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Copycat Honey Baked Ham Recipe

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Save money this holiday by making your own Copycat Honey Baked Ham Recipe at home! This ham has crispy caramelized edges and is made with a delicious spice rub. It’s perfect for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.

Honey Baked Ham

If you’ve ever had a Honey Baked Ham, you know just how delicious they are. It’s the perfect holiday main course that everyone is guaranteed to love, which is why it’s always on our table for Easter dinner.

The thing I really love about serving a precooked spiral cut ham for the holidays is that it’s so easy to prepare. Especially compared to a turkey, it’s so much easier to essentially just reheat a ham and add flavor to it, than it is to have to deal with a raw turkey.

An overhead image of a spiral cut honey baked ham.

How To Make A Honey Baked Ham From Scratch

Start by rubbing the ham with a butter and honey mixture, then wrapping the dish in aluminum foil, and heating it in the oven until it’s warmed through. Next, you’ll pat it with a sugar and spice mixture and bake it on a higher temperature for 10 minutes. Finally, you’ll glaze it with our homemade glaze and broil it for a couple of minutes.

It’s important to buy a fully cooked ham for this recipe, and I recommend buying a pre-sliced one if you can. The cooking instructions in the recipe card only apply to reheating a pre-cooked ham, and buying a spiral cut ham makes it so much easier to fully flavor the ham with the glaze (because you glaze in between the slices, too).

A spiral ham before baking that's been brushed with honey and butter and then wrapped in aluminum foil.

Which is Better: Boneless or Bone-In Ham?

I 100% recommend using bone-in ham. It has a lot more flavor, but it’s also a lot more tender. Boneless ham is compressed and reshaped so that it can hold its shape after it’s taken off the bone. That process creates a spongy texture, which isn’t ideal when you’re trying to make the best copycat Honey Baked Ham.

How Much Ham Should I Buy?

I count on 3/4 pound of bone-in ham per person since I know I’ll be serving it with side dishes. This recipe calls for a 7 – 8 pound ham, so it will serve 9 – 10 people.

Should I Bake Ham Covered Or Uncovered?

Since we’re reheating a ham that’s already fully cooked, it’s so important to tightly cover the ham and roasting pan with aluminum foil. Baking it covered helps lock the moisture in, whereas cooking it uncovered causes it to dry out.

How Long Do You Heat A Ham That Is Fully Cooked?

I like to follow the heating instructions that come with the ham. I buy the Kirkland brand at Costco, and the instructions it gives are to cook the ham covered at 275 F (135 C) for 12 – 15 minutes per pound.

I aim to bake it until it reaches an internal temperature of 135 F before adding the spice rub and glaze. For an 8 pound ham, that works out to about 2 hours in the oven before I add the glaze.

A process collage showing the sugar and spice rub in a bowl and then rubbed onto the ham.

How To Heat It In A Slow Cooker

I think ham heated in a slow cooker has a tendency to dry out, and since you’ll still have to broil the ham in the oven at the end to get the crispy glaze, I’d recommend baking it in the oven if you can.

If you need to cook it in the crock pot to free up space in your oven, you can cook it on LOW for 4 hours, then follow the instructions to bake the sugar spice mixture onto the ham and broil the glaze onto it.

The labeled spices for the honey baked ham rub.

Glaze Ingredients

The flavor in this recipe comes from a few different steps.

  • First, you brush a butter and honey glaze all over the ham and in between the slices before you bake it.
  • Second, you pat it with the rub recipe before you bake it again. We’re using a mixture of sugar, onion powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves, ginger, paprika, garlic powder, pepper, and cayenne.
  • Third, you make a glaze with the ham drippings and the remaining sugar and spice mixture that you broil onto the ham to get a make the crunchy glaze edges.
A basting brush coating a spiral cut ham with a sugar glaze.

How To Use Leftovers

I normally use some of the leftovers to make ham salad, which I love serving with crackers or on sandwiches. I also freeze some so I can make slow cooker pinto beans with the ham bone, a hearty ham casserole, or some delicious split pea soup whenever I’m craving it.

A homemade copycat honey baked ham recipe on a platter.

Keep In Touch

I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime

Click here to pin this recipe for later!

A Pinterest pin image with pictures of honey baked ham and title text.

What To Serve With Ham

Check our entire side dish recipe section for some great ideas! We’ve got tons that I’m sure you’ll love. Some reader favorites are:

Yield: 10 servings

Copycat Honey Baked Ham Recipe

A homemade copycat honey baked ham recipe on a platter.

Save money this holiday by making your own Copycat Honey Baked Ham Recipe at home! This ham has crispy caramelized edges and is made with a delicious spice rub.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

Honey Baked Ham:

  • 1 (7 - 8 pound) pre-cooked spiral cut bone-in ham
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
  • 1/4 cup honey

Sugar and Spice Mixture:

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. Let the ham rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (but preferably 2 - 3 hours) before you cook it.
  2. Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 275 F (135 C).
  3. Line a shallow roasting pan with aluminum foil (I use a few layers to make cleanup from the sticky glaze easier). Remove the ham from the packaging, pat it dry, and place the ham FLAT or CUT SIDE DOWN in the pan. Mix the melted butter and honey together, and use a basting brush to cover the ham (making sure to get between the slices, too). Cover the roasting pan and ham TIGHTLY with aluminum foil. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature is 135 F.
  4. Remove the ham from the oven and turn the temperature up to 425 F (220 C).
  5. Make the sugar mixture by whisking the sugar, onion, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves, ginger, paprika, garlic, pepper, and cayenne together in a bowl. Pat half the mixture over the ham, then return the uncovered ham to the oven and bake for 10 minutes (or until the internal temperature is 140 F). Remove the ham from the oven. Reserve 1/4 cup of the juices from the ham from the bottom of the pan.
  6. In a large nonstick skillet, mix the remaining sugar and spice mixture with ham juices (start with 2 Tablespoons, then add more until the sugar and spice mixture just comes together as a liquid glaze, 3 Tablespoons is perfect for me, but it all depends on how much sugar you patted onto the ham in the last step). Bring to a boil, and boil until it’s thickened (about 1 minute). Use a basting brush to brush the glaze over the ham. Return the ham to the oven and set the oven to broil. WATCH IT CLOSELY. Pull it out when the glaze is bubbly and golden, but before it burns (about 1 - 3 minutes, but check it at the 1 minute and 2 minute marks).
  7. Let the ham rest for 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

Make the glaze right before you plan to put it on the ham. It will harden if it sits out for 10 minutes. If it does harden, put it back on the stove on medium-low heat, break it up with a spatula, and stir in an additional Tablespoon of liquid.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1/10

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 793Total Fat: 41.1gCarbohydrates: 53.8gNet Carbohydrates: 55.3gFiber: 0.3gSugar: 45gProtein: 56.8g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

Tag @KeyToMyLime on Instagram so we can see your delicious meal!

Try making this copycat honey baked ham recipe! You’ll be amazed at how amazing your homemade version of this holiday classic turns out.

A homemade copycat honey baked ham recipe on a platter.

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