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This Thanksgiving Ham Recipe is delicious and easy to make. The delicious glaze gives the ham so much flavor and great for any holiday.
Baked Ham and Turkey is what we make for almost all the holidays. We make it for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. There are many ham cuts, but we prefer the spiral-cut ham.
Add a glaze to the holiday ham gives it amazing sweet and salty flavor. It takes your ham to the next level. This Thanksgiving Ham cooks perfectly in the oven but you can also cook it in the slow cooker.
Add your favorite side dish and casseroles to complete your holiday meal. Your friends and family will be amazed how delicious this ham is.
Table of Contents
How to Make the Best Glaze for Ham
If you traditionally only make turkey for your main dish. Switch it up this year and make ham for your Thanksgiving dinner.
What makes this ham so delicious is the brown sugar glaze that is basted on the ham. The ingredients are easily combined and heated in a sauce pan.
Then we brush it on the ham before baking. After it is finished baking then the remaining glaze is then basted on. This allows the ham glaze caramelizes as it is finished cooking.
Ingredients
- Bone In Spiral Ham
Glaze Ingredients:
- Light Brown Sugar packed
- Honey
- Apple Cider
- Ground Cinnamon
- Pinch of Nutmeg
Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and ingredients in the recipe card.
Variation Ideas
- Glaze Ingredients – Feel free to add in or change the ingredients for the glaze. You can add in orange juice, pineapple juice, mustard or maple syrup.
- Slow Cooker – Feel free to make this ham in your slow cooker instead of the ham. If you are wanting to save your oven for casseroles and side dishes, make your ham in the slow cooker.
- Ham – Feel free to choose a ham that you prefer. We love the spiral ham but you can use a smoky flavor ham to make this recipe.
How to Make Ham for Thanksgiving
- Step 1 – Remove ham from the refrigerator at least 2 hours before cooking to come to room temperature.
- Step 2 – Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 3 – In a medium saucepan, whisk together the glaze ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes or until sugar is fully dissolved and the glaze thickens.
Step 4 – Unwrap ham and place in a large roasting pan cut side down. Brush about ½ of the glaze over the ham and cover the ham with foil.
Step 5 – Bake for 2-2 ½ hours until ham reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 6 – Remove the foil from the ham. Brush remaining glaze over ham, be sure to get in between slices of the spiral ham.
- Step 7 – Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Step 8 – Place the ham in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the glaze is browned and caramelized.
- Step 9 – Remove the ham from the oven and loosely wrap with foil and let rest 15 minutes before serving.
- Step 10 – The ham is ready to slice, serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Glaze Hardens – If glaze hardens while it sits, return to heat to loosen it before brushing it onto the ham.
- Room Temperature – Before cooking ham, we recommend setting it at room temperature.
- Heat Glaze – When combining the glaze ingredients allow it to simmer so that it thickens. This creates the best texture when brushing on the ham.
- Brushing on the Glaze – We recommend getting in the layers of the ham for the best results. The brown sugar ham is one of our favorite recipes.
- Baking Ham – When baking the ham, we recommend baking the ham at 325 degrees so the ham does not dry out.
- Check Ham for doneness – Even though your ham is precooked. Feel free to use a meat thermometer to make sure is heated thoroughly. Depending on the size of your ham, we usually bake it for 20 minutes per pound.
- Cutting Ham – Spiral hams are usually precut, but you still might need to slice with a sharp knife. Make sure to get as much meat off the bone as possible. But leaving a little meat on the bone is great too.
Serving Suggestions
There are many delicious sides that can be served with this baked ham recipe. These are some of our favorites.
- Mashed Potatoes
- Cranberry Sauce
- Thanksgiving Punch
- Carrots
- Sweet Potatoes
- See more Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, after brushing the glaze on the ham you will cover it with aluminum foil. Then bake it for about 2 hours then remove the foil. Baste the glaze on the ham and place back in the oven.
This helps to caramelize the honey glaze to give it more flavor.
When we making this Thanksgiving we look for high quality ham. We love the spiral cut but you must read the labels when buying them. Most hams will clearly state if it cooked ham and in most cases it is.
The bone-in ham cut in a diamond pattern is always a great choice. But you can also choose a boneless ham. All are great options for Thanksgiving Ham.
Refrigerate the Thanksgiving Ham Recipe leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. If you have a lot of holiday smoked ham leftover, place in the freezer. If stored properly the ham will last about months.
We like to store leftover ham in individual containers for an easy lunch the next day.
More Easy Ham Recipes
If you make this Thanksgiving Ham Recipe, please leave us a comment or a star review.
Thanksgiving Ham
Ingredients
- 8 pound Bone In Spiral Ham
Glaze Ingredients:
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup Apple Cider
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch Nutmeg
Instructions
- Remove ham from the refrigerator at least 2 hours before cooking to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the glaze ingredients.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes or until sugar is fully dissolved and the glaze thickens.
- Unwrap ham and place in a large roasting pan cut side down.
- Brush about ½ of the glaze over the ham and cover the ham with foil.
- Bake for 2-2 ½ hours until ham reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the foil from the ham.
- Brush remaining glaze over ham, be sure to get in between slices of the spiral ham.
- Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the ham in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the glaze is browned and caramelized.
- Remove the ham from the oven and loosely wrap with foil and let rest 15 minutes before serving.
- The ham is ready to slice, serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
