Prosciutto Cotto substitute

Best substitute

Deli Boiled Ham or Cooked Ham

Use the same amount by weight or slice for slice as the prosciutto cotto you are replacing

Best for panini and sandwiches

Close match

Plain unsmoked cooked ham from the deli counter, asked for sliced thin.

Other prosciutto cotto substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Black Forest Ham
Different taste
Use the same amount slice for slice
German-style cooked ham with a light cure and a gentle smoke.
What changes
Best for
sandwiches, cordon bleu, pizza, wrapping vegetables
Slices and folds exactly like cotto, so it behaves well in any recipe. The difference is smoke: a pizza or a stuffed chicken breast made with it tastes faintly barbecued where cotto is clean and milky-sweet. In a dish with mozzarella and basil that smoke reads as out of place, so use it in heartier preparations and skip it for delicate ones.
3Mortadella
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
The large, soft, pistachio-studded Bologna sausage made from finely ground pork.
What changes
Best for
panini, stuffed and rolled meats, fried sandwiches, antipasto, tortellini filling
A great swap and an authentically Italian one, since cotto and mortadella cover much the same territory in Italian cooking. Mortadella is softer, sweeter and much more perfumed with black pepper, myrtle and sometimes pistachio, so a sandwich made with it tastes richer and more aromatic. Being emulsified rather than whole muscle, it will not hold together in slices if you cook it hard, so use it in gentle heat.
4Turkey or Chicken Deli Breast
Different taste
Use the same amount slice for slice
Roast or cooked poultry breast sliced at the deli counter.
What changes
Best for
sandwiches, wraps, cordon bleu, lighter plates
The pork-free option and workable, but be honest about what changes. Poultry deli meat has almost no fat, so it tastes lean and slightly dry, and it lacks cotto's pork sweetness entirely. In a cordon bleu the filling ends up less juicy. A thin layer of butter or an extra slice of cheese alongside it puts back some of the richness.
5Prosciutto Crudo
Taste and texture differ
Half the weight of the cotto called for
The familiar raw, dry-cured Italian prosciutto.
What changes
Best for
pizza, wrapping, salads, pasta
The reflex substitute and the one to be most careful with. Crudo is roughly twice as salty and far drier and chewier, so used slice for slice it makes a sandwich or a stuffed chicken breast overwhelmingly salty. Halve the amount, remove any other salt from the recipe, and expect a much more intense, nutty, cured flavour instead of cotto's mildness.
6Canadian Bacon or Back Bacon
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Lean cured pork loin sold in round slices.
What changes
Best for
pizza, breakfast dishes, baked pasta, stuffing
Similar cure and similar mild flavour, so it slots in where cotto is being cooked. Two things differ: it comes from loin rather than leg so it is leaner and firmer, and it is cut in thick rounds rather than thin drapes, meaning it will not fold or wrap. Fine on a pizza, poor on an antipasto platter where the delicate ribbon shape is the point.

What is Prosciutto Cotto?

Prosciutto Cotto is Prosciutto cotto, also labelled cotto ham or Italian cooked ham, is a brined and gently steam-cooked pork leg sliced paper-thin, mild and faintly sweet rather than salty and chewy like the raw dry-cured prosciutto crudo it sits next to at the deli.

Cooking tips

Cotto's whole appeal is that it is mild, moist and thin, so it disappears into a dish rather than dominating it. When you substitute, thickness matters more than brand: ask the deli to slice whatever you buy as thin as their machine will manage, and the swap becomes far less noticeable.
Because cotto is cooked and only lightly salted, it adds very little salt to a recipe. If you substitute a dry-cured ham such as prosciutto crudo, serrano or speck, cut the amount roughly in half and remove added salt elsewhere in the dish, or it will taste harsh.
In cordon bleu, saltimbocca and other rolled or stuffed dishes, cotto is chosen precisely because it stays soft and does not shrink. Dry-cured hams tighten and curl in the oven and can push a filling out of the roll, so if you use one, tuck it well inside and secure the roll with toothpicks.
Cotto is delicate and dries out quickly once sliced. Keep it wrapped tightly in the coldest part of the fridge and use it within a few days, and take it out 10 minutes before serving so the flavour opens up if you are eating it cold.
On pizza, add cotto after baking or in the last two minutes. Long oven time drives the moisture out and turns the thin slices leathery, which is the same mistake people make with prosciutto crudo.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between prosciutto cotto and prosciutto?

Cotto means cooked. Prosciutto cotto is a brined pork leg gently cooked and sliced thin, so it is mild, pale pink, soft and only lightly salty. Plain prosciutto, properly prosciutto crudo, is raw and dry-cured for many months, making it deep red, chewy, nutty and much saltier. They are not interchangeable at the same quantity.

Is prosciutto cotto just ham?

Essentially yes, it is Italy's version of cooked ham, and quality deli boiled ham is a very good substitute. The differences are in the details: cotto is usually whole-muscle rather than reformed, cooked more gently, and often lightly seasoned with bay, clove or juniper, which gives it a cleaner and slightly more aromatic flavour than standard supermarket ham.

Can I just leave it out?

In a sandwich or on an antipasto board, no, because it is the main event. In a cooked dish such as a baked pasta or a stuffed chicken breast, you can leave it out and the dish still works, though it will taste less savoury and a bit sweeter overall. Add a little extra grated Parmesan or a pinch of salt to make up the lost savour.

Which substitute is best for chicken cordon bleu?

Plain deli cooked ham, because it stays soft and juicy inside the roll and does not add much salt. Black Forest ham is the next best if you like a touch of smoke. Avoid dry-cured prosciutto here, since it shrinks and tightens in the oven and its saltiness overwhelms the cheese and chicken.

Can I eat prosciutto cotto without cooking it?

Yes, it is fully cooked and sold ready to eat, which is exactly how it is used in Italian sandwiches and on children's plates. That also means any substitute you pick should already be cooked. Raw cured hams such as crudo or speck are also eaten as they are, but they are much stronger, so treat them as a flavour change rather than a like-for-like swap.

Related substitutes

More meat & protein substitutes

Prosciutto Cotto substitute

Other prosciutto cotto substitutes

2Black Forest Ham

3Mortadella

4Turkey or Chicken Deli Breast

5Prosciutto Crudo

6Canadian Bacon or Back Bacon