Ham Salad Pinwheels

These ham salad pinwheels are simple to make and pack a punch of delicious flavor that everyone loves. Served as either pinwheel sandwiches or ham salad wraps, these are easy to make and feature two versions of an easy ham salad recipe that you can make yourself. 

Ham salad is one of my favorite things to make. It’s the perfect appetizer for parties or filling for meals like sandwiches. I make a lot of ham to begin with, so an easy ham salad recipe just makes sense for me and my family. 

Unlike a lot of people, I make ham year-round. I love to make it for dinner and then use the leftovers for everything from sandwiches to dips.

Heck, my husband has even been known to smoke a ham from time to time. It’s just such a delicious cut of meat, I’m actually surprised that people don’t make it more often. Why wait until a holiday? 

I’ve been enjoying ham ever since I was a child. I got my love of ham and my tendency to make it pretty much any time of year from my mom. She was never a believer in waiting to make delicious food until a holiday rolled around.

Subsequently, we often had ham or turkey during the year. My friends thought it was odd – and amazing, by the way – that we had food like this outside of holidays, but I thought it was odd that they didn’t!

After I grew up and moved out, I continued to make ham and turkey throughout the year. Both of these are excellent meals when you’re single because you can get smaller hams and turkeys and then use the leftovers for other dishes.

They’re extremely cost-effective. After I got married, I started using bigger hams and turkeys. When we had our son, I moved on to even bigger hams and turkeys. 

One of the best things about all that meat is the leftovers. You can do so much with both of these as leftovers. Sandwiches, spreads, pot pies – the possibilities are almost endless. It’s a great way to stretch your food while always having delicious meals on hand. 

Rolling Through the History of Pinwheels

These ham salad pinwheels are some of the tastiest pinwheel sandwiches you’ll ever have. But were it not for wraps and pinwheels, we wouldn’t have this particular variety.

These pinwheels are nothing more than ham salad wraps that have been cut into medallions, so I want to take a moment to talk about both pinwheels and wraps. I find it so interesting to learn about the foods I cook and eat.

If you’re not that into food history, feel free to skip over this section, as it won’t have anything in it that pertains to actually making the recipe that comes later. 

History of Wraps

People in Mexico, the Mediterranean, and South Asia have been eating wraps since before the 1900s. Perhaps the most recognized pre-Americanized wrap is the burrito which originated in Mexico. In fact, the burrito is the inspiration for the modern-day wrap.

However, the wrap as North Americans know it today was developed sometime in the early 1980s. There are two disputed theories on where it was actually invented first.

Some claim that wrap as we know it, an Americanized version of Mexican and Tex-Mex burritos, was invented at a southern California chain called “I Love Juicy”.

However, Bobby Valentine, sports icon and owner of The Bobby Valentine Sports Gallery Cafe in Stamford, Connecticut claims to have invented the wrap at about the same time.

Wherever the first wrap originated, one thing’s for sure, it was a tasty invention!

History of Pinwheel Sandwiches

Pinwheels are just another kind of sandwich, but where and when was the idea to roll a sandwich instead of just slap two pieces of bread around fillings thought up? The pinwheel is an English creation dating back all the way to the 10th century.

Back then, the English enjoyed pinwheel sandwiches as snacks that they paired with a hot cup of tea. According to history, these pinwheels were likened to the French canape.

When these sandwiches were first invented, people use simple ingredients like butter or cream cheese as the filling and rolled them up with bread slices. Of course, over the centuries, more and more unique ingredients were tried for both the filling and the wrapping itself.

Over time, people created all kinds of pinwheels, which is how we came to the modern version of pinwheel sandwiches that so many of us enjoy today!

Classic pinwheels are made with bread that has been topped with a filling and then rolled up. However, my ham salad pinwheels are actually a wrap that has been cut crosswise into pieces. 

Ham Salad Pinwheels

These delicious pinwheel sandwiches are made with an easy ham salad recipe that anyone can make without any trouble whatsoever. Delicious ham and other ingredients are combined into a ham salad and then slathered over tortillas.

After that, they’re rolled into ham salad wraps and then cut crosswise into sections to create the ham salad pinwheels. 

