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Tender and juicy honey glazed ham is smothered in our simple 5-ingredient glaze. It’s our favorite recipe for holiday ham!

We have several meat recipes that make for great holiday dishes—Brown Sugar Ham, a delicious Pot Roast, the best-ever Roast Chicken, and especially this honey glazed ham!

Honey Glazed Ham in a white serving dish.


Delicious Holiday Ham

Thanksgiving and Christmas are almost here!

If you’re anything like us, you’re BEYOND excited to gather with friends and family – and eat delicious food. We gather with the entire Luna gang to hang out and feed our faces for both holidays.

So many of our holiday get-togethers center around food, so we love creating the menus for these nights.

We usually do Mexican food on Christmas Eve, but we love having a traditional honey glazed ham and veggie menu for Christmas Day (we also do Turkey AND Ham for Thanksgiving). It’s is also an Easter favorite!

This ham is perfect for holiday gatherings, and it goes perfectly with Mashed Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese and Roasted Vegetables to round out the meal!

Honey glaze being poured over ham in crock pot.

5 Minutes of Prep!

I, myself, had never made a glazed ham recipe, but my family LOVES to eat it for the holidays. I found a simple, but delicious recipe that ended up tasting amazing. It was so juicy and flavorful, and best of all – it was SIMPLE!

It only took 5 minutes to prepare, and then the slow cooker did the rest of the work.

HAM. Place spiral cut ham slices into your slow cooker. For easy clean up, use a crock pot liner.

GLAZE. Add light brown sugar, honey, water, mustard, and cloves to a small or medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cloves from the glaze and pour over ham.

COOK. Cook on LOW for 4 hours, making sure to baste or brush ham with the honey glaze every hour.

Sliced ham served on a plate with a side of potatoes.

Tips for buying and preparing ham

A tasty honey glazed ham recipe starts with the right ham!

Ham size. If the honey glazed ham is the main dish, plan on ⅓ to ½ pound per person. If you want some leftovers, add another pound or two. Keep in mind the size of your slow cooker. A 6-8 quart slow cooker can usually fit a 6-7 pound ham. I recommend you choose a ham in natural juices. Avoid ham in water.

How long to store ham before cooking it. Keep a wrapped spiral cut ham in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or in the freezer for 1-2 months before cooking it. 

Thaw a frozen ham in the fridge. Plan for it to take 4-6 hours per pound. Speed up the process by placing the ham in a plastic bag, and submerging it in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes until the ham is thawed.

For extra flavor. Try pinning pineapple and/or maraschino cherries to the top of the ham. Use a toothpick to hold them in place. The pineapple juice and cherry juice will add a delicious layer of flavor to the ham. Add extra flavor with a dash of spices such as nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon.

Crock Pot Tips

Did you know you can preheat a crock pot? Plug in the pot and start heating it up while you prepare the ingredients for the dish.

Some other crock pot tips include:

  • High on a crock pot is about 300°F. Low heat is about 200°F. One hour on high equals about two hours on low.
  • Don’t put frozen meat in the crock pot.
  • Use the right size crock pot. The ham should fill the pot between ½ and ¾ of the way. 
  • Avoid removing the lid. It takes 20 minutes for the pot to return to the set temperature.

Storing and Using Leftovers

STORE leftover honey baked ham in an airtight container, in the fridge, for 4-5 days.

FREEZE this easy honey glazed ham for 2-3 months.

Reheat. Quickly reheat ham in the microwave, but the best way to get a moist reheated ham is to use a roasting pan in the oven.

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. Fill the bottom pan with water and place the roasting rack on top.
  3. Place ham on top of the rack and cover the entire pan with aluminum foil. The steam from the water underneath will keep the ham moist while reheating it.
  4. Bake until warm throughout.

Leftover ham is great to make other meals with. Some favorites include classic next-day ham sandwiches as well as:

Easy honey glazed ham sliced in a serving dish.

Recipe FAQ

What is spiral-cut ham?

This type of ham is convenient because the precooked ham has also been pre-sliced. A butcher begins making one continuous cut from one end of the ham to the other. These pre-cut, even slices make it easier to slice and serve the ham at dinner. Spiral ham can come as a boneless ham or bone-in ham.

What size honey glazed ham do I need for a holiday dinner?

If ham is the main dish then I suggest planning on ⅓ to ½ pound per person. If you want some leftovers, add another pound or two to the total.

Can I make honey glazed ham in the oven?

While the crock pot is convenient you can make this recipe in the oven. Preheat your oven to 325°F and follow the same glazing instructions. Place the ham in a roasting pan and bake for about 15 minutes per pound, basting with the glaze every 30 minutes.

Try these Side Dishes:

5 from 26 votes

Honey Glazed Ham Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
Tender and juicy honey glazed ham is smothered in our simple 5-ingredient glaze. It's our favorite recipe for holiday ham!
Servings: 8
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 4 hours 5 minutes
Total: 4 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup honey
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 10 whole cloves
  • 1 (4-5-pound) Sam’s Choice spiral cut ham (cooked)

Instructions 

  • Place cut ham slices into your slow cooker.
  • Add all ingredients (except the ham) to a small pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Remove cloves from the glaze and pour over ham. Cook on LOW for 4 hours making sure to baste ham with the glaze every hour.
  • Serve warm with the glaze. ENJOY!

Video

Notes

STORE leftover honey baked ham in an airtight container, in the fridge, for 4-5 days.
FREEZE this easy honey glazed ham for 2-3 months.
Reheat. Quickly reheat ham in the microwave, but the best way to get a moist reheated ham is to use a roasting pan in the oven.
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. Fill the bottom pan with water and place the roasting rack on top.
  3. Place ham on top of the rack and cover the entire pan with aluminum foil. The steam from the water underneath will keep the ham moist while reheating it.
  4. Bake until warm throughout.

Nutrition

Calories: 172kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Sodium: 54mg, Potassium: 52mg, Sugar: 44g, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
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About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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Recipe Rating




23 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I have never been that great at making ham but when I came across this recipe it sure got easier for me. It’s simple and oh so delicious!