This slow cooker honey glazed ham becomes fall-apart tender after hours in the crock pot, and the juiciness and flavors are second to none. The best part is that this easy holiday ham practically cooks itself!
Perfect for entertaining, honey glazed ham goes great with a side of mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables at the holidays. And if you love ham and pork recipes as much as we do, check out this show-stopping porchetta and my braised pork shoulder, too.
I can’t think of an easier way to cook a holiday ham than in the slow cooker. This juicy honey glazed ham cooks for hours until it’s fall-apart-tender and oozing all sorts of delicious, sweet-savory flavors. Most importantly, it leaves my oven free for roasting vegetables and baking our annual loaded potato casserole, among other holiday faves!
Why I Love This Glazed Ham Recipe
- Simple ingredients. With only 5 easy-to-find ingredients, this honey glazed ham packs loads of sweet, savory flavor into a few hours of hands-free cooking. It’s the best!
- It’s perfect for the crock pot. This honey glazed ham reminds me so much of the crock pot ham my mom used to make for us. There’s something about slow cooking that makes cuts like pork loin and spiral ham SO succulent and full of flavor.
- The holidays just got easier. Cooking our whole holiday ham in the slow cooker means that my oven is free for roasting everything from sides to turkey. Not to mention, once this ham is in the crock, it all but cooks itself.
- Great for leftovers. I love adding leftover ham to sandwiches, soups, and salads, and this recipe makes plenty. Keep this honey glazed ham in the fridge and enjoy slices for days to come!
What You’ll Need
This honey glazed ham recipe needs just a few easy ingredients to make a delicious homemade honey mustard for the glaze. I’ve included some notes here. Scroll down to the recipe card below the post for a printable recipe with the full amounts and details.
- Ham – You’ll need a fully cooked, bone-in spiral sliced ham for this recipe. Choose a ham with nice marbling. The fat will render while the ham slow cooks, for extra tender slices.
- Honey – You can also sweeten the glaze with maple syrup or brown sugar.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter, but salted works, too.
- Mustard – Dijon mustard is creamier, but you can also use yellow mustard or whole-grain mustard.
- Apple Juice – Or fresh apple cider if it’s in season.
How to Make Honey Glazed Ham
There’s not much to it besides whisking up the glaze and then adding your ham to the slow cooker to simmer. If you’ll be around the house while it cooks, I recommend setting a timer so that you can baste the ham with the honey glaze every hour. It makes a difference! Here are the steps:
- Make the glaze. You’ll start by whisking the glaze ingredients together in a saucepan. Let the glaze simmer for 5 minutes or so over medium-high heat. After, let it stand for a few minutes more.
- Prepare the ham. Meanwhile, unwrap the spiral-cut ham and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the ham into the greased slow cooker.
- Add the glaze. Pour about ¾ of the glaze generously over the ham and use a brush to spread it in between the slices, into all the nooks and crannies.
- Cook. Cover and cook the whole ham on Low for 4-5 hours. Remember to baste often using the cooking juices. Lastly, lift the insert with the ham right out of the slow cooker, brush with more glaze, and pop it into the 400ºF oven for 15-18 minutes. This gives the outside edges a chance to crisp up and sear.
Oven Method
Cover the ham with aluminum foil and bake in a 325ºF oven for 2 ½ hours. Keep in mind that you’ll need to adjust the cooking time for a larger ham. A good rule of thumb is to cook ham for about 20 minutes per pound. Afterward, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes to brown the top as usual.
Tips and Variations
- If the ham is especially large (as in, you can’t close the lid of the slow cooker properly), tent the slow cooker with aluminum foil instead. Drape a kitchen towel over the foil, and cook.
- How to tell when ham is cooked: Ham should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145ºF. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature at the thickest part of the ham.
- Rest the ham after cooking. For best results and extra-succulent slices, allow the ham to rest for 3-5 minutes before you carve and serve it. It gives the juices a chance to redistribute.
- Turn the leftover cooking liquid into gravy. After the ham is cooked, combine the juices leftover in the crock pot with a roux, and let that simmer on the stovetop to make a gravy. You can follow the same method as making turkey gravy from pan drippings.
- Add herbs. Toss a couple of fresh rosemary sprigs into the slow cooker to build on the flavors. You could also use fresh thyme or sage.
Storing and Reheating Leftover Ham
- Refrigerate. Store the leftover ham along with any cooking juices in shallow containers. Once it’s cooled completely, refrigerate your leftovers for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Warm the ham slices covered in a skillet or in the oven under foil until they’re hot throughout.
- Freeze. Transfer the ham to freezer-safe bags or containers and freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
I love using leftover ham to make ham and sweet potato soup or ham and bean soup. Or, I’ll chop up leftover slices to add cold to sandwiches or a chef salad.
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Make the honey glaze. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, honey, mustard, apple juice, and a pinch of salt; whisk and cook over medium-high heat until well incorporated. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside for a couple of minutes.
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Prepare the ham. Lightly grease the slow cooker with cooking spray. Pat dry the ham with paper towels and transfer the ham to the slow cooker. Set aside.
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Add the glaze. Pour 3/4 of the glaze over the ham. Using a pastry brush, brush the glaze all over and in between the slices.
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Cook. Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours. Baste the ham with juices every hour.
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Brown the outside. Preheat oven to 400˚F. When the slow cooking time is up, remove the crock/insert from the slow cooker. Keeping the ham inside the insert, brush the remaining glaze all around. If the glaze has thickened or hardened, heat it up before adding it to the ham. Bake ham in the oven, uncovered, for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the top has caramelized and browned.
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Serve! Remove the ham from the oven and transfer it to a serving plate. Spoon juices over the ham.
- If the ham is so large that you can’t close the lid of the slow cooker, use aluminum foil to make a tent over the ham. Then, cover it with a kitchen towel and cook.
Serving: 4ounces | Calories: 498kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 183mg | Sodium: 2733mg | Potassium: 675mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 203IU | Vitamin C: 53mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
