Honey-Baked Ham Recipe with Brown Sugar Glaze

Impress your friends and family with this easy, restaurant-quality Honey Baked Ham you can make at home. This recipe is ideal for holiday dinners—Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas—or any special meal. The ham is warmed slowly with a honey-butter and Dijon glaze, then finished with a deeply caramelized brown sugar crust that delivers sweet, complex flavor. Juicy, flavorful, and surprisingly simple to prepare, this homemade version is a fraction of the cost of store-bought glazed hams.

For years many families bought pre-glazed hams for the holidays. Switching to a homemade honey baked ham—especially when you start with a bone-in spiral-sliced ham from the store—changes everything. This copycat version recreates the signature sticky-sweet glaze and the crunchy brown sugar crust so you can serve a show-stopping centerpiece that tastes like a specialty shop.

The glaze combines honey, melted butter, Dijon mustard, and a splash of pineapple juice for bright acidity. A seasoned brown sugar crust with warm spices is applied at the end and caramelized under the broiler for a stunning finish. The result: tender, juicy slices with a glossy, flavorful glaze and an irresistible crust.

Ingredients

Use the measurements below for a 10-pound bone-in spiral ham. Adjust quantities if your ham is smaller or larger.

• Bone-in spiral-sliced ham – 8–12 pounds is ideal for these amounts; a 10-pound ham is used in this recipe. The ham is fully cooked, so you are reheating and glazing it rather than cooking raw meat.
• Pineapple juice – 2 cups (optional). Poured into the roasting pan, it keeps the ham moist and adds flavor to the drippings used for the glaze. You can substitute water if needed, though flavor will be milder.
• Butter – 2 tablespoons, melted, blended into the honey glaze for richness.
• Honey – 1/4 cup, the primary sweet component of the glaze.
• Dijon mustard – 1 tablespoon, for a touch of tang to balance the sweetness.
• Brown sugar – 1 cup, to form the caramelized crust.
• Seasonings – salt (1/2 tsp), garlic powder (1/2 tsp), ground cinnamon (1/2 tsp), ground nutmeg (1/2 tsp), ground ginger (1/4 tsp), ground cloves (1/4 tsp), paprika (1/4 tsp), and allspice (1/8 tsp).

Instructions

The steps below walk you through warming, glazing, and finishing the ham for the best texture and flavor. Allow the ham to rest after glazing before slicing.

1. Preheat the oven to 275°F (135°C).
2. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup. Place a rack in the pan and set the ham, flat side down, on the rack. Pour 2 cups pineapple juice (or water) into the pan around the ham.
3. In a small bowl, whisk melted butter, honey, and Dijon mustard. Massage this glaze between the spiral slices and over the surface of the ham so the flavor penetrates.
4. Tent the ham loosely with foil and bake 12–15 minutes per pound, until thoroughly heated through. For a 10-pound ham, plan on about 2 hours.
5. While the ham heats, combine the brown sugar with salt, garlic powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, paprika, and allspice in a bowl and set aside.
6. When the ham is heated, remove it from the oven. Change the oven setting to broil on low and move a rack to the lowest position so the ham sits as far from the broiler as possible.
7. Tilt the roasting pan to one corner and remove 1/4 cup of the pan liquid. Put that liquid in a small saucepan with half of the brown sugar mixture; reserve the rest to coat the ham.
8. Press the remaining brown sugar-spice mix onto the top and sides of the ham. Return the ham to the lowest oven rack and broil 2–3 minutes, watching closely until the sugar begins to caramelize but before it burns.
9. Bring the saucepan mixture to a boil on the stovetop, simmer for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Brush this hot glaze over the ham and broil again for 2–3 minutes until glossy and bubbling. Monitor continuously to prevent burning.
10. Remove the ham and let it rest 15–20 minutes at room temperature before slicing and serving. Resting allows juices to redistribute and keeps the meat moist.