This easy leftover gammon pasta combines cooked gammon, peas and pasta in a creamy crème fraîche sauce with Parmesan and Dijon mustard. Ready in 22 minutes, it's a tasty, family-friendly way to turn leftover roast gammon into another dinner.
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Quick Summary - Leftover Gammon Pasta with Peas
I often make this pasta with leftover honey roast gammon, particularly after Christmas. It's a tasty, family-friendly dinner that makes good use of leftovers.
🕒 Ready In: 22 minutes
👪 Serves: 4
🍽 Calories: 810
🥣 Main Ingredients: Cooked gammon, pasta, frozen peas, crème fraîche, Parmesan and Dijon mustard.
👩🍳 Difficulty: Easy
👌 Why this recipe? It turns leftover gammon into a creamy, family-friendly pasta dinner in just 22 minutes using everyday ingredients.
Summarise & Save This Content On
Use smoked, unsmoked or honey-glazed gammon, or substitute leftover cooked ham. Everything comes together on the hob (stovetop), with no oven required.
Love leftovers? Try my easy leftover beef stroganoff made with leftover roast beef!
Jump to:
- Quick Summary - Leftover Gammon Pasta with Peas
- Why you'll love this leftover gammon recipe!
- Ingredient notes
- Need to substitute an ingredient?
- Variations
- What is the difference between gammon and ham?
- How to make leftover gammon pasta
- Beth's top tips
- Serving suggestions
- Storage
- Troubleshooting guide
- Leftover gammon pasta FAQs
- More easy pasta recipes
- Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Why you'll love this leftover gammon recipe!
- Uses up leftover gammon - works with smoked, unsmoked or honey-glazed gammon.
- Creamy and cheesy - with crème fraîche, Parmesan and a little Dijon mustard.
- Family-friendly - a comforting pasta dinner with sweet peas.
- Simple ingredients - an easy way to turn leftovers into another meal.
Ingredient notes
A full ingredients list along with Metric and US Customary measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Leftover cooked gammon (cooked ham) - Cut into small, bite-sized cubes. Smoked, unsmoked and honey-glazed gammon all work. This recipe uses meat that has already been cooked; raw gammon needs cooking separately first.
Pasta - Penne or rigatoni are good choices because their shapes hold the creamy sauce. Follow the cooking time on your packet.
Frozen peas - Add these directly to the pasta pan towards the end of cooking.
Olive oil - For softening the onion and garlic.
Onion - Use a small brown onion (yellow onion), finely chopped so it softens quickly.
Garlic - Two finely chopped cloves flavour the sauce.
Italian herb seasoning (Italian seasoning) - A convenient dried herb mixture.
Full-fat crème fraîche - Makes the creamy sauce without needing a flour-and-butter base. This is the version I use; I haven't tested reduced-fat crème fraîche or other creamy substitutes.
Dijon mustard - Adds a little tang to complement the gammon and cheese.
Parmesan - Finely grate it so it melts easily into the sauce.
Parsley - Adds freshness just before serving.
Black pepper and optional salt - Taste before adding salt because the gammon and Parmesan already contribute plenty of seasoning.
Need to substitute an ingredient?
Have an allergy or dietary preference? Let AI customise the recipe for you.
Variations
- Add leftover cooked vegetables from Christmas to the pasta. Roasted Brussels sprouts, air fryer butternut squash, or roasted tender stem broccoli all work well!
- How about adding leftover pigs in blankets and even chopped-up pieces of apricot and sausage meat stuffing?
- Use different cheeses. Swap the Parmesan for Gruyere or crumbled blue cheese from your Christmas cheese board. Anything that melts will work in this!
- Use wholewheat pasta for more fibre.
- Swap the frozen peas for frozen sweetcorn.
- The recipe would work with leftover slow cooker gammon, roast chicken or roast turkey too, or a mixture of different leftover meats.
- Substitute creme fraiche with double cream for extra indulgence!
- Turn it into a leftover ham and pea pasta bake by topping it with breadcrumbs and mozzarella and baking it in the oven for 20 minutes.
What is the difference between gammon and ham?
Both of these cuts are taken from the pig's hind legs. The difference is that gammon is meat that has been cured (by being salted, brined, or smoked) and sold raw, whereas ham has been dry-cured or cooked, and is sold ready to eat. Once you've cooked gammon, it becomes ham.
How to make leftover gammon pasta
One: Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions, adding the frozen peas for the final 5 minutes. Before draining, reserve a mugful of the pasta cooking water.
Two: Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (skillet) or shallow casserole over a medium-low heat. Add the finely chopped onion, garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion softens.
Three: Reduce the heat to low and stir in the crème fraîche, Dijon mustard and finely grated Parmesan. Add 2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water and stir gently until the sauce is smooth.
