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This Arby’s ham and cheese melt with Arby’s sauce copycat recipe is one you are going to love! A quick and easy dinner recipe for the whole family.
Featured with this recipe
- Store-Bought Ingredients
- Cheddar Cheese Sauce
- Arby’s Sauce Copycat Recipe
- How To Make Copycat Arby’s Ham and Cheese Melt
- Tips for the Best Arby’s Ham and Cheese
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Store Arby’s Favorite Recipe
- More Great Copycat Recipes
- How to Make Arby’s Ham and Cheese
- Arby’s Ham and Cheese Recipe
You can’t go wrong with an Arby’s Ham and Cheese! It is served warm with toasted bread. The cheese is melted perfectly and drizzled over the top of the sliced ham. Altogether the combination is out of this world amazing and will keep you from going back to Arby’s again.
Control the quality and quantity of ingredients, customize the flavors, and enjoy Arby’s copycat ham and cheese at your dinner table without having to leave your house. This sandwich is perfect for those busy nights when your family needs a quick meal. Instead of driving through the drive-thru, stay home and make it easier and less costly with homemade Arby’s ham and cheese.
Store-Bought Ingredients
You are probably wondering where all the ingredients are! These are the two ingredients that are store-bought and have little to no prep. The deli ham is a thinly sliced ham that is best cut in the deli section of your grocery store. For an original bun try finding buns with onions on top!
- Deli ham – High-quality thinly sliced deli ham from your local grocery store is key.
- Buns – These are not just your regular buns, but onion buns. Toast your bun for the best taste and flavor. This will also hold in the contents easily without becoming soggy.
Cheddar Cheese Sauce
This Arby’s cheddar cheese sauce is one of a kind and so simple to make! Only four ingredients to make this thick cheese sauce. It is melted together and can easily be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. Use it over and over again on so many recipes!
- Butter – Melt the butter for a creamy and silky smooth texture.
- Flour – This will thicken the cheese sauce and give it the texture it needs to expand.
- Milk – Pour in the milk slowly. The more fat in the milk the thicker, richer, and more flavor the cheese sauce will have.
- Cheese – Hand-shredded cheddar cheese melts quicker and easier when warming up.
Arby’s Sauce Copycat Recipe
A sandwich recipe for an Arby’s melt wouldn’t be complete without the Arby’s sauce. Make your favorite sauce to keep on hand in your fridge.
- Ketchup – This provides a tomato base and gives the sauce a little sweetness from the fruit of the tomato. It has a tangy flavor with that hint of sweetness.
- Apple cider vinegar – Gives the sauce acidity and a hint of fruity flavor to balance out the ketchup.
- Brown sugar – Added in for sweetness!
- Water – This helps give it more liquid and balance out the texture.
- Salt – Sprinkle a little salt to help with the overall flavor.
- Garlic powder – Gives a mild garlic flavor without the fresh garlic taste. It is a savory and comforting flavor.
- Onion Powder – Adds in that oniony flavor without the texture of onions sliced or chopped.
- Frank’s Red Hot Sauce – This is optional and helps add that sweet, savory, and spicy flavor to the sauce.
How To Make Copycat Arby’s Ham and Cheese Melt
You can go as fancy or as inexpensive as you want on these, it all depends on the quality of the deli meat that you buy. The more you are willing to spend on quality deli meat the better the sandwich will be. Now all you need are some curly fries and enjoy your Arby’s copycat sandwich and Arby’s sauce!
- Cook – In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, cook deli ham until heated through.
- Sauce – Spread Arby’s sauce on one side of each bun and place ham on the bun.
- Drizzle – Spoon on cheddar cheese sauce and serve.
- Cheese sauce – Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour (whisking constantly) and cook for about 1 minute forming a roux. Slowly whisk in milk until it reaches the desired consistency. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
- Arby’s sauce – In a small saucepan combine all the Arby’s sauce ingredients. Simmer over medium heat for a couple of minutes.
Tips for the Best Arby’s Ham and Cheese
Instead of trying to figure out and find Arby’s secret menu, we have this special copycat recipe that includes three of their most famous recipes. We love the ham and cheese melt with high-quality deli meat, the melted cheese sauce, and their Arby’s sauce. Skip the fast food line and make these right at home with all the helpful tips and modifications to make them perfect every time!
- Saucepan – Spray the pan with cooking spray to reduce the ham from sticking.
- Beef and cheese – If you want to make an Arby’s beef and cheese melt, simply switch out the ham for some thinly sliced roast beef. Super easy sandwich recipe substitution!
- Cheese substitute – Try other types of cheeses that can be melted on the bun rather than have the cheese melted and then poured on top. Slices of Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, or Colby Jack cheese are all great choices and are easy to melt on these cheddar melts.
