Make a holiday classic your own with this delicious honey baked ham recipe. The dish has a long, slow cook time, but the actual preparation is quick and easy. The glaze features a delicious blend of spices that makes this ham a standout on any holiday table.
Honey baked ham is smoky, salty and sweet, a perfect complement for homey side dishes, or to have around for ham and Swiss sliders, delicious breakfast casseroles, navy bean soup or other leftover ham recipes.
Most hams are already cooked, so you’re really only reheating it here, adding a glaze and giving it some oven time to become deliciously crackling and sticky-sweet. A slow cooker does all the work for this recipe, cooking the ham low and slow. It also frees up oven space during busy holiday meal preparation. (Psst: Here are more tips on how to make a ham in a slow cooker.)
Our honey baked ham recipe is inspired by the popular Honeybaked hams created by the clever Harry Hoenselaar. In the 1930s, Hoenselaar invented a slicer that could cut a bone-in ham into a neat spiral. Two decades later, he opened a shop in Detroit to sell glazed hams and other comfort foods to the masses. The only downside to a Honeybaked ham is the price tag. A 9-pound ham, plus shipping, easily costs over 100 dollars. Needless to say, you can save a lot of money by making this DIY version!
Ingredients for Honey Baked Ham
- Spiral-sliced fully cooked bone-in ham: Try saying that five times fast! Hams are available at most grocery stores, but if you can’t find the unglazed spiral-cut version, or you’d prefer to buy your meat from one of your favorite farms, you can make this recipe with a whole ham. It’ll just require a little more elbow grease when it’s time to carve. Our pros offer a lot of great tips on how to cook a ham, including how to choose the best ham for any recipe.
- Honey: The sweet stuff is what gives this ham so much character. Any type of honey works for this recipe, but if you happen to have a darker honey like buckwheat honey, it would add a deep, rich flavor.
- Allspice: Ground allspice is an amazing complement to ham, and it brings a slight astringency and richness to the recipe.
- Paprika: Hungarian paprika is the more traditional spice for this recipe. To ramp up the flavor, use smoked Spanish paprika, which comes in both sweet and hot variations. Exactly what is paprika? We have answers!
- Chinese five-spice powder: This sweet, aromatic spice blend goes wonderfully with meat. You can make a Chinese five-spice blend from scratch, or use store-bought.
- Other spices: Our honey baked ham recipe features a handful of other spices. Learn more about some of our favorite essential spices for any pantry.
Directions
Step 1: Cook the ham
Place the ham and water in a 7-quart slow cooker. Brush the ham with 1/2 cup honey.
Cook on low, with the lid on, until the temperature in the center of the ham reaches 140°F. This may take four to five hours, depending on the size of the ham and its internal temperature when you started.
Step 2: Glaze the ham
Preheat the broiler. In a bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, paprika, ginger, nutmeg, mustard, five-spice powder and cloves. Carefully transfer the ham to a broiler-safe shallow roasting pan, cut side down. Brush the ham with the remaining 1/4 cup honey, and sprinkle evenly with the glaze mixture, pressing it into the ham so that it sticks.
Step 3: Broil the ham
Broil the ham 6 to 8 inches from the heating element until the sugar is melted and the coating is nicely browned, three to five minutes. Watch the ham carefully, turning it as needed to prevent any parts from cooking too quickly.
Step 4: Take a rest
Tent the ham with foil, and let it hang out until the glaze hardens, about 30 minutes.
Honey Baked Ham Variations
- Switch up your spices: The warming spice blend in the original recipe is a classic, but ham is a great partner for all kinds of different spice blends. Don’t be afraid to mix up a sweet and spicy rub, for instance, using maple syrup, chipotle powder, smoked paprika, garlic and black pepper.
- Try different glazes: Take tips from this brown sugar pineapple ham or this apricot-glaze ham for more glaze inspiration.
- Boozy bites: You could add a splash of bourbon or another type of whiskey to your glaze for even more delicious flavor.
Can you make honey baked ham ahead of time?
Since you want the ham’s glaze to form a crackling crust right before you serve it, we don’t recommend cooking this showstopper ahead of time. However, you can make the dry glaze ingredients ahead of time, and store them in an airtight container until ready to bake.
How to Store Honey Baked Ham
If you have time to cut the ham off the bone before storing, the meat will take up less room in your fridge, and it will be easier to access as leftovers. Plus, if you want to make stock from the ham bone so that you can make a delicious ham soup, cutting the bone out before storage will enable you to do that. Leftover ham can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three or four days.
Honey baked ham tips
What do you serve with honey baked ham?
So many classic side dishes go with honey baked ham. Try buttermilk biscuits, creamy mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole and creamed spinach. If you’re serving your ham at a party, try a Bavarian theme, and serve it alongside a few German recipes. If your gathering is casual, try some southern sides. Any way you slice it, ham is the perfect centerpiece.
Can you make a smaller version of honey baked ham?
Yes, this recipe adapts well to a smaller ham. Make a smaller amount of the glaze, depending on the size of the ham, and paint it on, just like you would the larger version. You can even make the glaze for a single ham slice. In either case, heat your ham completely through in a slow cooker or in a covered dish in the oven, using honey water to keep it moist, then follow the glazing step. However, with a smaller ham, you won’t need to broil it for as long.
Can you bake the honey baked ham?
You can bake this ham instead of using the slow cooker. Preheat your oven to 425°, glaze the ham, and put it in the oven for 15 minutes. Then, brush on any remaining glaze, and cook for another 15 minutes. Oven temperatures vary, no matter what the controls say, so it’s wise to check the ham every few minutes. You want to make sure the ham’s internal temperature reaches 140°.
