Honey Glazed Ham

This delicious spiral cut Honey Glazed Ham is coated in flavorful glaze and baked to perfection. It’s sweet and savory!

It’s the perfect holiday dinner but also great for any weekend night. The flavor is similar to the famous honey baked ham but costs less and no crowds in line to pick it up on holidays!

The contrast of salty ham and light sweet honey glaze is a match made in heaven! This crackly glaze is a cinch to make at home with just 7 common ingredients.

The beauty of cooking a ham is that it is already cooked! All you need to do is warm it up and give it a coat of sweet tangy glaze toward the end. It’s the perfect dinner.

Holiday ham has always been my top choice for special occasions such as Christmas and Easter. It’s an easy and hands-off preparation entree, and the leftovers are delicious for so many things.

One of our favorite ways to use leftover ham (and who doesn’t want leftovers?!) is to make ham and Swiss cheese biscuit sandwiches with our fluffy Baking Powder Biscuits.

Ingredients for Honey Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

Our spicy sweet glaze is packed with flavor! See exact amounts in the recipe card below.

• Spiral Cut Ham – we use an 8-10 pound ham (half ham) and preferably a bone-in ham. You can choose a boneless ham but bone-in variety will have more flavor and produce a more juicy ham. Look for a pre-cooked spiral cut ham, and make sure it is not already glazed
• For the Glaze:
• Honey – the key ingredient for developing that sticky sweetness
• Light Brown Sugar – or dark brown sugar if you prefer an even sweeter taste
• Butter – we usually choose unsalted butter because ham is already salty but regular salted butter works fine too
• Orange Juice – freshly squeezed is best, or you can use pineapple juice
• Cinnamon and Ground Cloves – these warm spices are all you need
• Dijon Mustard – adds zest to the glaze
• Whole Cloves – optional, to be studded on the outside of the ham

How to make a simple honey glaze recipe for ham

This ham glaze recipe is lightly spicy with the addition of Dijon mustard because we prefer our ham glaze super flavorful, but not overly sweet.

However, if you prefer a sweeter glaze simply omit the mustard, and use dark brown sugar rather than light brown sugar.

1. In a medium saucepan add the honey, brown sugar, butter, orange juice, cinnamon, and ground cloves and stir to combine
2. Cook on medium-high heat until the mixture begins to boil, whisking, to ensure even cooking
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken
4. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Dijon mustard until well blended
5. The glaze will harden as it cools but can be gently reheated over low heat to return it to liquid (or give it 15-25 seconds in the microwave)

Preparing honey glazed spiral ham

Hams are already precooked so all that is needed is re-warming at a low temperature. The final internal temperature should be 140˚F.

STEP ONE:

• Preheat oven to 300˚F with the oven rack in the bottom 1/3rd of the oven
• Use a large roasting pan or baking pan. Add a roasting rack to the bottom of the pan
• If desired, score the top of the ham in a diamond pattern and insert some whole cloves
• Using a pastry brush add a light coating of the prepared glaze over the top of the ham making sure to coat all over the top and sides
• Gently fan out the pieces and let some of the glaze trickle in between the pieces
• Tightly cover the ham with foil, or put a lid on the roasting pan. It’s important that the ham is fully and tightly covered to keep it moist during cooking
• Cook to an internal temperature of 125˚F.
• Generally, this will take about 13 minutes per pound of ham

STEP TWO:

• Remove ham from oven, uncover, and increase oven temperature to 425˚F
• Brush the remaining glaze all over the ham, including gently fanning out the slices again. Be sure to let the glaze seep in between the slices!

• Return ham to the oven (uncovered).
• Cook for about 15 more minutes. The glaze should become beautifully brown.
• When the ham reaches an internal temperature of 135˚F-140˚F, in the thickest part of the ham, on an instant-read thermometer, remove pan from the oven, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Serve whole on a platter, garnished, or place on a cutting board and carve individual slices for serving

What is the best type of ham to buy

The majority of hams are already pre-cooked so when preparing them you will actually just be warming the ham up. Buying the right ham is easy.

1. This recipe calls for a spiral cut ham. Do yourself a favor and try to find one that is already spiral cut as it will make preparation so much easier! If not, you can always thinly slice the ham before or after cooking.

• You can generally buy a spiral ham at any large grocery store all year round but the time of year that they are most readily available is Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.
• Having the ham already pre-sliced makes quick work of this recipe because with just small cuts you’ll have beautiful ham slices.

2. For most recipes we strongly prefer a bone-in ham

• Cooking with the bone-in helps the ham retain maximum flavor and moisture, as well as giving you a beautiful presentation.
• The bone in the ham conducts heat while cooking which allows for more even cooking.

How long can you store leftover ham?

REFRIGERATOR: Spiral-cut hams and leftovers can be safely stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days

FREEZER: store prepared hame in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Gently reheat the ham tightly wrapped in foil at 325˚F.

Your Sommelier Suggestions

• An amazing wine pairing for honey-glazed ham is a full-bodied California or Oregon Pinot Noir. These beautiful Pinots contain a nice balance of acid and sweet fruit flavors that cut through the richness of ham. With aromas of cherry and sweet fruit flavors, these Pinots compliment the lush honey glaze and the flavor of cloves.

Great side dishes to serve with ham

Nearly every type of vegetable pairs well with ham. Here are some of our reader favorites:

• Our homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce is an ideal side with it’s sweet and tart flavor
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic is a classic holiday combo
• Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts are a light and simple side dish
• For a heartier side dish try our Easy Baked Beans or Grilled Caesar Salad
• For a lighter salad try this Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad topped with gorgeous pomegranate seeds