Meat & Pork

Serving

Honey Glazed Baked Ham

Name: Honey Glazed Baked Ham
Total time: 135 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: Meat & Pork
Ingredients: 8 lb bone-in spiral-cut ham, fully cooked; 1/2 cup honey; 1/2 cup packed brown sugar; 3 tbsp Dijon mustard; 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 3 tbsp butter; 12 whole cloves

A bone-in spiral-cut ham baked low and slow under a sticky honey-brown sugar glaze studded with whole cloves.

135 minutes

Serves 10

Dinner

47 min prep

74 min cook

Contains common allergens

Dairy mustard

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Instructions

6 steps

1
Preheat oven to 300°F. Stud the surface of the ham with whole cloves and place in a roasting pan, cut-side down. Cover tightly with foil.
2
Bake for 90 minutes, or about 12-13 minutes per pound.
3
Meanwhile, combine honey, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and butter in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat 5 minutes until glossy, stirring occasionally.
4
Remove the ham from the oven, discard the foil, and increase oven temperature to 425°F. Brush the ham generously with the glaze.
5
Return the ham to the oven uncovered and bake 15-20 minutes, basting with glaze every 5-10 minutes, until deeply caramelized.
6
Let rest 15 minutes before slicing and serving with any remaining glaze.

Honey Glazed Baked Ham — plated and served — Serving moment. How Honey Glazed Baked Ham looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

75/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 80

Kid-friendly 85

Weeknight-easy 64

Budget-friendly 72

Great leftovers 93

Pantry-friendly 53

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

655

Calories

77 g

Protein

30 g

Carbs

26 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Glazed ham sits in a North American holiday lane shaped by older European cured-pork traditions and by pantry sweeteners like brown sugar, honey, cider, and mustard. A spiral-cut ham is a modern convenience version: it is already cooked and sliced, so the cook's real job is warming it gently without drying the exposed cuts and building a shiny glaze at the end.

Listahan note

This version keeps the oven low for the long warm-through, then uses a short high-heat finish so the honey-brown sugar glaze caramelizes without turning the ham tough. The cloves are used as a quiet aromatic accent, not as the main flavor.

Technique cues

Keep the ham covered during the first bake. Spiral slices expose a lot of surface area, and foil helps the meat warm through before the glaze goes on.
Put the ham cut-side down so the flat face stays protected in the pan juices instead of drying at the edges.
Save most of the glaze for the uncovered finish. Honey and brown sugar can darken quickly, so repeated thin coats work better than one heavy coat.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Start the glaze during the last 15 minutes of the covered bake so it is glossy and ready when the oven temperature goes up.
Make-ahead: Make the glaze earlier in the day and rewarm it gently before brushing so it spreads smoothly.
Leftover move: Dice leftover ham into potato hash, split pea soup, or a breakfast strata where the sweet edges can season the whole dish.
Cleanup rhythm: Line the roasting pan with foil before the ham goes in, then soak the saucepan as soon as the glaze is poured off.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

8 lb bone-in spiral-cut ham, fully cooked

Main centerpiece

Purpose: The bone helps the ham hold moisture and gives the slices a natural serving shape.

Handling: Set it cut-side down in the roasting pan and cover tightly before the first bake.

Adaptation: A smaller bone-in spiral-cut ham works with the same method; start checking the warm-through earlier.

Honey

Glossy sweetness

Purpose: Honey gives the glaze shine and a sticky texture that clings to the spiral slices.

Handling: Simmer it with the other glaze ingredients so it loosens before brushing.

Adaptation: Maple syrup gives a darker, woodsy sweetness and will make the glaze slightly thinner.

Packed brown sugar

Caramel base

Purpose: Brown sugar deepens the glaze and helps create the darker lacquered edges during the hot finish.

Handling: Pack it firmly when measuring so the glaze has enough body.

Adaptation: Light brown sugar keeps the flavor milder; dark brown sugar makes the glaze more molasses-forward.

Dijon mustard

Sharp balance

Purpose: Dijon cuts through the sweetness and keeps the glaze from tasting flat.

Handling: Whisk it into the saucepan until no mustard streaks remain.

Adaptation: Whole-grain mustard gives a more rustic texture and a gentler bite.

Apple cider vinegar

Acid lift

Purpose: A small amount brightens the honey and brown sugar so the glaze does not read as candy-sweet.

Handling: Let it simmer briefly with the glaze so the acidity blends into the sauce.

Adaptation: White wine vinegar gives a cleaner sharpness; use a little less if you want a softer glaze.

Whole cloves

Warm aromatic accent

Purpose: Cloves perfume the outside of the ham and tie the sweet glaze to a classic holiday profile.

Handling: Stud them into the surface before baking, spacing them so they are easy to spot later.

Adaptation: Ground cloves can be stirred into the glaze in a tiny pinch, but it is stronger and less tidy than whole cloves.

Technique notes

Do not glaze from the start. The sugar will spend too long in the oven and can taste scorched before the ham is warmed through.
Baste in thin layers every 5 to 10 minutes during the final bake. Thin coats caramelize more evenly and slide into the spiral cuts.
Rest before slicing into portions. The glaze firms slightly as it sits, making the slices cleaner and less slippery to move.

Ingredient swaps

Less-sweet direction: Reduce the brown sugar slightly and keep the Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar unchanged so the glaze still has balance.
Maple glaze path: Use maple syrup in place of honey for a deeper flavor, then simmer the glaze a minute longer if it seems loose.
No-clove adjustment: Skip the whole cloves and add a small pinch of black pepper to the glaze for warmth without the holiday-spice note.
Smaller ham timing: Use the same covered-then-glazed method for a smaller spiral-cut ham, but shorten the first bake and rely on visual cues during the caramelizing stage.

Serve alongside

Scalloped potatoes
Green bean casserole
Roasted carrots with parsley
Parker House rolls
Sparkling apple cider
Dry Riesling
Black tea with lemon

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate sliced ham with a spoonful of glaze in a sealed container so the cut edges stay moist.
Reheat slices covered in a baking dish with a splash of water or extra glaze until warmed through.
Freeze sliced portions with a little glaze, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat covered so the sugar does not burn.

Equipment

Large roasting pan
Heavy-duty foil
Small saucepan
Pastry brush

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