These easy step-by-step instructions will guide you through 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.
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How long 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.
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 ham recipe is definitely a keeper.
And if you're hosting a big group for dinner or the holidays, here are some other main dishes you'll want to consider like Prime Rib Roast, Turkey, or the Perfect Pot Roast.
Ingredients Needed to Cook a Spiral Cut Ham
- 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: How to Cook a Spiral Ham
- 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!
Frequently Asked Questions
Your spiral ham cooking time will depend on how large it is. If you cook it at 275 degrees as our recipe calls for, you can generally assume about 10 minutes per pound. So, if your spiral ham is 8 pounds, you can figure about 80 minutes, or 1 hour and 20 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. 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.
What to Serve with Ham
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Mashed Red Potatoes
- Sausage and Apple Stuffing
- Quick Dinner Rolls
- Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- Glazed Carrots
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 one month. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheating: to reheat, you can either microwave until warm, or rewarm in a 300-degree oven, covered in a shallow dish, for about 30 minutes or until warmed through.
Recipe: How to Cook a Spiral Sliced Ham
Ingredients
- 1 8-11 lb Spiral Sliced Ham
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Honey
- ½ cup Orange Juice
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1 pinch Nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
- Remove all of the packaging, including the plastic disk on the underside of the ham.
- Place ham in a 9" x 13" glass baking dish, or similar shallow roasting pan, and cover tightly with foil or a lid.
- Place in a preheated oven and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes - 1 hour 50 minutes, or about 10 minutes per pound of ham.
- Note: If you are planning to add a glaze, add it during the last 20 minutes of baking.
- Once the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F in the thickest spot, 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!
Honey Glaze For Ham
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition
How to Use Leftover Spiral Ham
If you happen to have some leftovers, besides the usual ham sandwich, here are some of our favorite ways to use up leftover spiral ham:
- Ham and Cheese Quiche
- Ham and Cheese Scalloped Potatoes
- Ham Cheese Ball
- Easy Fried Rice
- Ham and Cheese Cornbread Muffins
- Baked Denver Omelet
- Holiday Brunch
Here are more of our favorite holiday recipes:
- Herb-Roasted Turkey
- Crockpot Turkey Breast with 3 Citrus Marinade
- Crockpot Mashed Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel Topping
- Honey Glaze for Ham
- More Ham Recipes
- More Dinner Recipes
Find our Holiday Menus Here
- Christmas Dinner Menu
- Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
- Easter Dinner Menu
- More Holiday Recipes
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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, along with some of your frequently asked questions and ways to use leftover ham.
Liz
I'm bookmarking this for Christmas!! This is exactly what I need. Thanks for the detailed instructions!
Nellie Tracy
Great recipe for how to cook a ham, lots of great tips and things to keep in mind! Thank you!