Honey Baked Ham Recipe [+Video]

Ham recipes…you can’t have too many, right? Well, until you find the one you love the most. We hope this copycat honey baked ham recipe will be your new favorite! It’s coated in a flavor-packed basting sauce and then encrusted with a spectacular crystallized sugar rub! It’s just like you bought it from the store but at a fraction of the cost!

When Cade and I first got married we were poor newlyweds living in a state without any family. The holidays rolled around and we started to hear people talk about a place called, Honey Baked Ham. The hype was getting so loud that we just had to try it.

We drove over to the store to buy ourselves a Christmas ham and the moment we walked in and smelled it we knew that people were right. We were so excited to make our first little holiday meal as a married couple. The cashier was a middle aged woman (how weird that it’s me now that’s middle aged!!) and she rang us up. Holy expensive!

I was so shocked by the price and was in a panic, how in the world would we be able to buy this and everything else we needed for Christmas?!! I honestly don’t remember what happened but we ended up with a very tiny bit of ham and from that day on I’ve actually been dying to create a copycat .

Every year I’ve adjusted here and there until this year I finally made it happen. I still don’t get how they bake that sugar crust on without burning it but a kitchen torch gave us our first success this year and Cade, who doesn’t care for ham that much, couldn’t stop talking about how delicious it was and had seconds AND thirds!!

Ingredients Needed for Honey Baked Ham Recipe

The ingredients list for this is short and sweet! You’ll need a few items for the basting sauce and then a few more things for the sugar rub. Most of the ingredients you will probably have in the pantry or spice cupboard.

For the Ham

• Ham (spiral cut)
• Butter
• Honey
• Dijon Mustard
• Cinnamon
• Apple Butter
• Apple Juice

For the Sugar Rub

• Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Onion Powder
• Ginger
• Allspice
• Smoked Paprika

The exact measurements for each ingredients can be found in the recipe card down below.

How to Make a Honey Baked Ham Recipe

Baking this ham is going to be done in two steps — baking the ham and then adding the sugar rub and crystallizing it. It’s important to note here that ham takes about 20 minutes per pound to cook, so plan your meal time accordingly.

Ham

1. Preheat oven.
2. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium heat.
3. With the ham on a roasting rack, slowly pour the mixture over the ham and work it between all the layers. It’s a labor of love and totally worth it!
4. Pour apple juice into roasting pan.
   • PRO TIP: If you don’t have apple juice, pineapple or orange juice works great or just water will be fine. Any combination of any or all of the above works too.
5. Bake.

Sugar Rub

1. Mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Removed the baked ham from the oven and let it cool for a while.
3. Put half of the sugar mixture into a clean pan and roll your ham all over in it. Use your hands to press it onto the sides if you have to.
   • PRO TIP: If the rub isn’t sticking, brush some of the pan juices onto the outside of the ham and then try again.
4. Use a small kitchen torch to crystallize the sugar. Placing the ham under a broiler works too if you don’t have a torch.
5. Use some of the pan drippings to make a glaze to drizzle over the top.

For more detailed instructions, see the recipe card below. We have a great post on how to carve a spiral ham if you need it too!

What to Serve with a Honey Baked Ham Recipe?

You’ve gotta have some great sides to go with this tasty honey baked ham recipe! I love all the sides that go with ham so much. I could easily list like 30 different options, but here are my top 10:

• Mashed Potatoes
• Funeral Potatoes
• Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Shallots
• Roasted Garlic Vegetables
• Broccoli Salad
• Candied Pecan Bacon Brussels Sprouts
• Texas Roadhouse Loaded Sweet Potato
• Potato Rolls
• One-Hour Rolls
• Jello Salad

Don’t forget to whip up our favorite ham dipping sauces!

How Much Ham Per Person?

A good rule of thumb is to plan on ½ pound of ham per person if you’re buying a boneless ham and ¾ pound of ham per person if you’re buying bone-in ham. If you’ll be serving lots of little ones as well, use your best judgement!

How Long Will Cooked Ham Keep?

Cooked ham will keep 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

How Do You Reheat Ham?

Reheat in a 325-degree oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 135 to 140 degrees.

This is the ham recipe to end all ham recipes! I’ve worked on perfecting this copycat honey baked ham recipe for years, and I’ve finally nailed it!

More HAM RECIPES You Will Love:

Whether you are looking to cook a whole ham or just need to use up some leftovers, these recipes will have you covered…

• World’s Best Brown Sugar Ham
• Garlic Honey Mustard Ham
• Secret to the Best Ham Fried Rice
• Spring Ham and Asparagus Lemon Cream Sauce
• Cheesy Ham and Potato Bacon Casserole
• Ham Lemon Orzo with Parmesan and Peas
• Ham and Cheese Sliders
• Hawaiian Ham and Pineapple Casserole
• Hash Browns Ham Frittata
• Ham Hock Soup
• Easy Ham and Cheese Scones
• How to Make Ham in a Slow Cooker
• All our BEST PORK RECIPES here!

Watch How This Honey Baked Ham is Made…

REMEMBER TO SUBSCRIBE TO our FREE Oh Sweet Basil NEWSLETTER AND RECEIVE EASY RECIPES DELIVERED INTO YOUR INBOX EVERY DAY!

When you try a recipe, please use the hashtag #ohsweetbasil on INSTAGRAM for a chance to be featured in our stories!  FOLLOW OH, SWEET BASIL ON FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER FOR ALL OF OUR LATEST CONTENT, RECIPES AND STORIES.