Save yourself some serious money during the holidays by making your own Honey Baked Ham recipe at home!ย Tender ham is cooked with butter and honey, then slathered with a sticky sweet and smoky glaze that’s broiled until it gets a great sugary crust!
This Copycat Honey Baked Hamย is one of those recipes we have love to have for holidays like Thanksgiving and Easter.ย A couple of our other favorite Easter recipes are my Honey Butter Roasted Carrots and Broccoli Salad.ย This is one of my Easterย recipes I know youโll want to keep on hand!
HONEY BAKED HAM
In our family, we always got a big Honey Baked Ham for the holidays… a ham for Easter and either a ham or turkey breast for Thanksgiving. ย One of my relatives used to work for Honey Baked, so we could score them at a pretty good discount… but even with that reduction in price, they were still pretty expensive!
An 8 lb bone-in half ham (like you can find in most grocery stores), from Honey Baked will run you over $75. ย Seventy Five!!! ย That’s a 300% markup from what I can buy at my grocery store.
So why not save some serious cash this holiday, and make your own version at home!
HOW TO MAKE HONEY BAKED HAM
I prefer my ham to be warm, so that’s what I’ll be detailing here.
- If warming in the slow cooker, trim ham to fit (if needed).ย Depending on your ham and your slow cooker, you may need to shave off a little bit to make the ham fit.ย If you’ll be warming your ham in the oven – omit this step.
- Combine butter and honey then massage into ham.ย ย I like to get some of the honey butter mixture in between the slices.
- Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours.ย ย Again, this is for warming the ham in the slow cooker – omit if warming in the oven.
- Combine dry glaze ingredients.
- Pat half of the sugar mixture on the warmed ham, then broil.ย ย Just for a few minutes, until bubbly and a little caramelized.ย Then remove from the oven.
- Add remaining sugar mixture to saucepan with water or ham juices.ย ย Heat this mixture to a boil, and boil for about a minute, then remove from heat and brush or pour the glaze over the ham.
- Broil ham again.ย Just for a minute or two, being careful not to let it burn!
- Let ham rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.ย This allows the glaze to fully harden and get that classically crackly crust.
ADDITIONAL COOKING TIPS
- DRY THE HAM – The hams from the grocery stores come in those sealed bags, which contain water.ย Give the ham a little pat dry with some paper towels to make sure the butter and honey don’t just slide right off.
DO YOU HAVE TO COOK A HAM
It depends. ย Most hams you buy at a grocery store are pre-cooked and/or smoked, which means you don’t have to cook them. ย You certainly can if you want to, but it comes down to whether you want cold or warm ham to serve. ย Just double check the package when you’re buying… if it doesn’t say pre-cooked or smoked, head over to the meat counter and ask the butcher to be sure.
VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE
- BOURBON – Not traditional to a Honey Baked Ham, but oh so delicious!ย Instead of using water or ham juices to make the glaze, try using some of your favorite bourbon.
- OVEN – Bake ham, covered loosely in foil, at 275 F degrees on a foil lined roasting pan or super heavy duty rimmed baking sheet. ย Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes per pound. ย Then glaze as directed in the recipe and broil.
- ROOM TEMPERATURE – if your ham is smoked or pre-cooked, you don’t have to warm it at all.ย Take the ham out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.ย Massage the ham with the butter and honey mixture, then glaze as directed in recipe and broil.
MAKING COPYCAT HONEY BAKED HAM AHEAD OF TIME
I’ve not made this entire ham ahead of time, so I can’t guarantee the flavor and freshness if you make it that way.
However, you can combine all your dry glaze ingredients (sugar, seasoned salt, onion powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, paprika and allspice), and store in an airtight container.
STORAGE
Leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container and consumed within 4 days.ย Leftovers can also be frozen.
You’ll probably have quite a bit of ham leftover, so here are my personal favorites to use up those leftovers (aside from a classic ham sandwich!).
