It’s time to experience the awesomeness of leftover Christmas ham with these irresistible Cheese and Ham Pancakes….. Crispy cheesy golden outsides, fluffy insides with pops of ham (or bacon!), these are outrageously delicious!
URGENT, URGENT!!! DID YOU SAVE YOUR HAM BONE???!!!!!
I forgot to remind you!😩 In all the kerfuffle* trying to get a Dozer/Nagi Christmas selfie + last minute present shopping not to mention all the last minute changes to the Christmas menu that was decided on the fly on Christmas Eve, resulting in a large part of that day being spent running around from store to store, battling the crowds.
We even bought a food processor the day before Christmas. Just because homemade pate* and Roasted Cauliflower with Almond Puree** got added to the menu, then we realised my mother didn’t have a food processor. 🙄
Only a food blogging family would do something crazy like that. Normal families would have made do. Instead, in our family, somebody (probably me) screeched “MUM, how can you not have a food processor???!!!” . Then somebody (probably my brother) proceeded to bash away on the internet to find a good one, hunt down a store with it in stock, then we all jumped in the car to race to the store to get it.
And all this is a long winded way of saying that in the Christmas madness, I forgot to send out a simple reminder to save the ham bone from your Christmas Ham because this year, we’re going to make a Ham Bone Chinese Rice Soup (Congee!!!) which is all of 3 ingredients, takes all of 3 minutes to prepare and tastes so unbelievably good, it made me do the jiggy.
Ham bone = most incredible stock ever. Just wait until you try it!!!
* This was my request. Because homemade pate is out of this world good. And if you can’t put in food requests on Christmas Day, when can you, eh? 😈
** This was an addition by someone sensible who pointed out that we didn’t have much green stuff on the Christmas menu. To which I responded stubbornly “Make what you want, but you can’t use the oven or the stove cause they’re taken!”, so in the end we made this Roasted Cauliflower recipe using the outdoor BBQ.
I haven’t filmed the Ham Bone Congee yet, so it will be coming to you sometime next week. I need to get my hands on another leftover ham bone. I have put the feelers out and am expecting a delivery sometime this week, upon which I’ll make the video then publish the recipe. I think the video will be handy so you can see how the rice breaks down and how thick the soup should be. So for now, pop your ham bone in the freezer and let me show you what I’ve made with all that leftover Christmas ham.
Are you ready? 🙂
Here it is.
Let me introduce you to your new favourite breakfast: Cheese and Ham Pancakes.
Crispy and cheesy on the outside.
Fluffy on the inside with pops of ham and cheesy goodness.
A dollop of sour cream, little sprinkle of green onions and crispy bits of cooked ham.
That moment when you cut into it and shovel a huge forkful into your mouth, being sure it’s generously smeared with sour cream…
It’s a little Christmas miracle all over again.
WHAT A WAY TO TRANSFORM LEFTOVER HAM!!!!!
Mind you, there is nothing wrong with a good ole’ ham sandwich. In fact, a leftover Christmas ham sandwich is the best of the best of all sandwiches, in my humble opinion.
Though hot on its heels is a cheese and ham jaffle, made using an old school jaffle maker – none of those fancy sandwich presses, thanks! Nope, we use Wonder White sandwich bread, lashings of butter on both sides, pile on the ham and cheese as high as you dare, then use both hands and every muscle in your arms plus body weight to squeeze the clamp shut and let the jaffle maker do its work.
So, sandwiches first.
Then once you’re sandwiched out, try these Cheese and Ham Pancakes. And if you’re out of ham, just use regular store bought ham or BACON!
I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas!!! Thank you for all the lovely Christmas messages! I am slowly making my way through them, now that I have emerged from my Christmas coma. 😵 Back to reality!! – Nagi x
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Cheese and Ham Pancakes (Pikelets!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup / 150 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 egg
- 215 ml / 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk (Note 1)
- 1 1/4 cups / 150 g grated cheddar cheese (Note 2)
- 1 1/4 cups / 225g chopped ham (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 cups shallots / scallions , finely sliced (about 4 stalks)
Cooking:
- 2 - 3 tbsp butter
Toppings (optional):
- Sour cream (highly recommend, or use yoghurt)
- Extra chopped shallots
- Extra chopped ham , cooked
Instructions
- Place flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix to combine.
- Make a well in the centre. Add egg and milk. Mix until flour is incorporated - small lumps is fine (see video / photo in post).
- Add cheese, ham and shallots. Stir through - it should have a soft dropping consistency.
- Heat a non stick pan over medium high heat (or medium if your stove is strong).
