A delicious twist on the classic Ham, Potato and Green Beans, this simple casserole adds an easy homemade cheese sauce and crunchy bread crumb topping. Classic comfort food that is perfect for special occasions or a weeknight dinner. It’s also great for using up leftover ham!
When fresh green beans are in season, it always makes me think of this casserole. It’s basic, yet delicious. And who’s going to complain about a cheesy sauce? Not me!
Plus, even better, the cheese sauce is made from real ingredients. A major win in my opinion!
WATCH VIDEO: LEARN HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Why We Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make. This dish might be a bit more time-consuming to make than most of my recipes, but it is still super easy. And I think you’ll find that it’s worth the extra time!
- Simple Ingredients. Made totally from scratch with basic pantry staples.
- Budget Friendly. No expensive ingredients required…especially if you use leftover ham from the holidays.
Ham, Potato, & Green Bean Casserole Ingredients
- Butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Flour. I use all-purpose flour. But if you are wanting to make this gluten-free, gluten-free flour should work too!
- Salt. I’m always cautious with the salt since the ham adds quite a lot of salty flavor.
- Black Pepper.
- Onion Powder.
- Garlic Powder.
- Milk. Any variety will do. If you are using plant-based, it’s best to go with one that is unsweetened.
- Cheddar Cheese. Mild, medium or sharp- it all works great!
- Potatoes. I often use red-skinned potatoes, but really, whatever potatoes you have on hand will work.
- Green beans. I love using fresh green beans, but of course, these can be swapped for canned or frozen.
- Ham. Ham steaks are great for this recipe, but they also are not cheap. So most times I just end up using leftover ham. I think leftover smoked turkey would work great too!
- Breadcrumbs. Using seasoned breadcrumbs adds more flavor to the topping. Only have plain breadcrumbs? Learn how to season them!
How to Make Ham Casserole with Potatoes and Green Beans
STEP 1: Melt the butter, add in the flour and spices.
STEP 2: Pour in the milk and stir constantly as it thickens.
STEP 3: Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar cheese.
STEP 4: In a greased 9×13 baking dish, layer potatoes, green beans and then the ham.
STEP 5: Top with the cheese sauce.
STEP 6: Mix the butter and breadcrumbs together and sprinkle on top of the casserole.
STEP 7: Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
FAQ & Expert Tips
Do I need to Peel the Potatoes? Not unless you want to! Unless I’m using older potatoes with thick skins, I typically leave the skins on for added nutrition. Plus, it saves time, which is also great!
Can this be made Gluten-Free? Yes! Simply use gluten-free flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Save Time: Leftover baked potatoes work great for this recipe. I often will have a dinner of baked potatoes a day or two before and make plenty extra so I can make this recipe.
How to Store: Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Leftover Ham: Use this recipe after the holidays to use up your leftover ham.
More Easy Recipes You’ll Love
- Cream Cheese Potato Soup with Ham
- Herb Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
- Creamy Sausage and Potato Skillet
- Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie
Cheesy Potato, Ham & Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 5 cups potatoes, cooked and diced (no need to peel)
- 6 cups green beans, cooked
- 2 cups cooked ham diced
Cheese Sauce
- 6 Tbsp. butter
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. flour
- salt to taste (about 1 tsp.)
- ½ tsp. pepper
- ¼ tsp. onion powder
- 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
- 3 cups milk
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
Topping
- 2 tbsp. butter, melted
- ½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Put potatoes in greased 9×13 baking dish, top with green beans and then ham.
- To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter and whisk in flour, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Add milk, stirring constantly, until thickened.
- Remove from heat, add cheese and stir until melted.
- Pour cheese sauce over all.
- Combine breadcrumbs and butter; Sprinkle over top of casserole.
- Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
Notes
Missy
This was really good. I unfortunately had to make the cheese sauce three times. I was looking at the recipe on my phone, and while I was making the cheese sauce, I saw the 2 tablespoons of butter at the bottom of the recipe, and I thought that was how much went into the roux. I finally figured it out why my roux was so thick and lumpy!
Lydia Beiler
Oh no! So sorry that happened, but glad you enjoyed the recipe in the end. I often will divide the ingredients in a recipe like this into categories and am not sure why I didn’t do that here. Going to edit it now so it doesn’t confuse anyone else!
Jo
Great recipe. I didn’t have the bread crumbs and I didn’t want to make any so my shortcut was to add a boxed stuffing to the top. I prepared stuffing according to box directions and spread on top. It worked great. Thanks for sharing the ideas about the French friend onions too. I may try that next time.
Lydia Beiler
Oh, great idea, Jo! Thanks for sharing.
Barbara
My mouth is watering just reading the comments.
I have Got to try this one.
Thank you so much.
Lydia Beiler
I hope you enjoy it, Barbara! It’s definitely one of those comfort food recipes.
J Waddle
Would you be able to recommend a ready made sauce in place of the scratch cheese sauce? Canned soup of some kind? If I were to use canned soup, would it need a thickener? I appreciate your opinion. J
Lydia Beiler
I cook almost entirely from scratch, so I’m not very familiar with ready made sauces. So sorry!
Ray R
Made this recipe today. Used tater tots on bottom after browning them, fried onion rings mixed with beans and cheese sauce, and some more fried onion rings on top. Was a great hit. The tater tots added a lot of flavor to the recipe.
Lydia Beiler
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it, Ray! And thanks for sharing the changes you made too. The tater tots sound like a great option for someone that is wanting to cut corners a bit!
TE
So, I used southern style frozen hashbrowns, thawed. Canned green beans, well drained, and threw in some sliced mushrooms. Also added a little sour cream to the sauce. Oh, and divided the recipe by half.
Just put it in the oven, we’ll see.how it turns out!
Lydia Beiler
Your changes sound like they’d be tasty. I hope you all enjoyed it!
Mary
Could you use canned green beans? Also could you make it the day before and bake it the next day?
Lydia Beiler
Canned green beans should work fine, Mary! You may not need as much salt if using them though. And while I’ve never made this the day before, I don’t know why it would be a problem. I think I would wait to add the buttered bread crumbs until you are ready to bake it though so they don’t get soggy. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Lane
If you can end up having leftovers or cooking it for two days then making ahead is the same thing
Nicole
We had a bumper crop of green beans, and my aunt mentioned that a green bean, ham, potato, and cheese casserole was a favorite that my grandma used to make for the family. I did have breadcrumbs on hand, but opted to used crunchy fried onions instead. I mixed some into the casserole and I put some on top during the last five minutes of baking. Everyone loved it. There were no leftovers and I didn’t even have time to get a photo before it was all gone.
Lydia Beiler
Oh, the crunchy fried onions sound like a super delicious addition! Thanks for sharing that. And so glad that you all enjoyed it! It’s definitely a crowd pleaser!