This Easter ham recipe is a spiral cut ham coated in a homemade sweet and savory glaze, then baked to perfection. An easy dish that produces perfect results each and every time!
When the springs holidays roll around, my family always requests a formal meal with a big Easter ham and plenty of side dishes such as sweet and savory pineapple casserole, slow cooker cranberry sauce and oven roasted potatoes. Don’t forget the mini egg cookies for dessert!
Table of Contents
You can never go wrong with an impressive ham to celebrate the holidays! This classic Easter ham is smothered in a simple ham glaze that takes just minutes to make, but tastes like it came from a fancy restaurant. This Easter dinner always gets rave reviews from family and friends.
Easter Ham Ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe are minimal and are items you may already have in the house!
- Ham: This recipe calls for an 8 pound spiral cut ham. If you don’t have a spiral cut ham, you can simple score the top of your ham in a diamond pattern to allow the glaze to seep in.
- Butter: I add a little butter to the glaze for a richer flavor.
- Brown Sugar: This recipe works best with light brown sugar. If you prefer a stronger molasses flavor, you can use dark brown sugar.
- Honey: Any honey with a lighter flavor will work such as clover or wildflower.
- Orange Juice: Freshly squeezed juice will have the best flavor.
- Mustard: I prefer to use a Dijon or deli style brown mustard in this recipe.
- Spices: A bit of cinnamon and nutmeg add a lot of flavor!
How do you make an Easter ham?
Start by placing the glaze ingredients in a pan on the stove. Bring the ingredients to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until the glaze has just started to thicken. Place the ham in a roasting pan and pour half the glaze over the top. Cover the ham and bake until it is almost completely warmed through. Uncover the ham, then pour the remaining sauce over the top. Bake at a higher temperature until the glaze is caramelized. Carve the ham, then serve and enjoy!
Tips for the perfect dish
- The glaze will start to harden as it cools. This is normal, and you can reheat it in the microwave for 30 seconds if needed to loosen it back up to pour over the ham.
- Leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or you can freeze it for 2 months. I like to chop my leftover ham into bite sized pieces to use it in dishes like ham salad, ham and beans, ham and corn chowder, and ham casserole.
- For the perfect holiday meal, pair your ham with roasted red potatoes, glazed carrots, a fresh asparagus salad and serve peanut butter eggs for a sweet finish.
- First time making a ham? Be sure to check out my comprehensive guide on how to cook a ham.
Quick Tip
Spiral cut hams are always pre-cooked, which means all you’re really doing is reheating the ham to a safe temperature. It’s ideal to aim for an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. I insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the ham before it goes into the oven so that I can keep an eye on the temperature as it cooks.
Recipe FAQs
You can really use any variety of pre-cooked smoked ham for Easter. I prefer to use a spiral cut ham because it makes it so much easier to serve, and since it’s pre-sliced, the glaze can really get into all the nooks and crannies which adds a lot of flavor.
The majority of hams sold in grocery stores are pre-cooked, and this recipe assumes that you are in fact using a pre-cooked ham.
You’ll want to allow for 3/4 pound of bone in ham per person, or 1/2 pound of boneless ham per person.
It will take about 15-18 minutes per pound to cook ham in a 325 degree F oven.
Flavor Variations
This ham is great as-is, but you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your taste.
- Juice: Swap out the orange juice for pineapple juice or apple cider for a different flavor.
- Spices: Feel free to switch up the spices by adding small amounts of ground ginger, allspice, cardamom or cloves.
- Honey: No honey on hand? It’s fine to use maple syrup instead.
Glazed Easter ham is the ultimate main course offering for almost any occasion!
More Side dishes to serve with Easter ham
- Candied Yams
- Mustard Greens with Bacon
- Baked Mac and Cheese
- Cornbread Casserole
- Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Easter Ham Video
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Easter Ham
Ingredients
- 8 lb bone in spiral cut ham
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- cooking spray
- fruit and herbs for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a large baking pan with cooking spray.
- Add the butter, brown sugar, honey, orange juice, mustard, cinnamon and nutmeg to a pot. Place the pot over medium heat.
- Bring the pot to a simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until glaze looks syrupy and has just started to thicken.
- Place the ham in the prepared pan and pour half of the glaze over it. Cover the ham with foil. Reserve the remaining glaze for later use.
- Bake the ham for 2 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and uncover the ham.
- Pour the remaining glaze over the ham. If the glaze has started to harden, you can microwave it for about 30 seconds to loosen it back up.
- Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
- Place the ham, uncovered, in the oven. Bake for another 15 minutes or until glaze is caramelized and browned.
- Transfer the ham to a serving platter and garnish with fresh herbs and fruit if desired. Spoon pan drippings over the ham. Slice the ham, then serve and enjoy.
Notes
- If you don’t have a spiral cut ham, use a sharp knife to score the top of your ham in a diamond shaped pattern so the glaze can soak in.
- The glaze will start to harden as it cools, this is normal. You can reheat the glaze in the microwave for 30 seconds if needed to loosen it back up to pour over the ham.
Love the recipe!!! is good to know how to prepare ham, specially when I don’t know how to cook the ham and looks delicious. Will make it when I have a family reunion. Thanks 🙂
The ham looks delicious. The sweetness and savory of the glaze makes it better.
That glaze is so simple but gives the perfect bit of added flavor to this – oh so good!
Love the OJ in this – makes that ham nice tangy and delicious!
We make it every year for Easter! Such a great recipe!
My family loves this ham all year long. It comes out perfect every time!
I want to make this for Easter so I decided to make it ahead of time to make sure I liked it, and it was WONDERFUL!!! I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you!
This is heaven sent! This is SOOOO good!
Saving this recipe for all my holiday needs.
This easter ham is perfect. We tried it out to make sure it was what we wanted for our big family easter dinner and it was a big winner!
The glaze is perfection! Will be our Easter go to!
I’m starting to think about my easter menu and this is going to work well and be a wonderful recipe to share with my family.
Yum, the glaze on this ham is incredible!
Oh yum! This ham looks absolutely amazing. Definitely the perfect way to celebrate the holidays and with so much flavor.