Baked Ham (with Brown Sugar Glaze)

15 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze made with orange juice, honey, and spices is the PERFECT sweet and savory holiday dinner, and bakes in only 90 minutes!

You can always find a bone-in ham on a holiday table, and it’s the perfect thing to use the next day for Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup. If your ham is boneless, you can still use the leftovers to make Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup!

Quick and Easy Baked Ham

Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze is the PERFECT dish to serve on the holidays. You can decorate the ham with cloves or pineapple to add more to the presentation, or serve with just the brown sugar glaze.

If you’re having a lot of guests, make 2 or 3 hams. Then set out serving trays layered with pineapple, then baked ham slices, then sliced pineapple rings decoratively on top. Also put out a dish of mustard and some extra glaze for dipping.

If you don’t have brown sugar for the glaze, you can use white sugar in its place. If you do this, try to add a spoonful of molasses or maple syrup to get some of that deep flavor back, but it’s not mandatory. You can also remove the tinfoil and broil in the oven for a few minutes after the ham is done cooking, to get really nice browned caramelized sugar from the glaze on top.

Another favorite for get-togethers is this Honey Baked Ham copycat recipe. Honey baked ham copycat is done in the slow cooker and ready in about 3 hours, which is perfect if you’re low on oven space. Honey Baked Ham makes for a special dinner on Christmas eve.

It also looks great to pour some of the brown sugar glaze on the first half of the slices for great presentation and browning of the glaze on the slices, but leave the back half of the ham the way it is without fanning it open so the ham isn’t too disturbed. It makes for a nice presentation.

Easy Ham Glaze

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I bake a ham overnight?

Technically yes you can at a lower temperature, but you should always worry about leaving the oven when nobody’s there to watch it. A safer alternative would be to make this Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham recipe, with an uncooked whole ham, on low for 8-10 hours or until it comes to temperature. There’s no need for basting because it will self-glaze in the slow cooker by itself.

How long do you cook a ham in the oven?

Once you preheat the oven, a ham will need about 15-20 minutes per pound to cook, at 350 degrees. For food safety, ham needs to be cooked to a least 145 degrees. Always have a good food thermometer on hand when you’re preparing food on the holidays.

How do I cook a precooked ham?

A precooked ham should be cooked in the oven at 325 degrees for 10 minutes per pound, or until it reaches 145 degrees, according to the USDA. If you’re reheating a ham that was repackaged or leftover, it needs to be cooked to 165 degrees F.

This isn’t because you are cooking raw meat, this is because anytime you cook something it immediately begins growing bacteria. This is due to the fact that people touch it, that organisms in the air touch it or even the plates it is served on are touching it.

When you cool it back down again the food bacteria for lack of a better word is mostly dormant but to kill that bacteria and make it safe to eat it is really best/safe practices to heat it back to 165 degrees before consuming it again.

How do I make baked ham with pineapple?

For the glaze, substitute the orange juice with pineapple juice. In the last half hour of cook time, pour the glaze over the ham along with a can of crushed pineapple, and bake uncovered. Decorate with sliced pineapple rings and maraschino cherries before serving.

Easy Baked Ham with Brown Sugar and Orange Juice

What to Serve with Baked Ham

Tips for Making Baked Ham

  • Serve with yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard at the table. You can also add a tablespoon of spicy mustard or honey mustard to the glaze for a hint of sweet and spicy flavor.
  • Place ham cut-side-down in the pan when you go to bake. This helps the meat stay juicy. Also be sure to tent with tinfoil, to keep the ham from drying out while baking. Remove the tinfoil in the last half hour.
  • When the ham reaches temperature, turn the broiler on for a total time of 2-3 minutes, or until the top looks roasted and slightly crispy. Be careful it doesn’t burn, the broiler is REALLY hot.
  • Just like steak, let your ham rest on the counter while you finish prepping the rest of the meal.
  • Look for a city ham if you want the traditional holiday dish.
  • You want to make sure you pick up whole cloves to decorate the ham, as the glaze calls for ground cloves not whole.
  • If possible, find a ham that is precooked bone-in. It helps the meat stay more juicy, and is really useful for leftovers like soup or casseroles.

