Honey Glazed Spiral Sliced Ham

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 70 mins
Total: 80 mins
Servings: 8 to 10 servings

Spiral sliced hams are a great invention. Conveniently pre-sliced, these hams are easy to carve and serve. Perfect for Easter and Christmas dinners, they usually come with their own glaze packet, but making the glaze at home greatly improves the end result. Our recipe for the glaze perfectly complements the salty-sweet flavor of the ham. Taste is important but so often, foods like spiral, pre-sliced hams so easily get dried out when you reheat them. This method, however, will keep your ham succulent and moist.

Serve this ham with scalloped potatoes, steamed green beans, dinner rolls, or other tasty sides appropriate for a ham dinner. If you happen to have leftovers, that just means you've got new ways to approach ​leftover ham recipes. Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days or portion the ham into freezer containers and freeze for up to 6 months.

Glazed spiral sliced ham on a white cutting board

The Spruce Eats / Loren Runion

"The ham was delicious with the honey, brown sugar, and mustard glaze. It was a very easy preparation, and the cooking directions were spot on. The sugar mixture can burn if left in too long, so check after 10 to 15 minutes. Leftovers are great, too!" —Diana Rattray

Glazed Spiral Sliced Ham cut into pieces on a serving platter
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1 (6- to- 7 pound) fully cooked, spiral-sliced ham

  • 1 cup brown sugar

  • 1/2 cup honey

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients and preheat the oven to 325 F.

    Ingredients for glazed spiral sliced ham gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Loren Runion

  2. Place the ham in a heavy roasting pan, cut side down. Cover the ham snugly with heavy duty foil. Roast the ham for 10 to 14 minutes per pound. For a 6-pound ham, that's about 60 to 84 minutes. When tested with a reliable meat thermometer at the thickest of the meat, the ham should read at least 145 F, the minimum for safe pork consumption.

    Ham in a roasting pan and covered in tin foil

    The Spruce Eats / Loren Runion

  3. While the ham is in the oven, combine the brown sugar, honey, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and cloves. Mix well.

    Brown sugar, honey, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and cloves in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Loren Runion

  4. Remove the ham from the oven and remove the foil. Be careful with the trapped steam. Turn the oven to 400 F.

    Spiral ham with foil removed a large oval baking pan

    The Spruce Eats / Loren Runion

  5. Spoon and spread glaze on the ham. Be careful because the ham is hot and the liquid can splatter onto your arms or face. Use the back of a spoon to uniformly spread the glaze.

    Spiral ham covered with glaze

    The Spruce Eats / Loren Runion

  6. Return the ham to a 400 F oven and roast for another 10 to 20 minutes, or until the ham is fully glazed and a thick and sticky coating is visible. Remove from the oven and place onto a serving plate. Let rest for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

    Spiral ham completely cooked and glazed

    The Spruce Eats / Loren Runion

A Spiral Ham Dinner

When it comes to ham, there are many complementary side dishes to choose from. Mashed sweet potatoes or a sweet potato casserole are excellent choices and a nice alternative to mashed potatoes. Pineapple goes well with ham, too. Choose a pineapple stuffing, pineapple salad, or sliced canned pineapple. Roasted Brussels sprouts, creamed spinach, and green beans all go well with ham.


A few more suggestions are:

  • Clean and roughly chop 3 large turnips, 3 large carrots, 2 medium-sized sweet onions, and 6 medium yellow potatoes. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Roast in the oven while you cook the ham, for about 45 to 55 minutes.
  • Steam some rice while the ham is glazing, or steam some cauliflower rice instead.
  • To finish this hearty meal, offer a sweet affogato. Make a very strong pot of fresh coffee. Pour 1/2 cup of it on top of 1 big scoop of vanilla ice cream per guest.

How To Store and Freeze

  • Refrigerate leftover cooked ham in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
  • To freeze leftover ham, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap in foil or place it in a zip-close freezer bag. Label the ham with the name and date and freeze it for up to 4 months.


Can You Eat a Fully Cooked Ham Without Heating It?

A pre-cooked ham such as a spiral ham is absolutely safe to eat without reheating it. In fact, many people enjoy it this way, served cold or at room temperature, or sliced for hearty sandwiches, as part of a fancy grilled cheese, stuffed into a biscuit, or eaten with a fried egg.

How Do You Keep a Spiral-Sliced Ham Moist?

To keep the sliced ham from drying out, wrap it tightly with heavy duty foil or cover the roasting pan tightly. Don't remove the foil and glaze until the last 10 to 20 minutes of baking time.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
130 Calories
0g Fat
32g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories 130
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 3mg 1%
Sodium 128mg 6%
Total Carbohydrate 32g 12%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 32g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 20mg 2%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 55mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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