This Honey Glazed Ham recipe will show you how easy it is to ditch the glaze package and make your own spice mix. So much more flavor and you know exactly what goes into it!
This is the perfect holiday ham! Serve it up with some Scalloped Potatoes and Lion House Rolls and your dinner will be amazing!
If you are going to have Easter, you must have ham, right?
This recipe is really so easy that it’s almost silly to post. But I think it’s delicious, and definitely worth ditching the glaze packet that comes with most hams. You most likely have all of the ingredients at home, and it takes minutes to put together.
I love a ham with a sweet glaze, but I think my favorite part of this was the hint of heat from the cayenne pepper. I’m all about the sweet, but the heat just brings this all together for me.
Ingredients
- Ham: I like to use a bone-in, spiral cut ham. Plan on 1/2 pound per person, if using a bone-in ham. I like to always make sure I have enough for leftovers, too!
- Honey and Brown Sugar: You are using a combination of honey and brown sugar as your sweetener. This is what will make it nice and sticky, too.
- Spices: For the spices, you’ll use a mixture of cinnamon, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice. It’s a little bit of sweet and a little bit of heat!
How to Make a Honey Glazed ham
- Combine all of the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.
- Place the ham in a baking dish and cover the best you ca with the glaze. It is thick, and won’t cover the whole outside, but spread it as well as you can.
- Cover the ham with foil. I like to place the baking dish on a larger sheet pan to catch any drips.
- Bake the ham for about 15 minutes per pound. Every hour, remove the ham from the oven and baste it with the juices at the bottom of the pan. You can do this with a large spoon, a pastry brush, or a baster. You should be able to baste it at least 2 times, but you can also baste it more often, if desired.
- During the last 30 minutes of cook time, remove the foil to let the glaze crisp up a bit.
How Long to Cook a Ham
This recipe uses a spiral cut ham, which is what is usually easiest to find here in the United States. You can find both bone in and boneless. I prefer the bone in, because I feel like it doesn’t dry out as easily.
Spiral cut hams are already fully cooked, so technically you don’t even need to bake it. But if you want to add this delicious glaze, it will need some time in the oven for that glaze to form and to heat the ham through.
As a general guide, your ham will need to cook 10-15 minutes per pound. The best thing to do is keep an instant read thermometer on hand and once it reaches 140ºF, it is done!
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
Since the ham is already cooked, you’ll want to add the glaze and cook it just before you are serving. If you cook it with the glaze and then reheat, it will dry out.
You can make the glaze mixture ahead of time, though. It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The good news is that leftover ham freezes very well!
More Holiday Ham Recipes
Crock Pot Ham
Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
Root Beer Glazed Ham
Brown Sugar and Cherry Glazed Ham
Honey Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- 1 spiral cut ham 8-12 pounds
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Remove any packaging from the ham, including the round plastic disc, if the ham has one. Place the ham in an oven safe dish with high sides. I like to use a 9x13-inch pan if the ham will fit.
- In a small bowl, combine the honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice. The mixture will be thick, but spread over the ham as well as possible. It’s ok if the whole ham isn’t covered.
- Loosely cover the ham with foil.
- Place the ham in the oven. Cook for about 15 minutes per pound, removing from the oven every 45 minutes to an hour to baste the ham with the juices. Remove the foil the last 30 minutes of cook time.
Tracey says
Oooh, I’m with you, I love a sweet glaze on my ham when I have it! And sometimes simple really is best so I love this recipe 🙂
kelley {mountain mama cooks} says
I love a good ham. I agree that we should all ditch the packets as making your own is so simple!
Joanne says
My mom needs to see this! She makes ham every easter and in my opinion the glaze could use a redo. 😛
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
You know what drives me crazy? (random rant coming) In the US, you see stuff like Bavarian or Black Forest ham, but we don’t even have it in Germany. We only have lunch meat ham. It’s maddening and it ruins my Easter! Hmp.
Anyway, I love that you posted a recipe for just ham! It’s one of my favorite meals – ham and potatoes au gratin! I’ll miss it at Easter but I’ll get my fill when I go for a visit this summer. 🙂 Your spice mixture sounds great!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Honey glazed ham has got to be one of my favorite things about Easter 🙂 so deliciously simple.