How to Store Baked Ham

  • Serve: Do not leave meat at room temperature longer than two hours before refrigerating.
  • Store: Baked Ham will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, wrapped tightly or stored in an airtight container. If you have a precooked ham that you have not opened or prepared yet, store for up to 2 weeks, or by the expiration date on the package. If you’re getting close to the expiration date with no plans of using the ham, freeze for up to 1-2 months.
  • Freeze: Once glazed and baked, store tightly wrapped in the freezer for up to 3-4 months.
Brown Sugar Glazed Baked Ham

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Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze

Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze made with orange juice, honey, and spices is the PERFECT sweet and savory holiday dinner in 90 minutes!
Yield 15 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1 spiral cut ham
  • 1 cup brown sugar , packed
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and add a roasting rack to a large roasting pan.
  • Rinse the ham and pat it dry and place it in a large piece of foil to wrap it closed.
  • Bring the ingredients to a boil together on medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes before pouring onto each individual slice of ham and over the top of it before wrapping the foil tightly and baking for 90 minutes.

Video

Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 1799mg | Potassium: 474mg | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 4.2mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1.5mg
Keyword: baked ham, Baked Ham (with Brown Sugar Glaze)
Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze Collage

Photos used in a previous version of this post.

Spiral Cut Baked Ham

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I’m a vegetarian making a ham for the first time for my husband. What kind of ham do I buy at the store? I keep seeing “glazed” or “brown sugar”. Does this mean it’s already cooked and flavored? If so, how do I find a raw unflavored ham?

    1. I applaud your willingness to bake a ham for your husband! I would just ask the person behind the meat counter at any grocery store. They will direct you 🙂

  2. I’d love to have a more detailed instructions on how to get it to *look* this wonderful. How do you get it sliced so thinly??

    1. Most likely an electric knife! It’s been awhile since I’ve made this but with the holidays coming up it probably will make the list of things to bake!

  3. This glaze is delicious.

    Not to sweet, just the right about of balance.Besides ham, I tried it on broiled pineapple slices and going to try it on baked sweet potatoes, with or without the cloves, either way, but I love a touch of cloves.

  4. this glaze is delicious. Not to sweet, just the right about of balance.Besides ham, I tried it on broiled pineapple slices and going to try it on baked sweet potatoes, with or without the cloves, either way, but I love a touch of cloves.

  5. this glaze is delicious. Not to sweet, just the right about of balance.Besides ham, I tried it on broiled pineapple slices and going to try it on baked sweet potatoes, with or without the cloves, either way, but I love a touch of cloves.

  6. This is a great recipe. My whole family was raving about it. I did omit the cloves though. (not my favorite) I will make it again soon.

  7. I’m not much into cooking so I’m looking for more specific instructions. I can’t see if this is a half ham or a whole ham from your recipe. Can’t tell if it’s bone in or not either. This makes a huge difference in cook time. 90 min seems fast even for a half ham.
    My bone-in half ham directions on the package calls for 2-1/2 to 3 hrs at 325 deg F.

  8. This looks amazing. I had a question on cooking time. Should I bake the ham at the 15-20 minutes per pound before doing the glaze? Or does the 90 minutes take account for the cooking time?

    1. I got home without the packet the honey baked ham comes with from HEB. I found this recipe and decided to try it for our New Year’s ham. It was delish!! My daughter-in-law said it was better than the packet the ham comes with!! Thank you so much!!

  9. Question about video compared to recipe. The video said it was nutmeg however the recipe says cloves. It is Cloves right? I don’t want to get it wrong haha

  10. hi, here in australia we don;t have the spirel cut ham as seen in your recipe, i have a precooked boneless leg ham that i want to cook for christmas would your glace be o.k to use on this type of ham leg, by the way love your recipes, i use a lot of them and they are always turn out well. marion corrie

  11. Loved this recipe. I added approximately 1 ounce of bourbon to the recipe and everyone raved about ou ju.

  12. Hi – i was reading this and then your other recipe for Brown Sugar Ham Glaze. This one says to add the glaze right when you start so it would be on for 90 minutes, but I believe the other says to add in for the last 30 minutes so the sugar does not burn. Can you clarify which is the recommended process to follow? And THANK YOU!

