Name: Ham, Egg and Cheese Bake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 8 oz (1/2 lb) cubed ham; 2 ½ cups cubed leftover French bread (day old is better!); 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese; 10 large eggs; 1 cup 2% milk; 1 tsp dry mustard; 1 tsp garlic powder; ½ tsp salt

This Ham, Egg and Cheese Bake recipe makes plenty of this delightful breakfast dish to enjoy tonight and to save for later. Plus, with fluffy eggs, savory ham and sharp cheddar cheese, it’s a mighty fine meal.

A glass baking dish with Ham, Egg and Cheese Bake is shown on a stovetop.

We learned something over the last year: our cat Bippity loves holiday foods. Turkey at Thanksgiving, ham at Easter, you get the idea. And if we’re not careful, he’ll help himself to whatever he can get his paws on.

This has ushered in a whole new way of serving meals for both holidays and everyday. After everyone fills their plates (we typically serve meals family style with food set up on the kitchen island; then everyone gathers at the table), someone (me) has to make sure that everything is covered or otherwise hidden from hungry paws.

Growing up with dogs, I never thought cats could be the food-stealing, begging for scraps type. I had this different vision of them being more … reserved and above it all.

Bippity has let me know that I thought wrong.

But, I suppose, there’s a silver lining here: it’s probably better to cover everything anyway. That way it stays warm for seconds, right?

And though Bippity would like me to leave all the scraps for him, I prefer to pack them up and freeze them for later. Afterall, leftover ham is good in so many dishes. Split pea soup, on kabobs, in salads and more. It’s also delightful in this dish: Ham, Egg and Cheese Bake.

Fluffy eggs, savory ham and sharp cheese create a delightful breakfast experience with this egg bake. The secret ingredient though is the chunks of bread, which almost melt into the eggs. This recipe makes eight servings on purpose: four for when you make it and four to save and reheat the next day.

Importantly, this is easy to make. And it’s both satisfying and filling.

You can find this recipe in my newest cookbook, Easy Frugal Cookbook. You’ll love this book full of 100 recipes with 10 ingredients or less created with budgets in mind.

Easy Frugal Cookbook was released by Rockridge Press on July 7. Have you ordered your copy yet?

Ham, Egg and Cheese Bake

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

8 oz (1/2 lb) cubed ham
2 ½ cups cubed leftover French bread (day old is better!)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 large eggs
1 cup 2% milk
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with cooking oil spray.
Spread the ham and bread in the pan. Top with the cheese, evenly distributing it.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, dry mustard, garlic powder and salt. Pour over the ham, bread and cheese mixture, taking care to pour it all over, coating the bread.
Slide into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes before cutting into 8 pieces.

Notes

Budget Trick: If you don’t have leftover French bread, don’t worry. Any leftover bread will do. Try to choose a variety that isn’t sweet though such as rye, sourdough, ciabatta or Italian. Sweeter breads (like many white breads or raisin bread) will alter the flavor of this.