Julie Clark
Updated:
Oven Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Maple Glaze (Juicy Every Time)
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If you’ve ever worried about drying out a holiday ham, this method fixes that. After years of testing, this is the exact way we get an oven baked ham that stays juicy, flavorful, and reliable every time.
This guide walks you through exactly what to buy, how long to cook it, and how to get that glossy, caramelized glaze without overcooking the meat.
How to prepare a ham (the quick answer):
Bake a fully cooked ham at 325°F for 10–15 minutes per pound until it reaches 140°F internally. Keep it covered with foil and add liquid to the pan to prevent it from drying out. Glaze during the last 30 minutes.
How to Prepare a Ham (At a Glance)
- Oven temperature: 325°F
- Cook time: 10–15 minutes per pound
- Internal temperature: 140°F
- Type of ham: fully cooked, spiral sliced
- Keep it covered: yes, to lock in moisture
- When to glaze: last 20–30 minutes
Note: If your ham is labeled “fully cooked,” you’re just reheating it, not cooking it from raw.
If you love this ham, try our honey baked ham, Crockpot ham and cranberry ham recipes, too.
Enjoy! – Julie
Ingredients for Oven Baked Ham
- Spiral-sliced ham.
- Orange juice and ginger ale. These add flavor and sweetness.
- Maple syrup, honey and brown sugar. This gives a caramelized crust to the baked ham.
- Dijon mustard and black pepper.
✨ See the recipe card for the full recipe and ingredients. ✨
How to Choose a Ham
For most holiday meals, the easiest and most reliable option is a fully cooked, bone-in spiral ham. It’s already sliced, heats evenly, and stays juicy when baked.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what you’ll see at the store:
Spiral cut ham (best choice): Pre-sliced and ready to serve. This is the most common option for Easter or Christmas and works perfectly with a glaze.
Bone-in ham (unsliced): More control over slice thickness and often a little more flavor, but takes more work to carve.
Boneless ham: Easy to slice, but slightly softer texture since it’s been reshaped during processing.
Shank vs Butt Portion
Shank end (most common): Lean, easier to carve, and the classic holiday presentation.
Butt end: More marbling and richer flavor, but a little trickier to carve.
How much ham should I buy?
If you’re cooking a spiral cut ham, plan for almost one pound of ham per person. That doesn’t mean that each person will eat one piece of ham, because you’re accounting for unusable serving parts of the spiral ham.
- For 6 people: 5 1/2-6 pound ham.
- For 12 people: 10-12 pounds ham.
- For 16 people: 14-16 pound ham.
How to Prepare a Ham (Step-by-Step)
1. Add moisture first
Place the ham cut-side up in a roasting pan. Pour orange juice and ginger ale over the top. This keeps the ham from drying out as it heats.
2. Cover and heat gently
Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350°F for the first 20 minutes to start warming the ham without drying the surface.
3. Make the glaze while it bakes
Mix maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, mustard, and pepper. This combination gives you both sweetness and depth, not just sugar.
4. Baste and finish baking
Brush the glaze over the ham and continue baking, basting every 15 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 140°F.
How to Carve a Ham
A spiral ham is already sliced, so carving is simple.
Place the oven baked ham flat-side down and cut around the bone to release sections. Most slices will naturally fall away—just separate into serving portions.
👉 For smaller pieces, cut along the natural spiral lines.
What to Serve with Ham
Oven baked ham pairs best with classic, comforting sides. Try a mix of creamy, fresh, and bread-based options:
- Italian green beans
- Mashed potatoes
- Dinner rolls
- Cream corn
- Cheesy Herb Stuffing
- Pineapple casserole
- and make our best carrot cake recipe for dessert!
How to Use the Ham Bone
Once you’re done serving the ham, you can use the leftover bone to make one of these two delicious soups: Ham Bone Soup and Ham and Bean Soup.
Leftover Ham Recipes
Try one of our popular leftovers with ham:
Brown Sugar Maple Honey Glazed Ham
Everything you need to know about how to cook a ham for your holiday dinner. Start with a spiralized ham and make a homemade honey ham glaze for a deliciously flavorful tender & juicy ham.
Servings 30
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 10 pound fully cooked spiral sliced bone-in ham (weight is approximate)
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup ginger ale
Ham Glaze
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Remove the ham from the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. 10 pound fully cooked spiral sliced bone-in ham
- Place the ham cut side up in a large roasting pan. Pour the orange juice and ginger ale overtop the ham. 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup ginger ale
- Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the syrup, honey, sugar, mustard and pepper to make the simple glaze. Mix well. ½ cup maple syrup, ½ cup honey, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Baste the surface of the ham with juices and brush with ham glaze. Bake again for 20 minutes. Continue baking the ham, basting the outside of the ham with the honey glaze every 15 minutes until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Test with an internal probe thermometer. The cook time is about 10-15 minutes per pound of fully cooked ham. Plan for about 90-120 minutes of cooking for a ham, depending on the size of ham you have.
- Remove the ham from the oven and allow it to rest covered for 10-15 minutes. Baste with the remaining glaze right before serving.
Video
Notes
If you’d like you can add ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves (1 teaspoon whole cloves) or ginger. I’ve done this occasionally to give the ham a “Christmas” flavor, but most of the time I leave out those two spices.
Nutrition
Calories: 420kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 1808mg | Potassium: 471mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 17IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg
Why the ginger ale ? What does it do for the ham ? Actually have all the ingredients . Just never made it witt ginger ale
Made this during the quarantine, absolutely loved it and I had everything I needed already in my kitchen. A hit with everyone in the house!
Great recipe that you can tweak to make your own. We loved it, so moist and flavorful, even the leftovers were delicious! Thanks for sharing!
The ham turned out fabulous. I bought a 3 pound sliced ham and I used half of the ingredients and had to turn up the temperature to 400 and cook it about 3 hours to which it finally was cooking at a proper temperature to get it to 140 degrees. I basted it every 15 to 20 mins and it was so moist and tender and flavorful with the orange juice and gingerale.
Thanks for the tips! I live in Mexico so I used Jamica and orange juice combo.
I use your cinnamon roll recipe weekly….you are the best.
Merry Christmas
Clyda
Yes their is. It says ham, ok and ginger ale
I cook a country ham, and I’m always looking for some way to make it a little juicier. I soak mine for for 24 hours before baking and I need a little help with a recipe for glazing.
Should ham be sitting on a rack in roasting pan?
Well it turned out amazing!! My family is big bbq sauce buffs so I added Heniz Hawaii bbq sauce the last 5 mins… that’s why the glaze looks a wee bit different. Thank you so much for your help today!!!!
Ok I’m excited and nervous, first time “cooking” ham. I have chosen the crock pot, I figure if I screw up I have a better chance saving it in there then the oven (under the foil). I wish you had a few more details on how to do it in the crockpot, I think I have a pretty good idea. I’ll post tonight and let you know if Mr. Porky made it through or if I really butchered him. (Ha ha).
Do you have to cover with foil or can you use a roasting pan w a lid?
Do you just baste with the glaze, or do you also baste with the juices every 20 mins?
The OJ is right above the ginger ale and it says pour juices over the ham.
This recipe is definitely a keeper. What a delicious ham!
Thank you,this is amazing!!!