  13. Hi! Looks delicious! I will be cooking a quarter ham for Easter. Do I need to just use a 1/4 of all the ingredients for the glaze then or what would you suggest? Thank you!

  14. I like how basic this is, but I grew up with a 7- up ham glaze but can’t find a recipie for it, can I add the 7- up to this

    1. I’ve not tested it but maybe by eliminating the juices and just making a rub and then pouring 7 up over the top before baking might work. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!

  15. So excited to make this ham! I have a guest who is allergic to honey. What would you recommend I use in place of the honey?

    1. You can use brown rice syrup, molasses, maple syrup or agave nectar as substitutes for honey. Each one might alter the flavor a bit but would still work perfectly. Enjoy!

    1. No need to add any water to the bottom of the pan. I don’t have a recipe but you can boil the ham drippings, mix flour and water to make a roux and whisk it all together to make your own. Add salt to season to your liking. Enjoy!

    2. If I’m cooking a 20 lb ham do I need to double the ingredients that are listed? Also how long should that be cooked for?

      1. I am so sorry, I am just seeing this tonight. I am sure the recipe has long been cooked/or not but I still want to try to help.

        Yes, you would double the glaze ingredients and cook for approximately 10 minutes per pound of ham, or about 3 hours and 20 minutes.

    1. A precooked ham should be cooked in the oven at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes per pound, or until it reaches 145 degrees F, according to the USDA.

  16. This is my first time making a ham, I have a 11.74 pound smoked precooked ham. To follow this recipe I wrap the ham completely in foil or tent it? Also I would cook it for 10 mins per pound at 350 so it’d be 120mins? Since it’s precooked? Or 90 as the recipe says, I’m sorry for all the questions!

    1. If you have a larger ham, you’ll need to cook it for the longer time. Just make sure it’s the foil is completely tight. Also, check it after the 90 min mark and keep an eye on it. If it looks like it’s starting to dry out, take it out immediately. Good luck!

  17. Excellent!!! Made this as printed for NYE and it was a big hit. Perfect seasoning, glazing, and sweetness. And so easy!! Thank you!

  18. Fabulous! Delicious and SO easy. Just threw out the one that came with the ham. I’ll do this every Christmas.

  19. I want to make sure I understand the directions. Place the ham on a piece of foil, pour the glaze over it and wrap it up. Do I use all the glaze or do I save some to pour on once it’s baked?

    Place the wrapped ham on the rack and bake it for 90 minutes. That’s it???

    1. Yes, you’ll be pouring the glaze onto each individual slice of ham and over the top so no need to add more. It’ll be fully glazed. This recipe is so easy, you’ll love it!

    2. I’m just now reading the comments, and I’ve never baked ham before. I am confused , I keep reading about pouring the glaze to each individual slices, but on the instructions, doesn’t say anything about slicing the ham first, or is it already pre sliced? I appreciate your response though it’s off season

      1. This recipe uses a spiral cut ham, so it’s pre-sliced making it easier to pour the glaze and really getting it to soak in. Hope this helps clear things up. Enjoy!

  20. Hi. My precooked spiral ham is 12.37 pounds. So I should bake it approx. 2 hrs. I understand your instructions, they say to bake it 90 min. Do I remove the foil & add the glaze after I’ve baked it approx 30 min?

  21. I have one oven and thought I would bake the ham first, let it sit out, tented with foil, bake my french toast casserole for an hour, and then put the ham under the broiler as you suggested. Just wanted your opinion on broiling it an hour after cooking it, prior to serving.

    Thanks!

        1. If big enough absolutely! There’s some easy slow cooker hams on the site for time/heat reference. Happy Thanksgiving!

  22. This kind of baked ham is my husband’s favorite! I prefer roast for Christmas, but he loves ham so I make it for him 🙂