- Types of buns – If you can’t find the onion buns you can either butter the top of the buns and place dried onion mix over top and bake them or use a sesame seed bun instead.
“So yummy! Glad I can have this any time at home when I’m craving an arby’s sandwich. Thanks for this easy to make recipe!”
-Lisalia
Frequently Asked Questions
Close, but no. Arby’s sauce is much thinner and also packs much more vinegar and peppery punch with some different spices.
Yes! You can buy Arby’s sauce in a bottle at some stores, however, if you can’t find it, or you want to try making your own, give our recipe a shot!
More or less, it’s ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, and a splash of hot sauce (depending on the level of heat and flavor you want).
How to Store Arby’s Favorite Recipe
Now is the perfect time to make this Arby’s ham and cheese! It is simple to store and enjoy during the week for a quick and easy leftover meal.
- Fridge – Store the leftovers separately. You can put the sauce and cheese in their separate containers to store in the fridge. Place the deli meat in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the fridge.
- Pantry – The buns can be stored in the pantry and at room temperature.
More Great Copycat Recipes
If you are looking to make more great restaurant food in the comfort and control of your home, check out these great copycat recipes:
How to Make Arby’s Ham and Cheese
Arby’s Ham and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound deli ham thinly sliced
- 1 cup Arby's sauce to taste (see below)
- 8 onion buns
For the Cheddar Cheese Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¾ cup milk or more if needed
- 1 to 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded by hand, not pre-packaged
- salt & pepper to taste
For the Arby's Sauce:
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Frank's Red Hot Sauce to taste (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, cook deli ham until heated through (spray the pan with cooking spray to reduce sticking).
- Spread Arby's sauce on one side of each bun and place ham on the bun.
- Spoon on cheddar cheese sauce (see below) and serve.
For the Cheese Sauce:
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour (whisking constantly) and cook for about 1 minute forming a roux.
- SLOWLY whisk in milk until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
For the Arby's Sauce:
- In a small saucepan combine all the Arby's sauce ingredients.
- Simmer over medium heat for a couple of minutes.
Notes
- Add red onion for a fresh kick
- Place on some lettuce leaves for crunch and freshness
- Jalapeños (pickled or fresh) for spice
- Slices of ripe tomatoes can make this slider very interesting
- Fried onion rings will add crunch and flavor
This receipe looks good, I think i will try it soon. I love ham and cheese.
Yum! When I make these for several people I wrap each in foil and put in 325 oven which steams the bun and melts cheddar cheese (personally I dislike cheese wiz like “ cheese”.). Also I need a copy cat recipe for horsey sauce. I as well have always used Catalina but I like to mix the two sauces.
Nice job Erica! Having spent considerable time recreating the Arby’s Roast Beef sandwich and the Ham and Cheddar sandwich at home, the absolute key to your recipe is “thin sliced” ham or beef. In deli terms, thin sliced means ~1/16”.
Thin slices, as your picture illustrates, allows you to pile high the ham or beef and have a tender mouthful of sandwich. Any more than 1/8” and you’re asking for a chewy sandwich.
Again, great job Erica, recommending thin sliced makes this a success. Oh, very cool on the sauce recipe. It’s delicious!!!
I don’t eat out much lately, so an easy and tasty recipe like this one is a perfect alternative. Tysm!
So yummy! Glad I can have this any time at home when I’m craving an arby’s sandwich. Thanks for this easy to make recipe!
Why can’t you use the pre-shredded cheese, why hand shredded?
The hand shredded melts much better
Made these for the family tonight! As a family of six, getting out to Arby’s doesn’t happen very often. They were ecstatic! I used roast beef. Also, after reading many comments about the sauce being “red ranch” aka french or Catalina dressing, I opted to try Organicville’s French dressing, as the ingredients looked promising. It was dead.on. I couldn’t be happier! Thanks for the recipe!
SO happy you liked it! Great idea using Catalina– will definitely have to try that next time! Thank you!
You do want to use Catalina dressing.. years and years ago, I asked what the red sauce was and that’s what they told me, they get it in in huge tubs. Nowadays, they call it ‘zesty red ranch’, but trust me, its Catalina. 🙂
haha very good to know! I had no idea!
1/2 cup Ketchup
2 tablespoons water
1/4 TSp Garlic powder
1/4 Tsp Onion powder
Mix it all together. I was skeptical, ut tried it and its the EXACT taste of the red sauce thats on their beef n cheddars.
Yum! We will have to give this a try next time we make these sandwiches 😀 Thank you for sharing!
YUM!!! I cannot wait to try it with ham!!!