This spiral ham is coated in a homemade brown sugar glaze, then baked in the oven to tender and juicy perfection. A simple way to prepare ham that’s both easy 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 delicious and festive spiral ham.
Whenever the holidays roll around, I always keep a spiral ham in my fridge for a flavorful meal that’s perfect for feeding a crowd. The homemade 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!
Table of Contents
- Spiral Ham Ingredients
- How Do You Make Spiral Ham?
- Tips For The Perfect Dish
- Quick Tip
- Recipe FAQs
- Flavor Variations
- Side Dishes To Pair With Ham
- Spiral Ham Video
- Love This Recipe?
- Spiral Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe
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 delicious 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.
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.
Tips For The Perfect 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.
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 easy 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 delicious 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 delicious 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 delicious each and every time!