These pinwheels are the kind of recipe that always hits the spot. They’re full of flavor, easy and fun to eat, and they take next to no time at all to make. The most labor-intensive part of the entire dish is making the ham salad, and even that is super easy to do!

One bit of these delicious pinwheels, and you’ll be making them for lunches, dinners, parties, and for any other reason you can think of!

Ingredients

There are no complicated ingredients to this recipe. The ham salad uses super simple ingredients, many of which are probably already in your kitchen.

If you have to shop for any ingredients, you’ll find them all quite easily at your grocery store. Here’s what you’ll need. 

For the Wraps Using the Modified Ham Salad Recipe

• 8 ounces cooked ham, roughly chopped
• 1 hard-boiled egg, roughly chopped
• ½ cup thinly sliced celery
• ½ cup diced red onion
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard or 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 Burrito sized tortillas or a bagel 

That’s all there is to it. As you can see, the ingredients for this recipe are extremely simple. In fact, most of them are kitchen staples. If you happen to have ham leftovers on hand, you probably won’t have to shop at all!

Making the Easy Ham Salad Recipe

I love making my ham salad pinwheels with this easy ham salad recipe, but if I’m cooking for a crowd, I’ll make ham salad because it doubles as a spread or a dip as well. Making this easy recipe is as simple as gathering the ingredients.

You’ll simply be mixing everything together for the most part. 

• Chop ham in a food processor until chopped until small, even pieces.
• In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together until incorporated.
• Spread over tortilla to make ham salad wraps or pinwheel sandwiches or use as a dip with vegetables or crackers.

Making Ham Salad Pinwheels

The modified version of this ham salad recipe is perfect for making my pinwheel sandwiches. It’s a bit chunkier, so it won’t work very well as a dip or spread. Use this version if you’re only making the ham salad pinwheels. 

• Place the ham, egg, celery, red onion, cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, pickle relish, and pepper into a food processor. Pulse a few times to break up the ingredients and then scrape down the sides. Continue to pulse until everything is combined and well chopped up, you can leave this a little on the chunky or smooth side depending on your preference.
• Place a tortilla on a clean work surface. Spread ¼th of the ham salad mixture over the tortilla leaving a ½ inch border around the outside of the tortilla. Take the bottom of the tortilla and begin to roll it over itself to form a log. Try to roll it tightly but not so tight that the tortilla breaks.
• Take a large piece of plastic wrap and roll the log into the piece of plastic wrap tightly and tuck the ends under. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
• Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight is best. Discard the plastic wrap and cut them into about ½ inch slices. Alternately, keep them whole and serve as ham salad wraps.

That’s all there is to it! You can see that it’s incredibly easy to do. You’ll be in and out of the kitchen in no time!

Serving Ham Salad Pinwheels

Whether I’m making these pinwheel sandwiches as appetizers or a main course, I always serve them in the same way. Simply set out a tray of them and let everyone take as many as they want! I love to set out bowls of various dipping sauces to go along with them.

Things like tzatziki sauce and ranch dressing are always good options for these pinwheels. 

I also tend to set out both ham salad pinwheels and ham salad wraps on the tray so that people can have as much or as little as they want. Big eaters tend to grab the wraps, while those who like a variety of foods on their plates gravitate toward the pinwheels.

I just find that it makes things more fun and interesting to include both. 

Storing Ham Salad Pinwheels

While you can store tortillas in the refrigerator for weeks, we have the ham salad filling to contend with for this recipe. Since ham salad keeps for about five days in the refrigerator in an air-tight container, that’s the maximum length of time you can store these pinwheel sandwiches.

Although, it should be noted that after about three days, the tortillas will start to get soggy.

You’ll have to eat them before that time, as you can’t freeze these ham salad pinwheels. They don’t freeze well at all, so don’t even try it. You’ll end up with something that is not appetizing in the least. 

Try These Ham Salad Pinwheels 

Whether served as ham salad pinwheels or ham salad wraps, you’ll fall in love with this easy ham salad recipe wrapped up in a soft tortilla. These pinwheel sandwiches are easy to make and full of flavor.

They’re the perfect thing for lunches or parties because they double as both a main dish or an appetizer. Give this easy ham salad recipe try, and I know you’ll fall in love with it. It’s so easy, so good, and so versatile, there’s really no reason not to make it!