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
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Ham Loaf
Equipment
- Food processor or Meat Grinder
- 9x5 inch loaf pan
- large mixing bowl
Ingredients
Ham Loaf
- 1 ½ pounds baked ham
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup cracker crumbs
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper
Sweet and Tangy Topping
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 TB vinegar
- 2 TB water
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Spray 9X4 loaf pan with non-stick spray. You can also line with parchment paper to make it even easier to remove from pan
- Chop crackers in the food processor until you have 1 cup of crumbs. (About 1 ½ cups of crackers)
- Chop ham into pieces and process in batches that allow you to pulverize the ham. For my food processor, I filled the bowl until the half-way point.
- Mix ham, cracker crumbs, eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl.
- Put ham mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.
- Combine the ingredients for the topping mixture in a small bowl.
- At the one-hour mark, pour the topping mixture over the ham loaf.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for about half an hour.
- Enjoy warm.
Notes
- Ham - The recipe calls for one and a half pounds of ham. I used a kitchen scale. If you don’t have a scale this amount of ham filled a gallon bag about halfway. It almost filled a 2-quart bowl. This recipe also says ground ham. Since I don’t have a meat grinder, I used my food processor. I processed until it looked “ground” to me.
- Crackers - In this recipe, cracker crumbs are used like you would use bread crumbs in a traditional meat loaf recipe. Granny's recipe didn't specify a type of cracker, so you can use whatever you have on hand. I had some gluten-free crackers on hand and I used those, but I think something like Ritz crackers would also taste fabulous.
- Preparing the Pan - For a recipe like this that has a sugar glaze, it’s important to prepare the baking dish so you have the least amount of sticking. I used a non-stick spray for baking and then lined the pan with parchment paper. I like to cut the paper so it is the width of the length of the pan and the long side of the paper hangs over the side. Once you loaf is baked and cooled a bit, you can easily lift the entire thing in one piece from the pan.
- Storage - Keep leftovers wrapped in aluminum foil or in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 3-4 days.
Nutrition
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