Four: Add the cubed cooked gammon, drained pasta and peas. Stir over a gentle heat until the gammon is steaming hot throughout. Add another tablespoon of pasta water if needed, then stir in the parsley. Taste, season with black pepper and add salt only if needed. Serve immediately.
Beth's top tips
- Prepare the ingredients first. Chop the gammon and onion and grate the cheese before starting so you can make the sauce while the pasta cooks.
- Reserve more pasta water than you expect to need. I normally use 2-3 tablespoons, but different pasta shapes and brands of crème fraîche can affect the consistency.
- Keep the sauce over a gentle heat. Stir it until smooth rather than letting it boil vigorously.
- Taste before salting. This is especially useful when using strongly flavoured smoked gammon.
- Serve promptly. Pasta absorbs sauce as it stands, so it is creamiest straight from the pan.
Serving suggestions
Serve the leftover ham and pea pasta with a crisp green side salad and homemade focaccia bread, or add steamed broccoli, or air fried green beans.
Storage
Use cooked gammon that has been cooled promptly and stored correctly in the fridge. UK Food Standards Agency guidance advises eating refrigerated leftovers within 48 hours or freezing them, and reheating leftovers only once.
Making this pasta reheats the leftover gammon, so prepare the amount you need and serve straight away. I don't recommend planning to cool and reheat the finished dish again.
If you have more cooked gammon than you can use, freeze it in recipe-sized portions before reheating it. Defrost thoroughly in the fridge before using, and heat until steaming hot throughout.
Troubleshooting guide
The sauce is too thick. Stir in reserved pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, until the sauce coats the pasta comfortably. Keep the pan over a low heat while you stir.
The sauce is too thin. Before adding more water, toss the pasta in the sauce briefly over a gentle heat. The pasta will absorb some liquid. Avoid boiling the sauce hard to reduce it.
The pasta tastes too salty. Leave out any additional salt and serve with unsalted vegetables. Next time, use less salt in the pasta water and taste the sauce after adding the gammon and Parmesan.
The gammon is dry or chewy. Cut it into small pieces and heat gently in the sauce just until steaming hot throughout. Avoid prolonged simmering.
Leftover gammon pasta FAQs
This creamy pasta is an easy option for a hot family dinner. Other ideas include gammon sandwiches, salads, omelettes, fried rice and soup. Choose according to how much gammon you have and whether it has already been reheated.
Yes, provided it was safely stored and frozen before being reheated. Defrost it thoroughly in the fridge before making the pasta.
I use full-fat crème fraîche and haven't tested the recipe with reduced-fat versions, so I can't confirm that the sauce will have the same consistency.
More easy pasta recipes
- Creamy Sausage Pasta
- Boursin Pasta
- Paprika Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Bacon Mac and Cheese
- Tuna Pasta Bake
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Recipe
Easy Leftover Gammon Pasta
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Ingredients
- 350 g Pasta penne or rigatoni
- 250 g Frozen Peas
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Onion small, finely chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian Herb Seasoning
- 300 ml Creme Fraiche full fat
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 75 g Parmesan grated
- 300 g Leftover Gammon Ham cubed
- 1 tablespoon Parsley chopped
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta and peas. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, adding the frozen peas for the final 5 minutes. Reserve a mugful of cooking water before draining.350 g Pasta, 250 g Frozen Peas
- Soften the onion. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (skillet) or shallow casserole over a medium-low heat. Cook the onion, garlic and Italian seasoning gently for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until softened.1 tablespoon Olive Oil, 1 Onion, 2 Garlic Cloves, 1 teaspoon Italian Herb Seasoning
- Make the sauce. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the crème fraîche, Dijon mustard, Parmesan and 2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water until smooth.300 ml Creme Fraiche, 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard, 75 g Parmesan
- Combine and serve. Stir in the gammon, pasta and peas. Heat gently, stirring, until the gammon is steaming hot throughout. Add another tablespoon of pasta water if needed. Stir in the parsley, add black pepper and taste before adding any salt. Serve immediately.300 g Leftover Gammon Ham, 1 tablespoon Parsley, ½ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Notes
- Gammon: I've tested this with smoked, unsmoked and honey-glazed gammon.
- Sauce consistency: I normally use 2-3 tablespoons of pasta water; reserve extra for adjustments.
- Leftover safety: This dish reheats already-cooked gammon. Make the amount needed and eat immediately; avoid reheating it again.
G K says
Excellent recipe. All the side notes, variations and other info very helpful. I nearly didn't read this as I thought it was going to be one of those dreadful USA ramblings, but it is very concise.
M H says
I found this while looking for recipes for left over gammon but before I could try it we ate the leftovers! I used cut up smoked sausage instead and it was very good. Useful recipe for many leftovers I think.
Sue says
I always cook a large gammon at Christmas and this is the perfect recipe for the leftovers! Easy and delicious!