Spiral Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze: a make-tonight method

A spiral ham coated in glaze, garnished with fruit and herbs.

This spiral ham is coated in a kitchen-made brown sugar glaze, then baked in the oven to tender and juicy perfection. A unfussy way to prepare ham that’s both straightforward and elegant. You’ll be sure to get rave reviews from family and friends!

When I’m looking for a holiday meal that’s sure to impress, I turn to favorites such as Thanksgiving turkey, slow roasted prime rib, or this tasty and festive spiral ham.

Whenever the holidays roll around, I always keep a spiral ham in my fridge for a flavorful meal that’s reliable for feeding a crowd. The kitchen-made glaze takes this ham over the top and turns a regular packaged ham into a gourmet dinner.

Enjoy this spiral ham for Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas with holiday favorites like corn souffle, sausage stuffing and broccoli casserole!

Spiral Ham Ingredients

This spiral ham recipe requires a spiral cut ham, butter, brown sugar, pineapple juice, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Spiral Cut Ham: Choose a pre-cooked, bone in, spiral cut ham for this recipe. Look for a ham that is about 8 pounds.
Pineapple Juice: This juice give the glaze a tangy and tasty flavor. If you can find refrigerated pineapple juice it will be better.
Honey: The sweetness of the glaze is from a mixture of brown sugar and honey. The honey helps the glaze thicken so you can pour it slowly over the ham and cover it well.

Ingredients including brown sugar, pineapple juice and spices.

How Do You Make Spiral Ham?

Start this spiral ham recipe by preheating your oven and coating your baking dish with cooking spray. Next make the glaze. In a medium sized pan place butter, brown sugar, honey, spices and pineapple juice. Simmer everything together until you get a thick and sweet glaze.

Place your ham in the baking dish and pour half the glaze over your ham. Cover the ham with aluminum foil. Bake the ham until it is warmed through.

Uncover the pan, then pour the rest of the glaze over the top of the ham. Turn up the oven heat, then bake the ham for a few more minutes until it is browned and caramelized. Cut the ham slices off the bone, then serve and enjoy.

Step by step shots showing how to make glaze and cook spiral cut ham.

Tips For The Reliable Dish

You can make this glaze in a frying pan, sauté pan or a saucepan. Just make sure it is large enough so the glaze won’t bubble onto your stove.
Forget a glaze packet, you won’t need it with this spiral cut ham recipe!
Prepare the glaze just before you plan to use it. The glaze will harden in the fridge if you make it in advance. If your glaze thickens too much, you can microwave it for 20-30 seconds to loosen it back up again.
If you want to make your spiral ham in a slow cooker, check out my crock pot ham!
Leftover ham will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or can be frozen for 2 months. Reheat individual portions of ham in the microwave, or place a covered pan in the oven and reheat at 325 degrees F until ham slices are warmed through.

Quick Tip

Aim for an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. You can insert a probe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the ham before it goes into the oven to keep an eye on the temperature as it cooks.

A ham in a baking dish covered in glaze.

Recipe FAQs

What is the difference between a spiral ham and a regular ham?

The main difference between a spiral ham and a regular ham is the way they are cut. A spiral ham is sliced in one long, continuous cut which ends up being a spiral around the ham. The ham is still attached to the bone, but is separated into slices of equal thickness. A spiral ham is super straightforward to cut and serve, because all you have to do is cut the slices away from the bone. I use this type of ham for the holidays because it feeds a lot of people and is so effortless to prepare.

How long does it take for ham to cook?

A ham needs to cook for about 15 minutes per pound in the oven at 350 degrees F. This is for a standard bone-in spiral cut ham around 7-8 pounds in size. While this recipe calls for a 8 pound ham, you can adjust the recipe for a larger or smaller piece of meat by simply changing the cook time accordingly. If you’re using a much larger ham, you can double the glaze amount.

How much ham per person?

I recommend purchasing 3/4 pound of ham per person. This will ensure that everyone is well fed! If you’d like to make sure that you have plenty of leftovers, count on buying 1 pound of ham per person.

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Flavor Variations

This spiral ham makes for a tasty holiday meal, but you can change the flavors to suit your taste.

Spices: Feel free to add warm spices to the glaze such as ground ginger, ground cloves or ground allspice.
Juice: You can swap out the pineapple juice for apple juice, apple cider or orange juice.
Sweet: You can substitute some of the honey for maple syrup. It will thin the glaze, but you will have a tasty flavor!
Leftovers: Use leftover ham for recipes like scalloped potatoes and ham, ham casserole and ham and corn chowder.

I make this spiral ham all the time during the holiday season and for good reason – it’s absolutely tasty each and every time!

Side Dishes To Pair With Ham

Southern Cornbread Dressing

1 hr 15 mins

Baked Mac and Cheese

50 mins

Cranberry Salad

11 mins

A pan of candied yams topped with marshmallows.

Candied Yams Recipe

55 mins

Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

4 hrs 20 mins

Spiral Ham Video

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Add as Google preferred source Authorthe Makdob kitchen A spiral ham coated in glaze, garnished with fruit and herbs.

This spiral ham is coated in a kitchen-made brown sugar glaze, then baked in the oven to tender and juicy perfection. A unfussy way to prepare ham that's both straightforward and elegant. You'll be sure to get rave reviews from family and friends! Time Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 40 minutes

Course Main
Cuisine American
Serves 12

Ingredients

8 lb bone in spiral cut ham
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
cooking spray
fresh herbs and fruit for garnish optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray.
Add the butter, brown sugar, pineapple juice, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg to a medium sized pan. Place the pan over medium heat.
Bring the pan to a simmer and cook for 4-6 minutes or until glaze is syrupy.
Place the ham in the baking dish and pour half of the glaze over the top. Cover the ham tightly with foil. Reserve the other half of the glaze for later use.
Bake the ham for 2 hours, then uncover the ham.
Brush the remaining glaze over the ham. If the glaze has started to harden you can liquefy it by microwaving it for 30 seconds.
Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
Place the ham, uncovered, in the oven. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until glaze is caramelized and browned.
Transfer the ham to a serving platter, then garnish with fresh herbs and fruit as desired. Spoon the pan drippings over the ham. Slice the ham, then serve.

Notes

Aim for an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. You can insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the ham before it goes into the oven to can keep an eye on the temperature as it cooks.
Prepare the glaze just before you plan to use it. The glaze will harden in the fridge if you make it in advance. If your glaze thickens too much, you can microwave it for 20-30 seconds to loosen it back up again.