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.
Sharonda T Jenkins says
Which version tastes the best….slow cooked or oven baked? Thanks!!!!
The Chunky Chef says
They’re both equally delicious, it’s just a matter of if you have oven space or not.
Taylor Ballard says
Iโm planning on making this for thanksgiving! Wondering though, what would the time adjustment be for a 4lb ham? ๐ย
The Chunky Chef says
There’s really no need for a time adjustment, since this recipe is for a pre-cooked/smoked ham, so you’re just heating it through until it’s warm ๐
Chelsea says
Hello I know this may be a weird question but do you place the spiral cut side up or down? Iโm going to make this for thanksgiving.. thank you
The Chunky Chef says
I normally do mine on it’s side, so the spirals are vertical, but you can do it either way.
Dusty says
This recipe sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it for Thanksgiving this year. I wanted to ask you if you if it would be ok to use something like pear juice instead of the water or ham juices when making the wet portion of the glaze? I’d like to give it a try and see how it turns out. I’ll post the results after Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
The Chunky Chef says
I think pear juice, or even pineapple juice would be fabulous!
MommyChef says
Are these instructions to bake an uncooked ham? Or would I heat it for this long if it was pre-cooked? I donโt want it to dry out…
MommyChef says
Never mind – I just hadnโt gone down far enough in the comments, but I found the answer. Thanks for the recipe! Trying out for thanksgiving this year.ย
Grace Doss says
I had the same question. What did you find?
The Chunky Chef says
As mentioned within the body of this post, this is for a cooked/smoked ham ๐
Kevin says
This was very delicious! I couldn’t find a spiral ham, so I instead bought a bone-in ham and cut it myself. Proceeded with directions as followed, and yummm!!!
Renee says
Can you use a shank ham instead of spiral cut ham?ย
The Chunky Chef says
Without testing it myself, I can’t say with any certainty. I would think you could, but you’d lose that flavor in between the spiral layers.
Susan Molyneux says
Excellent spiral ham recipe! Used Reynolds crock pot liner and it made things easy. Made lifting the ham out and clean up a snap. Thank you!! Will definitely make again.
Dona says
I am not a ham person. But this was delicious. I thought I purchased a spiral ham but didn’t so I just it a bit. My whole family loved it and I shared with a co worker.
Kathy E. says
Made this for Easter dinner and it was delicious. Made oven version.
Ayra says
Hands down best ham recipe!
Raquel Mendez-Cervantes says
Delicious! Iโm so happy with the results and the complements! Iโm excited to use the leftovers for breakfast. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Lauren says
In all the time Iโve used Pinterest I have never left a review. However, with this recipe I HAD to. This was the best ham Iโve ever had. I was 100% a Honey Baked Ham person, but now I can save a lot of money and make it myself. Thanks for the recipe, it was a Easter hit!ย
Lise says
I have honestly only had Honey Baked Ham once. I’ve had the Costco version, but didn’t want 10 lbs, so grabbed a small HB ham this past Thanksgiving. For this recipe I bought a 2 lb sliced, cooked and smoked. Baked at 275 per oven recipe and followed to exact. This was SPOT ON the same as HB!!! I was nervous that it would crisp up, but OMG! This was so easy and as the author states, just keep an open eye during the broiling step.
Linda StClair says
I did this today for Easter. Just two of us at home so did not want to invest in a real Honey Baked. Lidel had Smoked hams for .69 Cents so why not try. I did it in the oven rather than crock pot as mine was not big enough and did not do the broiler part but pushed the oven to 450 degrees for the sugar glaze and liquid glaze and it worked in about 10 minutes each keeping close watch. It really sis taste as good as honey baked and because it was not spiral sliced to begin with it was much more moist. Will def do again and MUCH less money for a 10 pound ham……now to the leftovers! Glad ham freezes!
Trish Catalano says
Made this today for Easter Dinner. Oh my gosh I wish I had bought a bigger ham. We didn’t have a bone in ham just a boneless one. I pre-sliced it but not all the way thru then did all the rest of the steps. It made my boneless ham look and taste just like HoneyBaked.
Hannah says
I made this for Thanksgiving last year and Easter this year. ย Super simple, delicious, and a crowd pleaser! ย Thanks for the recipe!ย
Susan B. says
This ham tastes just like candied bacon! It is so delicious! We haven’t even eaten dinner yet, and I’m already on my fourth “sample.” This will definitely be our go-to Easter ham in the future! Thank you for the lovely recipe!
Darlene says
Made this today for Easter dinner. ย Wonderful! ย I omitted the all spice and cut back on the nutmeg just because I am not a fan of these but it turned out great. Everyone loved it!Thanks for sharing.ย
Jason says
Does it matter if it is a spiral ham or not?
The Chunky Chef says
Nope, as long as it’s a smoked/pre-cooked ham, you’re good to go.
Melisss says
Unbelievably Great!!! Thank You so very much for this great recipe!! Everyone loved it!