This Honey Baked Ham Recipe is an easy version of the traditional holiday ham. We use a pre sliced spiral ham to keep it easy, and bake it in the oven with a delicious, honey mixture followed by maple syrup glaze. The end result is a sweet and savory holiday dish that you can’t stop picking at.
For this recipe, I recommend using a spiral cut, pre-sliced ham. I like using a presliced ham because the sugary honey mixture really sinks down into each slice. You’ll want a ham that ranges between 8-10 pounds for this recipe.
How to Make Honey Baked Ham
We bake the ham low and slow to warm the ham throughout, and the low temperature helps by not burning the sugar in the mixture. One trick we love is to allow to the ham to sit on the counter for 30 minutes before baking, which is an easy way to help cut down the oven time.
- Start by preheating your oven to 250 degrees.
- Spray a roasting pan, or a dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray (you can also line it with foil to help limit the mess if you like).
- Place the ham flat side down in the center of the pan to roast the entire exterior.
- Make honey glaze mixture (instructions below) and spread over ham, and into ham slices.
- Bake ham with honey glaze mixture until it reaches 140 degrees at its most internal thickest point (per the FDA guidelines for heating precooked ham). You can plan to bake the ham for about 10-12 minutes per pound to get to this point. Plan ahead if needed!
- We make a final maple glaze for the ham, and spread that on as a last step and bake it at a higher temp for a delicious added sweet crust.
Honey Glaze Recipe for Ham
The best honey glaze for a ham is one that is made of a paste like consistency with a butter base. This allows you to spread the mixture on the ham, and into the slices to allow the flavor to seep deep into the ham.
Honey Glaze Mixture Recipe:
- Butter (softened but not melted)
- I use salted but the ham is already plenty salty so chef’s choice here on your flavor preference.
- Brown sugar
- Light or dark will work.
- Honey
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic Powder
- Garlic powder offers the pungent flavor of fresh garlic, but without little burnt bits all over your ham.
Once the ham is coated in the honey butter mixture, bake the ham for about 10-12 minutes per pound, or until it reaches 140 degrees fareneheit at its thickest point.
Our Maple Glaze REALLY makes this the best ham recipe!
Remove the ham from the oven, and turn up the temperature to 425 degrees.
While the oven is preheating to the higher temp, make a maple glaze of melted butter, maple syrup, and brown sugar. This final step is what really gives the ham a deliciously sweet crust. Spread the maple glaze over the ham, and into the slices. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until ham is coated as desired.
The higher oven temp of 425 allows the sugar to caramelize without burning (do not broil, this WILL burn and it will burn quickly if you do!). You can do 1-3 coats of the final maple mixture, or until you reach your desired level of glazed ham crust.
If you are looking for other main course holiday ideas- check these other recipes out.
- Stuffed Pork Loin with Apples, Cranberries and Pecans
- The Best Baked Salmon
- Turkey Roulade with Stuffing
- Baked Ziti with Sausage & Bechamel Sauce
- Ham and Cheese Quiche
If you are looking for dishes to serve alongside this Honey Baked Ham, we recommend these!
- Easy Make Ahead Mushroom Gravy
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Homemade Focaccia Bread
- Creamy Cauliflower Au Gratin
Honey Baked Ham
Ingredients
- 1 8-10 lb ham (spiral cut)
Honey Butter Glaze
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup butter (softened, not melted)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Maple Finishing Glaze
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees fahrenheit.
- Spray a roasting pan, or a dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place the ham flat side down in the center of the pan.
- Mix honey butter mixture together in a small bowl. Slather mixture on ham, and inbetween slices. Bake for 10-12 minutes per pound, or until ham is warm throughout (140 degrees internally). Use an electronic meat thermometer for accuracy.
- Remove ham from oven. Turn oven temperature up to 425 degrees.
- In a separate small bowl, combine maple glaze mixture. Spread over ham, and into slices. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until desired crust is formed on ham. Repeat maple glaze steps if desired/more coating is preferred.
- Remove from oven, and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Mimmy says
This recipe was easy and so good! We loved it !! I didn’t use spices. My daughter in law, who is not a fan of ham really enjoyed it. We have leftovers for breakfast with eggs. Sandwiches for later. I did have to increase the temperature. I had slathered the mix in between the slices and it was still not melted by the time it was supposed to be done. My ham was fully cooked. It’s still a 5 star recipe for me. Thank you! Happy Holidays!
Roland Paquin says
Great recipes.
Sara Pateras says
This was an incredible recipe!! Saving it for my go to recipe!