Copycat Honey Baked Ham

This copycat honey baked ham gives you the sweet, crackly sugar crust you get from the HoneyBaked Ham store, made at home for a fraction of the price. A bone-in spiral ham cooks low and slow in honey butter, then gets a brown sugar and spice coating that caramelizes under the broiler in five minutes. It is juicy, sticky-sweet, and the easiest holiday main dish you will ever make. Serve it with cheesy potatoes and soft dinner rolls, then turn the leftovers into leftover ham casserole.

Honey Baked Ham Ingredients

See the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

• Bone-in spiral ham (8 pounds): buy a fully cooked, bone-in spiral ham. The bone keeps the meat juicy and the pre-cut slices let the honey butter and spices soak all the way in. A 7 to 8 pound ham is about the largest that fits a standard 6 quart slow cooker; for a bigger ham, use the oven method below.
• Butter (3 tablespoons, melted): unsalted is best since the ham is already salty. Salted works if that is what you have; just skip the added salt in the spice mix.
• Honey (½ cup): any mild honey works. Swap in pure maple syrup for a maple glazed ham.
• Brown sugar (1 cup): light or dark both work; dark gives a deeper molasses flavor and a darker crust.
• Salt (½ teaspoon): a little salt in the crust keeps it from tasting one-note sweet.
• Onion powder and garlic powder (½ teaspoon each): the savory backbone of the crust. Check the dates; stale onion powder has almost no flavor.
• Cinnamon and nutmeg (½ teaspoon each): the warm spices that make it taste like the store version. Freshly grated nutmeg is worth it if you have a whole one.
• Ground ginger and ground cloves (¼ teaspoon each): a little goes a long way with cloves, so measure carefully.

Variations

• Maple glazed: swap the honey for the same amount of pure maple syrup. Maple pairs beautifully with the cinnamon and cloves.
• Pineapple honey: add ¼ cup pineapple juice to the honey butter before pouring it over the ham for a classic sweet and tangy version.
• Smoky: stir ½ teaspoon smoked paprika into the brown sugar mixture for a smoky edge on the crust.
• Boneless ham: a boneless spiral ham works too. It heats faster, so start checking the temperature at the 3 hour mark.

How to Make Honey Baked Ham

This is the slow cooker method I use most. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for full instructions.

1. Set up the ham: place the spiral ham in the bowl of your slow cooker, flat side down.
2. Make the honey butter: whisk the melted butter and honey together and pour it over the ham, working it between the slices as much as you can.
3. Slow cook: cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours, until the ham is heated through and a thermometer in the thickest part (away from the bone) reads 140ºF.
4. Preheat the broiler: in the last 30 minutes of cooking time, turn on the broiler and line a roasting pan with foil.
5. Mix the spiced sugar: stir the brown sugar, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves together in a small bowl.
6. Coat the ham: move the ham to the foil-lined pan and sprinkle half of the spiced sugar over the top. Pat it gently so it sticks. Save the other half for the glaze.
7. Broil: broil for about 5 minutes, until the sugar is golden and bubbling. Keep the oven door cracked and watch closely; sugar goes from caramelized to burnt fast.
8. Make the glaze: stir 3 tablespoons of water into the remaining spiced sugar and microwave for 1 minute to melt it into a syrupy glaze.
9. Glaze, rest, and slice: pour the glaze over the ham, let it rest 10 to 15 minutes so the crust sets, then slice along the bone and serve.

Oven Method

No slow cooker, or a ham bigger than 8 pounds? Put the ham in a roasting pan, pour the honey butter over it, cover tightly with foil, and bake at 325ºF for 13 to 15 minutes per pound, until it reaches 140ºF. An 8 pound ham takes about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. Then coat, broil, and glaze exactly as written above. My full guide on how to cook a spiral ham has a cook time chart by weight.

Honey Baked Ham Glaze

The glaze is what everyone asks about, and it is really two parts. The honey butter (melted butter and honey) goes on first and bastes the ham while it cooks. The spiced sugar (brown sugar, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves) is split in half: one half is patted onto the ham and broiled into a crackly crust, and the other half is melted with a little water into a pourable glaze for serving. If you like extra sauce on the table, double the spiced sugar and melt all of the extra half into glaze.

What to Serve With This Ham

I lean into holiday sides with this ham. Classic mashed potatoes or cheesy scalloped potatoes and homemade cornbread are a must. Corn pudding, cranberry sauce, and slow cooker green bean casserole round out a Christmas or Thanksgiving plate. For Easter, add honey glazed carrots or an asparagus recipe for something green and springy.

How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat Leftover Ham

• Refrigerator: slice the leftover ham off the bone and store it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Drizzle a spoonful of glaze over the slices first so they do not dry out.
• Freezer: wrap slices tightly or pack them in freezer bags and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
• Reheat: warm slices in a covered dish at 325ºF with a splash of water or extra glaze for 10 to 15 minutes, or in the microwave under a damp paper towel. Frozen ham can taste a little dry, so a spoonful of warm glaze brings it right back.
• Make ahead: cook and broil the ham the day before, cool, and refrigerate it whole. Reheat covered at 325ºF until warm, then pour fresh glaze over the top before serving.

Leftover ham is almost better than the first night. Use it in ham salad, leftover ham casserole, hot ham pie, ham tetrazzini, ham and Swiss sliders, or ham and cheese breakfast casserole the next morning.

Frequently Asked Questions

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