Ham roll ups with cream cheese

When the holidays rolled around, I was always on the lookout for my Aunt Linda's ham wheels appetizers. She brought them to every party, whether a backyard barbecue or Thanksgiving dinner.

With a slice of ham and softened cream cheese, she would roll perfect spirals of ham and cheese around a fresh piece of green onion, and it was everything.

Ham pickle roll ups

From what I have learned, ham roll ups with pickles is a popular appetizer in the midwest and I'm guessing these would taste pretty good.

But our family recipe makes ham roll ups with green onion and I can tell you, they were always the first snack to disappear from the appetizer table!

You will have folks asking for the recipe and may even feel slightly guilty sharing how simple it is to make these little ham wheels.

The best part is they only take 3 ingredients to make easy ham roll ups!

• Cooked ham– I go straight to the deli for the freshest slices of this meat. Make sure it is cooked because the slices tend to be a little thicker making for easy rolling.
• Cream cheese– I like to use Philadelphia Cream Cheese. As long as it is at room temperature, you are good to go.
• Green onion– fresh green onion from the produce section. Trim off the root tip and use the whole stalk!

How to make ham roll ups recipe

This appetizer recipe has very simple ingredients and goes a really long way. With only a few slices of ham, you can make a dozens of bite-sized tidbits.

Let cream cheese soften at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This will help when spreading on the ham and also when rolling.

Clean the green onions by running under water and removing the top leaf layer. Slice off the very end or the root tip. You should have the white bulb and long green stems left to work with.

Lay slice of ham flat on a cutting board.

Spread softened cream cheese over the entire slice so it is covered as much as possible. Lay green onion with the white bulb on edge of ham and cheese.

Starting with the short end, roll as tightly as possible. If the green ends are long, trim to edge of roll and use in next ham roll.

Repeat with as many ham slices as you desire.

It's ok if the onion is not completely to the edge. When it comes time to serve, the ends will be cut off so you have a clean edge to start with and a bonus snack too.

Cover ham rolls with saran wrap and place in refrigerator for at least an hour or up to 24 hours before serving. This allows the cream cheese to set and makes it much easier to slice!

When ready to serve, remove from the fridge and place roll on the cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut each roll into 1/4-inch slices. If you want bigger bites, you can cut rolls into segments and serve with toothpicks.

Can you make ham roll ups ahead of time

You can make ham wheels 1-2 days ahead of time before serving. If you do not want a very strong onion flavor, I would only roll the green stalks in the ham roll ups.

Ham roll ups are small, but they are really big on flavor! When I am reminiscing of past holidays, I think of Aunt Linda and make a plate of these to snack on.