With Easter coming up, it’s the perfect time to watch your grocery store for the prices of bone-in half hams to go down. ย When you see them on sale, grab one! ย They can be frozen if need be. ย This way you can save even MORE on your main dish for the holiday get together!
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Slow Cooker – this 7 qt slow cooker is big enough to hold most 8 lb spiral hams without too much trimming. ย Plus, it’s programmable!
BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT OTHER READERSโ COMMENTS FOR TIPS AND REVIEWS.
AND DONโT FORGET, IF YOUโVE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING LETTING ME KNOW HOW YOU ENJOYED IT!
Recipe originally published in Feb. 2018 and has been updated in Mar. 2020 with additional information.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 8 lb bone-in spiral sliced half ham
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- pinch of allspice
Instructions
- Trim ham if needed, then place in slow cooker. Combine melted butter and honey, then massage over ham, getting in between the slices a little. Cover and cook on LOW 4-5 hours.
- At the end of the cooking time, preheat broiler to HIGH, and line a roasting pan with heavy duty aluminum foil.
- Combine sugar, seasoned salt, onion powder, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, paprika and allspice in a small bowl. Pat half of the sugar mixture over the top of the ham.
- Broil for several minutes, until bubbly and caramelized, then remove from oven.
- To a small saucepan, add remaining sugar mixture. Add 3 Tbsp of either water or ham juices from bottom of the slow cooker. A combination of water/ham juice and bourbon is a nice alternative! Stir, and heat to a boil. Boil for about a minute, then remove from heat.
- Brush or pour glaze over the ham, then broil again for a minute or two (careful... don't let it burn!). Remove from oven and let ham rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve warm or cold and enjoy!
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Chef Tips
- Preheat oven to 275 F degrees. ย Adjust oven rack to the lower third position. ย Line a roasting pan or large dutch oven with a long strip of foil (heavy duty works best). ย
- Position ham flat side down in center of pan.
- Brush with honey/butter mixture, if possible, getting some in between the slices.
- Bring sides of the foil up over the ham and cover loosely. ย If needed, add a sheet of foil over the top. ย
- Bake approximately 12-15 minutes per pound. ย An 8 lb ham will take approximately 1 hour 30-40 minutes.
- Continue with steps 2-7 as directed.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Denese says
This ham is amazing!! The whole family loved it!! It is definitely a keeper recipe!
Mandy says
I love Honey Baked Ham brand ham, but NOT their price tag, so this recipe was a brilliant alternative!! I purchased a 12lb spiral sliced ham, and so I doubled this entire recipe- I wanted to make sure and have plenty of glaze, I like it thick. I prepared mine in the oven, and after applying the first sugar & spice coating, I drizzled extra honey all over before broiling. Then after preparing the final wet glaze topping, I also used a blow torch while applying the glaze, so I could torch all sides- not just the top. It was ridiculously AMAZING!!! The ham was juicy and thoroughly flavorful throughout, with a nice little crispy outside, that was such a perfect balance of spicy & sweet! I received rave reviews from all 10 family members. Even my 17 year old daughter, whom is not easily impressed, said the ham taste โAmazingโ! Iโve been looking for a recipe like this for years, THANK YOU so much for the perfect, much more affordable, but no less amazing, substitute to Honey Baked Ham hams!
Robin says
Fantastic and easy. ย Made this in the crock pot. ย Followed the instructions and it came out perfect! ย Thank you! ย
Jina Kitchens says
Best. Ham. Ever.
Judy says
Amazing receipe, everyone enjoyed it. Tasted just like the expensive hams I’ve purchased from Honey Baked Ham. Thanks for sharing this.
Tonya says
This ham was the BOMB….
