Coca Cola Ham: a kitchen method

A whole spiral cut coca cola ham on a platter.

This coca cola ham is a spiral cut ham coated in a coke and brown sugar glaze, then baked to perfection. A 3 ingredient recipe that’s reliable for a special occasion!

This coke glazed ham is so incredibly tasty and it only takes 5 minutes to prepare it for the oven. A unique way to do ham that’s great for Easter, Christmas or for any meal where you’re looking to feed a crowd. This is one of my go-to ham recipes along with crock pot ham and ham with pineapple and cherries.

I first experienced coca cola ham about 20 years ago when a local deli used to sell coke glazed ham sandwiches. That deli went out of business, but my love for the ham never faded! The soda gives the ham a sweet yet complex flavor that can’t be replicated by anything else. Finest of all, this ham only has a few ingredients and is basically fool proof to make.

This ham is reliable for Easter dinner. You can enjoy it with fantastic side dishes like crock pot mashed potatoes, zucchini casserole or glazed carrots.

Coca Cola Ham Ingredients

To make coca cola ham you will need just a few ingredients. Make sure you have a spiral cut ham, brown sugar, coca cola and cornstarch.

How Do You Make Coca Cola Ham?

To make this coca cola ham recipe first place your ham in a prepared baking dish and preheat your oven. Rub brown sugar all over the outside of your ham. If your ham has cut slices, rub the brown sugar into the slices. Next pour coca cola over you ham. Cover the ham with aluminum foil and bake it for 90 minutes. As it cooks you will want to baste it about every half an hour. Uncover the ham and let it finish cooking so the outside gets nice and caramelized.

You can used the glaze at the bottom of the baking dish as a sauce when you serve your ham. You can thicken it by pouring the glaze in a saucepan and bringing it to a simmer. Then pour in a bit of cornstarch mixed in cold water to thicken it up so that the glaze really clings to the ham slices. This is an optional step, but that extra 5 minutes of work really yields an memorable end result.

A spiral glazed ham coated in brown sugar.

Tips For the Reliable Coca Cola Ham

Look for a spiral cut ham. If you can’t find a spiral cut ham you can use any bone in ham. Simply score the top of the ham with a knife in a cross hatch pattern or diamond shape to allow the flavor to infuse into the ham.
Make sure you do NOT use diet coca cola. If you can find coca cola made with real sugar instead of corn syrup, it will taste even better!
Use a sharp knife to slice your ham.
If you are new to baking a ham, check out my full tutorial on how to cook a ham.

Quick Tip

I recommend getting the highest quality ham you can find since this recipe is so unfussy; every ingredient really counts!

An uncooked spiral ham topped with coke and brown sugar.

Recipe FAQs

How long to bake a ham?

A fully cooked ham needs to bake for 10 minutes a pound at 350 degrees F. I use a 10 pound ham for this recipe, but you can use a larger or smaller ham; simply adjust the baking time accordingly. I recommend cooking your ham until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.

Why pour coke on ham?

Coca cola on ham keeps the ham tender and juicy as it cooks and adds a tasty sweet flavor to the ham.

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A platter of sliced coca cola ham with herbs.

Flavor Variations

While this recipe makes a juicy and tasty ham, you can change the ingredients to suit your own taste.

Dijon: You can mix your coca cola with a little Dijon mustard in a small bowl before pouring over your ham.
Citrus: You can add some orange juice or lemon juice to your coca-cola glaze for a bright citrus flavor.
Honey: You can substitute the brown sugar for honey if you prefer honey.

This coca cola ham is the reliable holiday entree, I often serve it for Easter. And of course, one of the finest parts of holiday ham is the leftovers, here are 18 leftover ham recipes!

More Holiday Meal Recipes

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

1 hr 35 mins

Herb Roasted Turkey

4 hrs 20 mins

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans

1 hr 50 mins

Bacon Green Bean Bundles

25 mins

Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

1 hr

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Add as Google preferred source Authorthe Makdob kitchen A whole spiral cut coca cola ham on a platter.

This coca cola ham is a spiral cut ham coated in a coke and brown sugar glaze, then baked to perfection. A 3 ingredient recipe that’s reliable for a special occasion! Time Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 5 minutes

Course Main
Cuisine American
Serves 12

Ingredients

1 10 lb spiral cut ham
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can Coca Cola do not use diet
1 tablespoon cornstarch optional
cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray and place the ham in the pan.
Rub the brown sugar all over the ham, making sure to get it in between the slices.
Pour the can of Coca Cola over the ham.
Cover the ham and bake for 90 minutes, basting every 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake for 30 minutes more or until until ham is browned and caramelized.
Remove the ham from the pan and place on a serving platter. Spoon the glaze from the bottom of the pan over the ham. See optional step below if you prefer a thicker glaze (I recommend taking the extra 5 minutes to do this!)
To thicken the glaze: pour the ham glaze from the bottom of the roasting pan into a small pot and bring to a simmer. Whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the pot, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until glaze is thickened.

Notes

I recommend getting the highest quality ham you can find since this recipe is so unfussy; every ingredient really counts!
Look for a spiral cut ham. If you can’t find a spiral cut ham you can use any bone in ham. Simply score the top of the ham with a knife in a cross hatch pattern to allow the flavor to infuse into the ham.
Make sure you do NOT use diet coca cola. If you can find coca cola made with real sugar instead of corn syrup, it will taste even better!