This easy-to-make ham has a delicious hint of a sweet glaze to balance the flavor of this tender ham. Making a baked ham with a brown sugar glaze ensures you’ll have a flavorful ham for your holiday meal.
Baked Ham with a Brown Sugar Glaze
Christmas Recipes are always some of my favorite recipes to share with you. I’ve been sharing turkey and ham recipes like this glazed ham recipe for years. Some of my favorite ham recipes are Maple and Orange Glazed Ham or Tomato and Onione Glazed Ham . You might also want to take a peek at this post with 11 Mouthwatering Ham Recipes.
Holidays like Easter and Christmas are a great excuse to make an enormous ham for everyone to enjoy. Although, my boys would argue that any day is an excellent excuse for ham.
What I love about this recipe:
- It’s simple to make
- The ham and glaze have very few ingredients that are easily found at your local grocery store
- You’ll most likely have leftover ham from this recipe which will make delicious sandwiches and casseroles for more delicious meals
What do I need to purchase for this Brown Sugar Glazed Ham?
Ingredients
- Spiral Cut Ham – Buy a spiral cut ham with the bone-in. This will provide you with a tender and juicy ham
- Dijon Mustard – This will be used in both the baking and glazing process
- Crushed Pineapple – You can find canned crushed pineapple at most grocery stores
- Brown Sugar- Brown sugar will give you that beautiful brown caramelized color and sweeten the ham and glaze
- Ground Ginger – This spice gives a warm flavor to this recipe
- Ground Cloves – Another spice that adds warmth to the recipe
- Cornstarch – This will be used to thicken the glaze. You can substitute flour instead
How to bake a ham and then glaze it
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
- Pour out 1/2 cup of pineapple juice from the canned pineapple into a small bowl
- Add the mustard and whisk together
- Place the ham flat-side down in the roasting pan
- Brush the juice and mustard mixture of the ham
- Pour out the rest of the crushed pineapple including juices and spread it around the bottom of the ham
- Cover the ham with foil
- Roast according to package directions
- 30 minutes before the ham is done, remove the ham from the oven
- In a medium-sized saucepan, 1/2 cup of the juices from the pan, brown sugar, mustard, ginger, cloves, and cornstarch
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn it down slightly – let this mixture cook – stirring occasionally until the glaze has thickened up
- Take the foil off and baste the glaze over the ham
- If there is more than 1/4 inch of juice around the ham, pour it out. You can use that for ham gravy
- Bake uncovered for the last 30 minutes
Making Ham Gravy
- Combine strained juices from the bottom of the roasting pan with about 2 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour
- Cook in a saucepan until thickened
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Buy a bone-in ham for this recipe. It will ensure that your ham is juicy and flavorful
- Don’t forget to take out the plastic disk in the ham bone
- Place your ham flat side down for baking
- Your glaze will only be applied for the last 15-20 minutes of baking time
- Pay attention to whether or not your ham is pre-cooked and follow the baking instructions on your package for time and temperature
FAQs
Make Ahead and Storage
Yes! You can bake your ham, store it in the refrigerator for a day or two, and then reheat it on the day of your celebration
Store leftover ham, covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
Or, freeze ham for up to 3 months
You can freeze ham in chunks by wrapping it with freezer wrap and then placing it in a freezer bag
You can simply place sliced ham in a freezer bag
If you have stored a cooked whole ham in the refrigerator, set your oven to 325 degrees F. and bake for one hour or until warmed through – and serve
If your ham was frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then bake
To prevent your ham from drying out, add water or broth to the bottom of your roasting pan
No. You do not have to get a pre-sliced ham, but you’ll want to get a whole ham with the bone-in for the ultimate juicy flavor
You do not need to score a pre-sliced ham. Scoring gives the glaze places to settle into and a spiral ham already has that available
Before you add the glaze, use a sharp knife to cut a diamond-shaped pattern on the outside of the ham. Add the glaze and bake uncovered
What do I do with Leftover Ham?
There are plenty of delicious meals that you can make with leftover ham. Like…
More Holiday Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze
Equipment
- 1 roasting pan
- 1 whisk
- mixing bowls
- strainer
- saucepans
Ingredients
- 1 7-9 lb. spiral ham with bone-in
- 2 Tbsp. dijon mustard
- 1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple or pineapple tid-bits
Glaze
- ½ cup juices from pan
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. dijon musard
- ½ tsp. ground ginger
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
- Pour out 1/2 cup of pineapple juice from the canned pineapple into a small bowl
- Add the mustard and whisk together
- Place the ham flat-side down in the roasting pan
- Brush the juice and mustard mixture over the outside of the ham
- Pour out the rest of the crushed pineapple including juices and spread around the bottom of the ham
- Cover the ham with foil
- Roast according to package directions
- 30 minutes before the ham is done, remove the ham from the oven
- In a medium-sized saucepan, mix 1/2 cup of the juices from the roasting pan, brown sugar, mustard, ginger, cloves, and cornstarch
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn it down slightly – let this mixture cook – stirring occasionally until the glaze had thickened up
- Take the foil off and baste the glaze over the ham If there is more than 1/4 inch of juice around the ham, pour it out
- You can use that for ham gravy
- Bake uncovered for the last 30 minutes
For Gravy
- Strain juices from the bottom of the pan into a bowl
- Whisk in 2 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour
- Pour into a medium sized saucepan and heat on medium-high heat until thickend
- If it will not thicken enough, mix more flour with a small amount of cold water together and add that to the gravy mixture by quickly whisking it in
- Strain any lumps out of the gravy as you pour it into your gravy bowl