- If using extra ham for toppings: cook it in just 1 tsp butter until golden, then remove onto paper towels to drain.
- For the pancakes: Add about 2 tsp butter, swirl to melt.
- Place 1/4 cup batter in the pan (Note 4), then roughly spread into a 7cm / 3" circle. Repeat to fill the pan (I do 3 in a small pan, 4 in a large).
- Cook for 2 minutes until the underside is deep golden. Don't wait for bubbles like normal pancakes, they won't appear.
- Flip and cook the other side for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove onto a rack.
- Add a bit of extra butter and repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve with dollops of sour cream (virtually mandatory!), sprinkled with extra cooked ham and shallots, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
Tearing into a Christmas present to reveal his new (current) favourite toy.
My poor hands.
These were fabulous. I made them slightly bigger (1/3 cup) and served them with a poached egg on top and some roasted tomatoes. So tasty, hubby loved them too. Fantastic brunch dish.
I’ve been choosing one of your leftover Christmas ham recipes each day (I did the maple glazed ham)… you’re 3 for 3 on the 5-star ratings!!! This was really tasty. Simple and enjoyed by all! We had it as a dinner with a side of salad. Thanks Nagi 🥰
Just put these on the table. Delicious. Don’t try to make over big pancake like I did!! Life changing if you don’t like sweet breakfast!
The word ‘delicious’ does does not even begin to describe how tasty these are 😋
I did struggle to get perfectly round pancakes however this is expected as a newbie making these! Tastes the same no matter the shape 😂
I do like a bit of heat so added a couple of finely chopped birdseye chillies to the batter.
Total winner this one 👌🏼👍🏼
I only had 1 cup of leftover ham and 1/2 a small onion and one small shallot, and I sauted the onion and shallot a bit before adding to the cheese and batter. I found the batter to be really thick, so added another tbsp. of milk. It still seemed too thick (more like a fritter batter than a pancake batter), but they turned out okay. I don’t know that I’d make them again though.
The only way to eat leftover ham. 🥰
Made these this morning, absolutely delicious. It was just for my partner and I so I halved the recipe and it was the perfect amount for us. Served with sour cream of course!
I made these cocktail size and served with home made mango chutney. Everyone raved! This recipe is a winner.
Amazing! Whole family loved them including my 14 month old daughter.
Hi Nagi,
Could I use deli sliced pork in these?
Yes you could Kim but you will probably need to add a bit more salt. N x
I added leftover corn from half a cob and it was perfect. Didn’t have Spring Onions, so used half a small red onion and fresh chives. Will definitely be a regular in our household! 👌
These were a hit in our house, even the kid who isn’t a big ham or cheese fan demolished them!
Super easy and quick, thanks for sharing your fab recipes 💕
Hi Nagi. Love making these! My wife and kids think they’re great. Have you tried these with Japanese mayo as a dip instead? We seem to prefer it with that!
Have you ever tried making the batter then cooking it in a waffle iron? Ham & cheese waffles then?
PS — when I make these I also cut up a couple of Asian shallots (I’m in Asia so I don’t have proper eschallots here) and chuck them in the batter and it turns extremely fragrant!
Cuisine rapide et très facile. J’aime. Merci
En français SVP
Made these and they went down a treat. My 1 yrs old ate 2 all by herself 🥰
Hi Nagi, Can i use almond flower instead ?
Thanks……
Petra
Hi Petra, it wont be quite the same here but yes you could 🙂
Hi, may i know if i can use rice flour instead of all purpose flour?? Thanks <3
Hi Clara, I haven’t tried but would love to know it if works! N x
Can you freeze these for school lunch boxes?
Yes definitely! N x
Thanks Nagi!
These are delicious. Per one of the reviewers I added some extra milk due to use of gluten free flour and they turned out great. Take Nagi’s advice and use a non stick skillet. I did have a question about Note 1. “If the batter is to thin for a thick pancake like these are, then the inside of the middle often does not cook through properly.” I would think if the batter was too thick they wouldn’t cook properly, so I was a little confused. However, I followed the instructions as written and all worked out.
These are delicious. Per one of the reviewers I added some extra milk due to use of gluten free flour and they turned out great. Take Nagi’s advice and use a non stick skillet. I did have a question about Note 1. “If the batter is to thin for a thick pancake like these are, then the inside of the middle often does not cook through properly.” I would think if the batter was too thick they wouldn’t cook properly, so I was a little confused. However, I followed the instructions as written and all worked out.
Hi Lee, if the batter is too watery they tend to not cook evenly, but I’m so glad they worked out for you! That’s great to hear! N x