Yvette says
I’m planning to make this for Thanksgiving dinner! It’s my first time cooking a ham and I’m confident this recipe with knock everyone’s socks off!! I’ll be using a slow cooker so do I still apply the 12-15 minutes per pound or just 4-5 hours? My ham is a little over 9 lbs. Also, my butcher didn’t have a spiral cutter so it’s not sliced, will this be an issue? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
Just do the 4-5 hours on low in the slow cooker (the 12-15 minutes per pound is for the oven). Non-sliced won’t change anything, just be a little more work for you at the end, to slice it (but you can slice it however thin or thick you want it, which is nice). Hope you all love it!! We’re having it for Thanksgiving as well ๐
Gina says
I followed this basic recipe last Christmas, and it was hands down, the best, been-thinking-about-it-all-year ham I’ve ever had! I used a spiral sliced ham and tossed out the glaze, following your recipe. Except that I made extra glaze and added honey to the glaze, in addition to what is in the honey and butter mixture. Actually, if remember correctly, I drizzled honey on as a second coat of glaze. It had a thick coat of sweet, spicy, and a bit crispy glaze that was to die for! I heated it in the oven, just til warm so as not to dry it out. Then I USED A SMALL BLOWTORCH! I had help from my oldest son, and working together, one drizzling and the other working the blowtorch, we could control it so perfectly. No burnt pieces. Not overcooked inside. Just perfect. I’m making one to bring to our huge Thanksgiving family potluck. There will be 2 large turkeys, but I am confident the ham will be the star! Haha. I’m not even a big ham eater. I really love Thanksgiving turkey. But this is excellent. Btw, I found the blowtorch technique on YouTube. It looked like maybe it was a video of a chef or maybe a ham “factory”. I watched that and decided it was actually easier than trying to broil it plus I xiyid get all sides. Try it! Double the glaze and use a kitchen blowtorch! Honeybaked Ham can keep their ๐ฐ! Thanks for the inspiration!
Fran Kaminski says
How mu?
Tracy McDonald says
how long would the leftovers last??…there is just 2 of us…..
The Chunky Chef says
I would say about 4-5 days… but you could freeze some of the leftovers if you don’t think you’ll get through it all.
Nicole says
Do you use a cooked ham for this recipe? Just confused because you are “cooking” it in the slow cooker also….
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, it’s a pre-cooked ham… you’re essentially warming it up in this recipe. If you prefer cold ham, just skip the slow cooker part of this recipe and move on to the topping in step 2.
Sue says
This is one of the best recipes I have tried, the only thing I changed was I used only 1 cup of sugar and it was great !!
PATRICK L SULLIVAN says
I made this for Easter since I have had commercial Honey Baked Hams before and liked them but not the price. It was amazing – everyone loved it from the first bite on. I made sure the honey butter mixture went through each of the spirals cuts and made a bit more of the sugar glaze mixture. and massaged it in. I broiled it on one side then turned it to broiled the other since the pointed end was a little to close to the element. I think I like this better than the commercial ham since you can taste the seasoning clear through the ham and not just on the outside surface. Cannot wait to bring this to a neighborhood potluck and watch everyone go crazy. For left overs I cut the rest up off the bone and poured the juice over the slices – yum!
Sandra | A Dash of Sanity says
This looks really good! Perfect for any occasion!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
I love this! looks so good!
eat good 4 life says
I tried this one and it was delicious. I should try making this soon!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
Oh my goodness!! This ham looks absolutely delicious!! YUM!!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
This is making my mouth water!!!!
I LOVE having a ham for the holidays!!!ย
We are lucky to have reasonably priced ones in the grocery stores, but we never getย spiral sliced ham ๐ย
I NEED to try this topping. Wonder if I can adapt it to a whole ham?
The Chunky Chef says
It would be great on a whole ham! You’d probably have to cook it in the oven versus the slow cooker (so it would fit), but the topping would still be perfect ๐
Delaney | Melanie Makes says
I love honeybaked ham so much!
Paula - bell'alimento says
Yas girl! That’s a hefty price tag when you can make your own!
Demeter says
Easter will be here before you know it! Thanks!