My girlfriend and I had this huge spiral ham that we were going to have for Thanksgiving (without the glaze, of course), but we only got around to pulling it out of the freezer and cooking it last week. A week later and we still had like 3 pounds of ham to eat, so I took a couple of cups of it, diced it up and made a mac and cheese-esque casserole!
This is a homey and satisfying ham and cheese bake that is sure to comfort you and fill you up! The best part about this dish is the ability to experiment with different cheeses to spice things up and change the overall flavor!
Make sure you use pre-cooked ham for this dish (or cook the ham accordingly before you add it to the casserole). You can use fresh cauliflower as well, but I used frozen because I was too lazy to chop it myself.
This meal is a little on the high-end in regards to calories and carbs, but it is very filling and you probably won’t need more than one serving of this ham and cheese bake anyway.
Yields 6 Servings of Keto Ham and Cheese Bake.
The Preparation
- 24 ounces frozen cauliflower, chopped
- 2 cups cooked ham, chopped
- 2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, cubed
The Execution
1. Preheat your oven on bake at 375°F.
2. Grease a 9×13″ casserole dish (I used something a bit smaller than that and it worked fine…Basically eyeball your ingredients and find an oven-safe dish that your ingredients will fit in).
3. Empty the frozen cauliflower into a medium pot and cover it with water. You’ll want to cook it for around 8-10 minutes so it’s nice and tender (mashable).
4. Once the cauliflower has reached a nice, mashable tenderness, drain the cauliflower and bring it back to the pot. Grab your potato masher (or food processor) and get mashing! I mashed mine to a slightly chunky consistency, rather than blending it–it’s really up to your personal preference.
5. Spread the mashed cauliflower into the greased casserole dish and top with the diced/chopped ham (I think I had more than 2 cups here, and you can definitely use less or more if you want).
6. In a medium sauce pan, mix the shredded cheese, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, and seasonings together over medium heat until the cheese is slightly melted (or all the way, it doesn’t really matter). Remember to stir frequently or the sauce will burn to the bottom of the pan.
7. Once your cheese sauce is nice and melted, take it off the heat and evenly pour the mixture over the ham and cauliflower. Top with the cubed cheese (fairly evenly spaced).
8. Your casserole is ready to go in the oven! Pop it in for 40 to 45 minutes or until the cheese on top has browned (with mozzarella or other similar cheese, I recommend about 35 minutes instead).
9. When the casserole is done cooking, take it out of the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving (the cheese is boiling hot when it comes out of the oven).
This makes a total of 8 servings of Ham and Cheese Bake. Each serving comes out to be 446 calories, 37.1g fats, 5.1g net carbs, and 23.1g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 24 ounce frozen cauliflower | 156 | 3.1 | 28 | 15.7 | 12.3 | 12.5 |
| 2 cup cooked ham | 373 | 13.7 | 2.8 | 0 | 2.8 | 59.4 |
| 2 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese | 1256 | 103.6 | 6.5 | 0 | 6.5 | 74.3 |
| 1/2 cup sour cream | 228 | 22.3 | 5.3 | 0 | 5.3 | 2.8 |
| 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream | 1214 | 128.8 | 9.8 | 0 | 9.8 | 10.1 |
| 1/2 teaspoon black pepper | 3 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder | 5 | 0 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.3 |
| 1 cup mozzarella cheese | 336 | 25 | 2.5 | 0 | 2.5 | 24.8 |
| Totals | 3570 | 296.4 | 56.7 | 16.1 | 40.6 | 184.4 |
| Per Serving (/8) | 446 | 37.1 | 7.1 | 2 | 5.1 | 23 |
Ham and Cheese Bake
Ingredients
- 24 ounce frozen cauliflower chopped
- 2 cup cooked ham chopped
- 2 ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese cubed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a casserole dish. Empty the frozen cauliflower into a medium-sized pot and cover with boiled water. Cook for 8–10 minutes or until easily mashable.
- Once tender, drain the cauliflower and return to the pot. Mash with a fork or potato masher until the desired consistency is reached.
- Spread the mashed cauliflower into the greased casserole dish and top with the chopped ham.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cheddar cheese, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, and seasonings until the cheese is slightly melted, stirring frequently to keep the mixture from burning on the bottom.
- Once the cheese sauce is melted, remove from the heat and pour it over the ham and cauliflower. Top with the cubed mozzarella.
- Bake for 35–45 minutes, or until the cheese on top has browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
