Learn How to Cook a Spiral Ham that is juicy, moist, and super flavorful. Add our honey glaze, a couple of your favorite sides, and you’ll have yourself a perfectly simple and delicious holiday dinner.
Looking for even more recipes for holiday main dishes? Try our Prime Rib Roast, Herb-Roasted Turkey, or the perfect Pot Roast.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Juicy Every Time: Clear steps to warm without drying out.
- Simple Glaze: When and How to Glaze for a Glossy, Caramelized Finish.
- Foolproof Temp Guide: Exact internal temps and time-per-pound chart.
- Leftover Ideas: Storage, Reheating, and Tasty Leftover Recipes.
How to Cook a Spiral Sliced Ham
Spiral sliced ham is a thing of beauty. Since it’s already pre-cooked, most of the work is done for you when you purchase it. All you are really doing is adding your favorite glaze and warming it up.
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We’ve put together these complete instructions on How to Cook a Spiral Ham Recipe that includes our favorite honey glaze, your most frequently asked questions, and even ways to use up any leftover ham. Whether it’s for Easter Dinner, Christmas, or a special Sunday supper, this honey baked spiral ham recipe is definitely a keeper.
Key Ingredients
- Spiral Sliced Ham – you’ll want to be sure and buy a precooked spiral ham (it will say on the packaging). You can find them at Costco year-round, or in your grocery store or meat market around the holidays.
- Brown Sugar – we usually use light brown sugar for this recipe. If you want a slightly stronger flavor, you can do with dark brown sugar.
- Honey – the better the honey, the tastier the glaze. Try to find pure honey. Or, substitute maple syrup to make a maple glaze instead.
- Orange Juice – you can use fresh squeezed or bottled orange juice.
- Spices – for this recipe, we use cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Other options to try would be using pumpkin pie spice, ginger, or even a little cardamom.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare the ham. If you’re wondering how to cook a spiral ham, begin by removing all of the packaging, including the plastic disk on the underside of the ham. Place the baked spiral ham in a 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish, or similar shallow roasting pan, and cover tightly with foil or a lid.
- Add to a preheated oven. Place in a preheated oven and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes – 1 hour 50 minutes, or about 10 minutes per pound of ham.
- Make your glaze. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the brown sugar, honey, orange juice, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. While stirring, bring to a rapid boil and boil for about 5 minutes.
- Glaze the ham about 20 minutes before it is done. Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes, then brush or drizzle the glaze over the ham about 20 minutes before it has finished cooking.
- Return to the oven to finish. After glazing, return the ham to the oven, uncovered, and bake for an additional 20 minutes until the glaze is a little crispy and the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F.
- Remove from the oven. Once the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F in the thickest spot, remove the ham from the oven.
- Let it rest. Let the ham rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
- Serve. Spoon the juices over the ham just before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Start with a fully cooked ham: Most spiral hams are pre-cooked. You’re reheating to 140°F, not cooking from raw.
- Warm low and slow: Bake at 300-325°F to keep it moist.
- Glaze at the end: Uncover and brush on glaze during the last 20-30 minutes, bastig every 8-10 minutes.
- Rest before slicing: Let it rest 10-15 minutes so juices settle.
- Slice smart: Cut along the bone to release sections, then seperate slices.
Frequently Asked Questions
The cooking time for spiral ham will depend on how large it is and what temperature your oven is at. So if you cook an 8 pound ham at 275 degrees F, it would take roughly 80 minutes.
You’ll want to be sure that once the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees, you remove it from the oven so it doesn’t get the chance to dry out or become tough on the edges.
Be sure and keep an eye on the internal temperature so that you don’t overcook it! Remember – spiral hams come fully cooked so all you are doing is warming it up. Add 1/4 cup apple or pineapple juice to your pan when re-heating. You can also warm it covered in a baking dish with foil wrap and occasionally baste the ham to redistribute the juices while it heats up.
Yes! Just apply the honey glaze, then cook on low for about 4 hours. Halfway through, you may want to stop and baste the ham with the juices at the bottom of the crockpot.
For boneless hams, we suggest serving about ½ pound of ham per adult, and more like ¼ pound per child. For bone-in ham, increase that to about ¾ pound of ham per adult to account for the weight of the bone.
Note that it’s a good idea to add another pound or two to the total just to be safe.
