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These ham pickle roll ups are salty, creamy, cold, crunchy, and tangy, with just three ingredients and no cooking required. Spread cream cheese on ham, roll around dill pickles, slice, and serve. They take maybe five minutes and disappear quickly.
Why You’ll Love It
- Just three ingredients — ham, cream cheese, and dill pickles.
- No cooking required — simply spread, roll, slice, and serve.
- Make-ahead friendly — chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Great for snacks or lunches — salty, creamy, crunchy, and tangy in every bite.
Ingredient Notes
You only need three things here, and that is part of the charm. Buy deli ham with a flavor and thickness that rolls easily around the pickle—not the paper-thin stuff that tears when you look at it sideways, but not thick-cut ham either. A nice standard deli slice rolls around the pickle without fighting you.
Cream cheese can be full-fat or light. Full-fat spreads nicely and tastes like, well, cream cheese is supposed to taste. But light works fine, especially if that’s what is available. Whipped cream cheese is easier to spread straight from the refrigerator when there is no time to wait for a block to soften.
For the pickles, use dill pickles. Whole pickles, spears, or pickles sliced into long sticks all work. Spears or slender whole pickles make a neat little center when you slice the rolls. Pat them dry first, though. A wet pickle makes the cream cheese slide around and can make a mess.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened if needed
- 16 whole dill pickles or dill pickle spears, patted dry with a paper towel
- 16 slices deli ham, regular sandwich-slice thickness works best
Instructions
Set the 8 ounces of cream cheese out for a little while to soften. Twenty or thirty minutes is lovely, though it can be microwaved for a few seconds when needed. Go gently. You want softened cream cheese, not a warm, shiny puddle that looks vaguely like spackle.
Lay out the 16 ham slices on a cutting board or a big platter. Spread cream cheese evenly over each slice. A butter knife or a small offset spatula works well. Go close to the edges, but there is no need to be precious about it. The cream cheese will squish outward a little when you roll them.
Place one dill pickle or pickle spear at the end of each ham slice. If using whole pickles and they’re especially chunky, slice them into long sticks first. That makes them easier to roll and gives you more bite-size pieces in the end. Either way is fine. Do not use pickle chips. That is a mess, bless it.
Roll the ham around the pickle snugly, starting from the pickle end. Roll into a firm little log, but don’t squeeze so hard that the cream cheese erupts out the sides. If it does, scrape it up and keep going.
Using a sharp knife, cut each roll crosswise into pieces about 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick. About 3/4 inch works well. Smaller pieces are better for a snack plate; larger pieces are nice for lunchboxes or a heartier serving.
Arrange the slices on a serving platter, pickle-side up for a cute presentation. Or just put them in a container. They’re delicious cold, and honestly they’re better after they’ve had a little time in the refrigerator for the flavors to settle together.
Variations
The basic ham, cream cheese, and dill pickle combination is a classic, but dry ranch seasoning can be stirred into the cream cheese before spreading it on the ham. It gives the roll ups a little extra zip and makes them even more snackable.
Turkey works in place of ham, and so does roast beef or salami. Salami is especially good for a stronger flavor, though it can be a little greasier. Sweet gherkins are also a perfectly respectable choice for sweet pickle flavor. Dill pickles add a sharp pickle bite, while sweet ones are awfully good with salty ham.
For a heartier lunch, wrap a flour tortilla around the outside of the ham roll, with a little chopped green onion or shredded cheddar tucked in there. That turns it into more of a pinwheel situation.
Pickled asparagus or pickled okra can stand in for the pickles too. Spicy pickles also work well for extra heat.
Storage & Reheating
Store ham pickle roll ups in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. A paper towel in the container helps keep things from getting watery if the pickles seem particularly juicy.
They do not need reheating. Please don’t reheat them. Cold and creamy is the point here. Warm pickle cream cheese is not recommended.
They’re best the first day or second day, when the ham still has a nice texture. After that, they’re still safe and tasty, just a little softer around the edges.
Final Notes
Recipes like this are a reminder that feeding a crowd does not always have to be a production. Sometimes it’s a roast with sixteen side dishes and gravy. Sometimes it’s ham, cream cheese, and a pickle, sliced into little circles on a plate.
Both count.
Anyway—make extra. They vanish.
Ham Pickle Roll Ups
Ingredients Â
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened if needed
- 16 whole dill pickles or dill pickle spears patted dry with a paper towel
- 16 slices deli ham regular sandwich-slice thickness works best
InstructionsÂ
- Set the 8 ounces of cream cheese out for a little while to soften, or microwave it gently for a few seconds if needed, being careful not to melt it.
- Lay the 16 ham slices on a cutting board or large platter and spread cream cheese evenly over each slice, going close to the edges.
- Place one dill pickle or pickle spear at the end of each ham slice, slicing especially chunky whole pickles into long sticks first if needed.
- Roll the ham snugly around the pickle, starting from the pickle end, to form a firm log without squeezing out too much cream cheese.
- Using a sharp knife, cut each roll crosswise into pieces about 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick, with about 3/4 inch working especially well.
- Arrange the slices on a serving platter pickle-side up, or place them in a container and chill until ready to serve.