Classic Midwestern Baked Ham Balls Recipe

There are all sorts of foods associated with the Midwestern region of the US. Many of them have roots in Europe, like zwiebach (doughy dinner rolls) and the crisp cookies known as sandbakkels, but others take advantage of convenient leftovers and pantry staples, like ham balls, which are essentially meatballs made form ham. "Ham balls may not be something you've tried before, but they are an excellent way to use up leftover ham," says recipe developer Erin Johnson, who notes you can use any kind of cooked ham you have around to create these sweet-and-smoky spheres, which get extra protein and bulk from ground pork and a punch of flavor from homemade BBQ sauce. "I love these because they are delicious, and very easy!" 

"I like to serve these on top of mashed potatoes or rice," Johnson says, but you can enjoy these however you like. These comforting, saucy ham balls are great as an appetizer, entree, or even a savory party snack. Here's how to whip them up.

Aside from leftover cooked ham, this recipe calls for eggs, milk, diced onion, ground pork, and crushed-up butter crackers. (If you don't have or eat dairy milk, Johnson says it's okay to substitute your preferred brand of plant-based milk.) For the homemade BBQ sauce, you'll need ketchup, molasses, pepper, salt, smoked paprika, mustard (either stone ground or Dijon), and apple cider vinegar.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a food processor, pulse the ham until it is finely chopped.

Add the ground pork and onion to the ham and mix until well combined.

To the meat, add the eggs, milk, and cracker crumbs. Mix together thoroughly.

Form the meat mixture into even-sized balls and place in a large, oven-safe baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes.

Mix together the ketchup, molasses, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir well.

After 30 minutes, remove the meatballs from the oven and spoon the sauce mixture over them.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes and then serve warm.

Even if you have a fridge full of leftover ham, you still may not have a ton of free time. This recipe isn't terribly time-consuming — it takes about an hour from start to finish — but there are ways to make the process even snappier, if you need it to be. "If you want to take a shortcut, you could top these with your favorite barbecue sauce instead of making your own," Johnson notes. "You could [also] prepare the balls in advance and bake and glaze before serving," she says, adding that you can "make them up to the night before you intend to cook them." However, be mindful about how old the ham you're using is. If enough time has passed that you're not sure if you'd eat the leftover meat, maybe wait until next time.

Once you've made these baked ham balls, "Keep them covered in the fridge for up to 3 days," she says. "You can reheat in the oven or microwave."

Since this recipe relies on leftovers, you may not be itching to take a trip to the store in order to make this Midwestern classic. The ingredients are largely comprised of pantry staples like ketchup, molasses, and eggs, but what if you don't have butter crackers? Can you still make these baked ham balls? 

"You could use whatever cracker you have on hand or even substitute panko," says Johnson. "Some versions of ham balls even use crushed graham crackers but I haven't been brave enough to try that." Clearly, there's room for experimentation here. If you do spring for graham crackers, know that they're sweeter than other forms of cracker, so if you don't have much of a sweet tooth consider using a tiny bit less molasses in your BBQ sauce. At the end of the day, this is your meal, and you can make it however you see fit.