Perfectly flaky puff pastry cradles a creamy mixture of ham, cheese and spinach. These spinach puffs are a great use for leftover ham!
These ham and cheese spinach puffs are elegant, yet incredibly easy, and a perfect use for any leftover ham you may have! I love the crispy, flaky puff pastry mixed with the creamy mixture filled with savory diced ham, nutty Gruyere cheese, and fresh spinach!
So tell me… after a holiday (like Easter or Christmas), do you end up with quite a bit of leftover ham? I know we always do!
I love a good ham sandwich, especially with my (honey balsamic mustard sauce or leftover mustard glaze from THIS ham), but after a day or two of ham sandwiches, I’m pretty much done with them and ready for something different!!
That’s where these amazing ham and cheese spinach puffs come in!! They’re the PERFECT use for leftover ham, and the creamy béchamel sauce is loaded with savory gruyere cheese and fresh spinach. If you don’t have gruyere or can’t find it, Swiss cheese is a good replacement.
From start to finish, this should take you about 35-40 minutes (20 of which is hands off baking time), but if you’d like to speed that up even more, here are a few make ahead tips:
- Cut up your puff pastry sheets ahead of time – just keep them sealed in a ziploc bag with parchment paper or wax paper in between each square so they don’t stick together
- Dice up your ham and keep in the refrigerator
- Mince you onion and keep in the refrigerator
- Shred your cheese and keep in the refrigerator
- Chop your spinach and keep in the refrigerator — (I think that’s the most I’ve ever typed “refrigerator”)
I like to bake these spinach puffs on my 1/4 sheet baking sheet, and bake four per sheet (so I don’t overcrowd my pan), but if you have a big 1/2 sheet baking sheet, you might be able to fit all 8 on at once. The recipe is easily halved if you wanted to just make 4 though 🙂
I have to tell you, these little puffs are amazing! They look fancy and elegant, yet are easy to make (thanks to pre-made puff pastry and leftover ham). But even if you don’t have any leftover ham, you can easily pick up a cooked ham steak from the grocery store and dice it up!
Feel free to experiment with other add ins or cheese options if you’d like… it’s a pretty forgiving recipe 🙂
Do your tastebuds a favor and give these Ham and Cheese Spinach Puffs a try soon!! They’re a great light lunch (with a side salad) or even a nice change up for dinner alongside something hearty like my Garlic Parmesan Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 2 sheets pre-made frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, minced
- 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1 cup cooked ham, diced (see recipe notes section below)
- 1 1/4 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 1/3 cups Gruyere, shredded (Swiss cheese may be substituted)
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp water
- fresh parsley, minced for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut each puff pastry sheet into 4 equal squares (about 5" wide), then cover and place in refrigerator until later.
- Add butter to a medium saucepan and heat over MED heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes, until softened. Add flour and whisk to combine until mixture looks like wet lumpy sand. Cook about 1 minute, whisking often.
- Pour in milk, in thirds, whisking well to combine after each addition to ensure no lumps remain. Continue whisking often as mixture cooks, about 5-7 minutes. Mixture will thicken considerably and should coat the back of a spoon.
- Turn off heat and add ham and spinach. Add in 1 cup of the gruyere cheese and stir to melt the cheese into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and ground nutmeg.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place puff pastry squares on the sheet (if your baking sheet isn't large enough, 2 baking sheets may be needed).
- Spoon 1 1/2 Tbsp of the cream sauce mixture into the center of a puff pastry square. Sprinkle with a bit of the remaining gruyere cheese, then fold all four corners of the puff pastry in towards the center, but not touching. Repeat with remaining puff pastry squares.
- Whisk egg with the 1 Tbsp water to make an egg wash. Brush over the puff pastry and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Serve garnished with fresh parley if desired.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Linda says
Preparing to make this and wondering if the puff pastry has to be rolled out. I have read other recipes where it does need rolling out but don’t see it mentioned in this recipe.
The Chunky Chef says
I don’t roll mine out, but you can if you’d like.
Lindsay says
Could I replace the puff pastry with crescent roll dough?
The Chunky Chef says
I’m sure you could, but I haven’t tested it, so I can’t speak to how/if the baking temperature and time would need changed.
Michelle says
Can I make the filling ahead of time to use the next day ?
Thank you
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested it, but that should work well 🙂 Just stir it often as it reheats before you assemble the puffs and bake.
Alexandra Story says
perfect. I ask my MIL to bring the ham to every holiday event now so I can make these after 🙂 Thanks for sharing!