This ham glaze recipe combines brown sugar, mustard, and pineapple juice for the perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavor. As it bakes, the glaze caramelizes into a glossy coating that enhances the natural savoriness of the ham. Easy to make with pantry ingredients, this classic ham glaze is ideal for holiday dinners, special occasions, or anytime you want to elevate a baked or spiral ham.
Too often people spend long hours in the kitchen only to end up with a bland, dry ham. Not so with this recipe! This ham roast turns out super moist and full of flavor thanks to that 🌟amazing glaze🌟.
The sweet pineapple, honey, and brown sugar meld into the perfect sticky glaze, while the mustard balances the sweetness.
The glaze makes any holiday ham the star of the show.
In my opinion, glazed ham is good enough to serve all year long, but it’s especially perfect for Christmas dinner or Easter. Serve it with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Cheddar Spoonbread or Glazed Carrots.
And the best part is, if you have leftovers, you can whip up these Ham and Cheese Pinwheels.
PS – Be sure to save that ham bone too, to make this Ham & Bean Soup.
Table of Contents
Ingredients needed
This brown sugar mustard ham glaze is a total crowd-pleaser around the holidays and it’s SO easy! You only need 4-ingredients to make it:
- Pineapple Juice
- Honey – Or, try one of these honey substitutes.
- Brown Sugar
- Mustard
How to make it
- Add all the ingredients to a small pot on the stove and bring to a slow simmer. Cook until the sugar dissolves.
- Tip: Don’t overcook the glaze! If you cook it too long, you’ll end up with a thick caramel-like mixture that isn’t easy to spread on the ham.
Variations
Try these other ham glaze recipes:
- Orange Glaze: Swap the pineapple juice for orange juice.
- Maple Glaze: Swap the honey for maple syrup.
- Apricot Glaze: Swap the honey for apricot preserves.
How do you make glazed ham?
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Place ham, cut side down, in a large roasting pan. Cover tightly with foil or a baking bag to retain moisture.
- Bake, until the center registers 100-110 degrees, (approx. 10-14 minutes per pound).
- Whisk together glaze ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, until brown sugar dissolves, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
- Remove ham from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.
- Brush with brown sugar ham glaze.
- Bake, uncovered, until the ham reaches an internal temperature of around 140 degrees, approximately 20-30 minutes, brushing with additional glaze every 10 minutes.
- Remove ham from oven and brush again with glaze. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes, then brush once more with any remaining glaze and serve.
What kind of ham to buy?
You can use any of these types of fully cooked ham:
- Spiral Cut Ham – Bone-in hams tend to be the most flavorful, and spiral hams have the added benefit of being easier to cut. I also think more of the brown sugar mustard glaze seeps into the ham this way.
- Whole Ham – You can also use a non-spiral cut whole ham for this recipe. Run a knife into the fat layer about 1/4-inch deep to lightly score diamond pattern all over the surface. If you’d like to be extra fancy, you can stick a clove into each diamond pattern.
- Boneless Ham – Boneless ham will also work for this recipe. However, I find that it dries out more easily and doesn’t have as much flavor as a bone-in ham.
How long should you cook a fully cooked ham?
- Since the ham is already fully cooked, the most important thing is just to get it warm again. To be warmed all the way through, cook your spiral ham until an instant-read thermometer reads 140°F when inserted in the thickest part of the ham. For a 10 pound ham, this takes about 2 ½ hours.
FAQs
My first big tip is to cook the ham with the cut side down to seal the moisture into the ham. Then make sure to add glaze about every 30 minutes to keep adding and sealing in moisture. Last, be careful not to overbake the ham. It is already cooked, so it only needs to be warmed through.
It’s best to glaze this ham while it is cooking, so I prefer to do it the day-of. The glaze adds moisture to the ham and creates a super delicious caramelized crust on the top that is best when served fresh.
How to make ahead and store
You’ll likely have plenty of leftovers. Store those in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. You can also freeze the leftovers for up to three months.
I always look forward to a ham sandwich the next day with a little dijon mustard! It would also be great with this Honey Mustard Sauce.
PS – Be sure to save that leftover ham hock to make this Ham & Bean Soup!
Erin’s wine pairings
- For red wine, a Zinfandel or Pinot Noir would make great pairings for this recipe.
- MORE → the 10 BEST wine pairings for ham
What to serve with it
- MORE → 55+ easy sides for ham
- PLUS → 15+ sauces for ham
Did you try this simple ham glaze recipe?
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Full Recipe
Simple Ham Glaze
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar (packed )
- ⅓ cup pineapple juice
- ⅓ cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 10 pound ham (fully cooked, bone-in preferred )
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Place ham cut side down in a shallow roasting pan. Cover tightly with foil to retain moisture.
- Bake ham at 325 degrees until the center registers 100-110 degrees, (approx. 10-14 minutes per pound).
- Meanwhile, whisk together the 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar, ⅓ cup pineapple juice, ⅓ cup honey, and 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, until brown sugar dissolves, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
- Remove ham from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.
- Carefully remove foil and brush ham all over with 1/3 glaze.
- Bake, uncovered, until the ham reaches an internal temperature of around 140 degrees, approximately 20-30 minutes, brushing with additional glaze every 10 minutes.
- Remove ham from oven and brush again with glaze. Loosely cover with foil and let rest for 15 minutes, then brush once more with any remaining glaze and serve.
Notes
- Bake ham cut side down to make it more moist.
- Simmer the glaze only until sugar is melted, then remove from the heat.
- For a moist ham, don’t cook past 140°F.
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