Wasabi Cream Cheese Ham Salad

This savory ham salad has just a hint of bite from wasabi powder and makes a great sandwich or dip!

Wasabi Cream Cheese Ham Salad | Neighborfoodblog.com

Are you ever just tired?

Oh, yeah. Ummm, me neither. I am always bubbling over with positive energy. I never pick up takeout on the way home from work or put off doing the laundry until I have no clean underwear left.

Ahem. Lies. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The truth is, sometimes cooking dinner feels like attempting to climb Mt. Everest. After a long day of (answering angry phone calls, listening to screaming children, insert other stressor here), the last thing I feel like doing is making dinner.

But the second truth is, caving in and getting fast food only makes me feel worse. Then I have guilt + burger belly. Not a good combo.

That’s why I am so excited about this week’s #SundaySupper theme, 5 Ingredients or Less.

5ingredientsorless_logo_v01_trans

That’s right. All of today’s recipes have 5 or fewer ingredients, so you can make dinner on the worst of days.

I tend to forget about good ol’ salad recipes, but they’re a great way to use up leftover meats and a cinch to throw together. This ham salad was a natural fit for all our Easter leftovers since it uses both ham and hard boiled eggs.

Wasabi Cream Cheese Ham Salad | Neighborfoodblog.com

But what makes this ham so special is the combination of cream cheese and wasabi.

Weirded out yet?

Don’t be. This recipe was inspired by my recent Ohio Egg Adventure, where our host treated us to a Chopped-style deviled egg-stravaganza. He gave each of the bloggers in attendance a $10 budget and charged us with finding a unique ingredient he would be forced to use to make deviled eggs. We wondered the aisles of the North Market, looking for just the thing.  I quickly got sucked into the spice shop, where I simply couldn’t stop thinking about the wasabi powder. The idea of wasabi eggs was just too intriguing.

Wasabi Cream Cheese Ham Salad | Neighborfoodblog.com

Thankfully, I was not disappointed. Our fearless leader grabbed that wasabi, stirred it into a mixture of cream cheese and hardened egg yolks, added a few glugs of Green Machine Smoothie (yes, you heard right. It was Melanie Make’s contribution!), and piped out one heck of a deviled egg. He finished each serving with a small cube of ham, and the combination was…well…surprisingly tasty.

The wasabi added a fantastic bite, similar to horseradish but a bit mellower, and the cream cheese made for an exceptionally creamy deviled egg. Needless to say, I was impressed.

I decided to use these same elements to make ham salad (minus the Green Smoothie-sorry Melanie!), and the flavors translated perfectly. The tangy-hot zest of wasabi will keep you coming back for bite after bite. Great served with chips, on a big fluffy onion roll, or as a dip with crackers and veggies, this 5 ingredient wonder should be a regular on your post-holiday menu.

Wasabi Cream Cheese Ham Salad | Neighborfoodblog.com

Note: If you’re having trouble finding wasabi powder in grocery stores, you can buy it on Amazon here.

Wasabi Cream Cheese Ham Salad

Wasabi Cream Cheese Ham Salad

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chopped ham
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1-2 teaspoons wasabi powder, depending on the amount of heat you like

Instructions

  • Stir together the ham and softened cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the celery, eggs, and wasabi powder. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve as a sandwich or with crackers or chips for dipping.
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     Recipe by NeighborFood

    Blogger Disclosure: This post may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com. The Amazon Services LLC Associates Program provides means for sites like mine to earn advertising fees by sharing the products we love. Thank you for supporting NeighborFood when you shop at Amazon!

    88 Comments

    1. As much as I love ham, I’ve never been a fan of ham salad. That is until I see this one. I’m sure it will change my mind on ham salad forever. Bring on the cream cheese and wasabi!!

    2. Oh I love Wasabi and this is something I have to try!! Love the combo with the Ham and cream cheese and I bet its super delicious ๐Ÿ™‚

    3. I can testify….this ham salad is so good! I was worried about the wasabi but it really
      added that zip. Good job, Courtney!

    4. The sandwich looks beautiful, and adding wasabi is definitely something different. I love seeing how creative everyone gets for #SundaySupper

    5. I love the wasabi addition! I need to pick some up. This is a GREAT idea for a stunning ham salad!! Beautiful photos too!

    6. Last night was one of those nights…I had to work all Saturday afternoon and when 5:00 rolled around, the last thing I wanted to do was make dinner. BUT I finally conjured up the energy to throw something together since 1) the kids needed to eat and 2) takeout would just make me feel worse.

      I LOVE the sound of this sandwich AND I have all the ingredients to try this tomorrow night…my busy night!

    7. I may or may not resemble that tired and burger belly occasionally during the week, and the guilt afterwards. I love this weeks 5 ingredients, I’m finding so many great ideas and recipes to try when work has been exhausting.
      Wasabi is amazing – it really perks up anything you include it in. I will definitely be trying this.

    8. I have never had a ham salad because well most don’t look as good as yours! However I think you’ve managed to change my mind on giving it a go!

    9. What a fun adventure for you I am sure. The cream cheese wasabi sound delicious and mouthwatering too.

    10. Just reading the ingredients in your recipe is making me very hungry! I’m pinning and stumbling this one because it just sounds so darned good! Thanks for sharing.

    11. Super excited that I have these 5 ingredients to make this tomorrow! And a way to use up the Easter ham thanks for being creative!

    12. Loved the addition of wasabi powder! I bet it gives perfect kick! (I had sushi last night…I’m a definite wasabi fan!)

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