Cooking Methods
- Oven (best texture): Place ham cut-side down on a pan. Add a little liquid (1/4 cup apple or pineapple juice). Cover tightly with foil. Bake until 120-125°F. Uncover, glaze and return to the oven until 140°F.
- Slow Cooker: Trim if needed to fit. Add a little liquid (1/4 cup apple or pineapple juice). Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours. Brush with glaze and cook 30 minues more on low or broil briefly to caramelize.
- Instant Pot: Add a little liquid (1/4 cup apple or pineapple juice). Wrap ham in heaby foil with some glaze in side. Pressure cook 2-3 minutes per pound (small hams only), quick release, then broil with extra glaze to brown.
What to Serve with Ham
No holiday feast is complete with out a spiral ham. It’s easy to prepare and everyone loves it. If you’re wondering what to make with your honey-baked ham, try our Scalloped Potatoes or a real crowd favorite, Cheesy Potato Casserole. Mashed Red Potatoes are always a hit too.
Sausage and Apple Stuffing are a fun spin on Classic Stuffing and Quick Dinner Rolls are a must. Bacon Wrapped Asparagus and Glazed Carrots are great side dishes too.
Storing and Reheating
- Refrigerator: to store leftover spiral ham in the fridge, place in an airtight container, and store for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: to freeze leftover spiral ham, place in freezer bags and remove as much air as possible. Store frozen for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheating: to reheat, you can either microwave until warm, or cover with foil and rewarm in a 300-degree oven, covered in a shallow dish, for about 30 minutes or until warmed through.
How to Cook a Spiral Ham
Ingredients
- 8-11 pounds spiral sliced ham
- 1/4 cup apple juice, or pineapple juice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
- Remove all of the packaging, including the plastic disk on the underside of the ham and place in a 9" x 13" glass baking dish, or similar shallow roasting pan. Add 1/4 cup apple juice and cover tightly with foil or a lid.
- Place in your preheated oven and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes—1 hour 50 minutes, or about 10 minutes per pound of ham.
- While the ham is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the brown sugar, honey, orange juice, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. While stirring, bring to a rapid boil and boil for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes, then brush or drizzle the glaze over the ham about 20 minutes before it has finished cooking.
- After glazing, return the ham to the oven, uncovered, and bake for an additional 20 minutes until the glaze is a little crispy and the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F.
- Once cooked, remove the ham from the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Spoon the juices over the ham before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
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- Refrigerator: place leftovers in an airtight container and store for up to 4 days in the fridge.
-
- Freezer: to freeze leftover spiral ham, place in freezer bags and remove as much air as possible. Store frozen for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
-
- Reheating: to reheat, you can either microwave until warm, or cover with foil and rewarm in a 300-degree oven, covered in a shallow dish, for about 30 minutes or until warmed through.
- Heat the ham for about 10 minutes per pound of ham.
- The internal temperature of the ham should be 140 degrees F.
- To get the most tender and juicy ham, slice the ham and lay in a baking dish, then drizzle with a little ham glaze.
- Serve with a little classic mustard or dijon mustard.
- Oven temperature: 300-325°F
- Cooking time: 10-15 minutes per pound for a fully cooked, bone-in spiral ham
- Internal temperature: 140°F in the thickest area (not touching bone)
- Example: 8-pound ham at 325°F takes about 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours.
Nutrition
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How to Use Leftover Spiral Ham
More Holiday Recipes
- More Ham Recipes
- More Dinner Recipes
- Christmas Dinner Menu
- Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
- Easter Dinner Menu
- More Holiday Recipes
This guide on How to Cook a Spiral Ham will have you cooking a juicy, moist and super flavorful holiday meal in no time. We’ve also included our favorite honey glaze recipe and some of your frequently asked questions and ways to use leftover ham.
Categories:
Christmas, Easter, Fall Recipes, Gluten-Free, Holiday Favorites, Main Dish, Nut-Free, Pork, Spring Recipes, Thanksgiving, Winter Recipes,
This post is full of great tips! Will be using this holiday season!!
This was a huge help to me over the weekend. I was hosting a gathering and unsure how to cook my ham. It turned out great.
I’m bookmarking this for Christmas!! This is exactly what I need. Thanks for the detailed instructions!
Great recipe for how to cook a ham, lots of great tips and things to keep in mind! Thank you!