These easy Ham and Cream Cheese Roll Ups are such a delicious make ahead appetizer, snack or finger food to serve a crowd at any party!
How to make your roll ups
What a quick and delicious “snack-etizer”. Snack plus appetizer, get it? 🙂 I love dill pickles and of course ham, so why wouldn’t these work? They are hard to mess up considering how easy they are. Plus, if you follow me here on my blog, you know that I absolutely love any appetizer that can be made in advance and kept cold!
To make these ham and pickle “pinwheels”, I used the best ham I could find, cream cheese mixed with some ranch seasoning and relish, and of course, a juicy dill pickle spear. That’s it!
What kind of ham is best?
Choosing the right type of ham is key. You don’t want ham that is sliced too thin like we usually get for sandwiches. You want thicker slices so your roll ups don’t rip or tear. To do this you have two options:
- Head to the deli section in your local grocer and look for the pre-packaged ham like this one from Applegate.
- Ask your deli person to slice your ham thicker than normal.
You obviously don’t want TOO thick but you want it thick enough to hold but thin enough to be able to roll. You can even choose different ham flavors like honey or smoked if you like!
How these roll ups are unique:
There are a few different recipes out there for ham and cream cheese roll ups making them a simple 3 ingredient appetizer. With that said, I tried those and I was not crazy about them. The cream cheese needed something. They were too plain otherwise, in my opinion.
So the make these babies stand out from the rest, I added TWO ingredients.
- Ranch seasoning: This gives the cream cheese a delicious flavor that everyone will go crazy for.
- Sweet relish: I am a fan of sweet, tangy and savory together so this was the perfect addition. It adds more tangy pickle flavor and a touch of sweetness.
Your Honey Dijon Sauce
To make these even BETTER, I added a honey mustard sauce to the top of each because I think mustard and ham go together like peanut butter and jelly. It just adds a delicious bite that goes so well with the ham and pickle.
You can serve this sauce on top of each skewer or on the side for dipping!
How to make these keto-friendly:
If you are following a keto diet, these would be perfect. You would just need to make sure you use a keto-friendly ranch seasoning and use a sugar-free relish (or leave the relish out all-together).
Make These Ahead of Time!
Like I said before, I love me some cold make ahead finger foods! They are super easy to prepare and will save you so much time when party planning.
The make these pickle wraps in advance, spread your cream cheese mixture onto the ham, add your pickle spear, and roll them up tightly. Refrigerate them as is. You can stack them on top of one another in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
When you’re ready to serve them, pull them out and slice them while they’re cold. This will help give you a clean cut without making them look messy.
Serving Tips
To serve these, slice them up into pinwheels that are about 1″ wide. Then lay them pickle side up on a clean, white plate or wooden cutting board for a more rustic look. I skewered mine with mini toothpicks because I love skewered food but this is not required. If you love appetizer skewers and pickles, you need to try my Cubano Skewers!
You can serve your ham and cream cheese roll ups with or without the honey mustard sauce. You can also add green onions or chives to your filling which would add a yummy onion flavor.
Other skewers appetizers you may like:
Marinated Italian Antipasto Skewers
Skewered Apple Chicken Sausages
Ravioli Pasta Salad Skewers
Mini Ginger Chicken Satay Skewers
Ham and Pickle Roll Ups (with Cream Cheese)
Ingredients
- 7 oz. ham (8 slices)
- 8 kosher dill pickles
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1½ tbsp sweet relish
- 1 tbsp Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
Honey Mustard Sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Cream together your cream cheese, ranch seasoning and relish in a medium bowl.
- Spread about ¾ of a tbsp of cream cheese mixture onto each slice of ham.
- Add one pickle to the end of each slice and roll each up tighly.
- Trim off the ends then slice each roll up into 3 rounds. Place them pickle side up on a plate.
- Add a dollop of your honey mustard mixture to the top of each and add a toothpick to each for serving!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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