This easy recipe for ham, pear and Brie casserole is a glorious combination of sweet and savory flavors, perfect for brunch or an easy supper!

We are not big ham eaters in our house, but every once in a while we get a craving for it. Which brings up the following important question…

What kind of casserole can I make with ham?

Because ham is already cooked, it is very casserole-friendly – all you have to do is pick your other ingredients, depending upon what you are in the mood for.

For example, sometimes we go for straight on ham and cheese – a classic! And if we are being a little bit fancy, we might add some potatoes to the mix.

But when we are feeling EXTRA FANCY (but don’t want a lot of EXTRA work) we cook up this glorious one pot mixture of sweet pears, salty chunks of ham and melty, creamy Brie cheese, all baked together in a simple custard of milk, a little butter and an egg.

Mixed throughout all of it are chunks of bread, and the whole thing is basically a casserole version of the best dang ham and cheese sandwich you ever ate meets French Toast, and then some.

This is obviously a fab use for leftover ham, but in our house it’s also a great use for leftover bread. You need a hearty bread for this recipe that is not going to totally disintegrate into your custard.

Any kind of country bread will do – crusty french bread, a nice rye bread, etc – but I always use whatever I have left over of the Almost No Knead Bread I make every weekend.

It’s the perfect consistency for this marvelous, easy peasy one pot recipe.

So there you go…this is obviously a great, quick supper dish, but it makes a perfect brunch as well, especially if you are having a hungry crowd. (And in my experience, crowds are always hungry!)

Here’s the recipe!

Ham Pear and Brie Casserole

Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Description

This easy recipe for ham, pear and Brie casserole is a glorious combination of sweet and savory flavors, perfect for brunch or an easy supper!

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 egg
4 slices sturdy bread, cut into roughly 1 inch cubes
1/2 pound cooked ham, cut into roughly 1/2 inch cubes
1 large pear, cored and thinly sliced
8 ounces Brie cheese, cut into roughly 1 inch cubes (it’s fine to leave the rind on, and also fine if you don’t want to!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a medium sized casserole with cooking spray.
Mix milk, butter and egg and toss with bread cubes. Let it sit for about 10 minutes so the bread can soak up the milk, then toss with ham and pears.
Pour half of the ham mixture into the casserole, then add half the cheese. Put the rest of the ham mixture on top, and then top with the rest of the cheese.
Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Notes

Need to add something to your kitchen equipment to make this recipe? Below are some of the items we used in the Framed Cooks kitchen to help cook this up. These are affiliate links to things we use and love, which helps to pay for all that bacon I keep buying!