This pineapple glazed ham is the centerpiece of your holiday table! Brown sugar, honey, and pineapple juice reduce into a sticky glaze that gets brushed on in four rounds, caramelizing directly onto pineapple rings and maraschino cherries pinned to every side of a spiral-cut ham. Five ingredients, one pan, and the most impressive thing on the Easter or Christmas table - and it is far easier than it looks.
This easy recipe has 5 simple ingredients and one of them is the precut spiral ham.
Slice it off the bone at the table for a dramatic presentation, or pre-slice and arrange on a platter for a brunch buffet. Either way, plan for leftovers - they are just as good the next day in sandwiches, soup, or a quick ham and potato hash.
What Makes This Pineapple Glazed Ham Worth Making
- Five ingredients, all grocery store staples - no specialty items, no advance ordering. Pick up a spiral ham on sale and you have everything else in your pantry already.
- The four-round basting method builds real caramelization - each round of glaze reduces and intensifies, giving you a sticky, glossy exterior that a single-glaze ham cannot match.
- The pineapple rings and maraschino cherries do double duty - they are the garnish AND they infuse the ham with sweetness as they bake, making every slice more flavorful than the last.
- It feeds a crowd without the stress - a 4-6 pound spiral ham serves 8-10 people and the hands-on time is minimal. The oven does most of the work.
Ingredients for Baked Ham With Pineapple Brown Sugar Glaze:
Recipe Card?
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Substitutions
- To make a bourbon brown sugar pineapple glazed ham switch out half the pineapple juice for your favorite bourbon.
- Pineapple chunks can be swapped out for the pineapple rings. I will do this when I know that there will be a kid's table. The kids love the bites of roasted pineapples with a maraschino cherry on top of the ham.
- A different type of ham such as whole, bone-in ham can be used in place of the spiral ham. I like the spiral-cut ham because it makes for easy slicing and serving at the table.
- Add a tablespoon of dijon mustard or whole grain mustard to the ham glaze for an added layer of flavor. Optional but your ham will be yummier when you use this glaze.
Can I Use Smoked Ham or Boneless Ham?
A smoked spiral ham is the most common choice and what this recipe was tested with. The smoke flavor works beautifully with the sweetness of the brown sugar pineapple glaze - they complement rather than compete. A boneless ham is easier to slice cleanly but does not hold the pineapple rings as securely since there is no bone structure to anchor around. Use longer toothpicks and angle them more aggressively if going boneless. A whole bone-in uncut ham retains moisture slightly better during the long bake time but requires scoring the surface in a diamond pattern before pinning the pineapple rings so the glaze has somewhere to penetrate and the toothpicks have purchase.
Can I use fresh pineapple instead of canned?
Canned pineapple rings work better for this recipe for two reasons. First, canned rings are uniform in size which makes them easier to pin evenly around the ham. Second - and more importantly - fresh pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down protein. Applied directly to ham and baked for an extended time, fresh pineapple can make the surface of the meat mushy. Canned pineapple has been heat-processed which deactivates bromelain, making it the safer and more practical choice here.
Pineapple Glazed Ham
- Add the brown sugar glaze ingredients to a pan. Allow to simmer and reduce while you prepare the spiral ham.
- Using wooden toothpicks, secure the pineapple slices to the ham with a maraschino cherry in the center of each ring of pineapple.
- Place the prepared ham in a roasting pan, add water to the bottom of the pan, cover the ham with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350.
- Remove the foil, and baste with the brown sugar glaze. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Repeat 3 times for a total of an additional 40 minutes bake time.
- Serve hot with your favorite side dishes.
Why Four Rounds of Glazing Matters
Most glazed ham recipes apply one coat of glaze and call it done. This recipe uses four rounds - remove the foil, brush the glaze, bake uncovered for 10 minutes, repeat three times. Each round reduces the glaze slightly, building a deeper caramel color and a more concentrated flavor layer. By the fourth round the pineapple rings are caramelized, the cherries are glossy, and the edges of every ham slice have that sugary, slightly crispy finish that makes this worth making every single year.
How to Make the Brown Sugar Pineapple Glaze
- In a saucepan add the honey and the brown sugar.
2. Add the juice from canned pineapple to the pan, stir to dissolve the brown sugar bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
3. Allow the honey brown sugar glaze to boil for 1 minute and start to reduce.
4. The honey glaze will thicken as it cools.
5. Place the ham in a deep baking dish and using wooden toothpicks, secure the pineapple rings to the ham. Preheat the oven to 350.
6. If the pineapples, overlap, that is fine. They will shrink and cook down slightly as the ham bakes.
7. Add a maraschino cherry to the center of each pineapple ring. Add 1 cup of water to the pan, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
8. After the first bake time, remove the foil from the ham and adjust the toothpicks in the cherries and pineapple rings if they have slipped.
9. Using a basting brush, brush the brown sugar honey glaze over the ham, pineapples and cherries. Leaving the foil off of the ham, place the ham back in the oven and allow the glaze to reduce and caramelized on the ham for 10 minutes.
10. Repeat the basting and baking 3 times for a total of 40 additional baking time.
Internal Temperature for Ham
Spiral-cut hams are fully cooked before they leave the store - what you are doing in this recipe is reheating and glazing. The USDA recommends reheating fully cooked ham to an internal temperature of 140°F before serving. Use an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the ham, away from the bone, to confirm. At 350°F, plan for approximately 12-15 minutes per pound for the initial covered bake before glazing begins.
Storage Tips
Once you have completely cooked any leftovers, you can store this easy baked ham in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Be sure to store in air-tight containers.
Reheating Instructions for this Pineapple Glazed Ham Recipe
Wrap the leftover ham slices in foil and add a splash of water, pineapple juice or extra glaze before closing the foil and reheat the ham in a 325°F oven for no more than 10 minutes per pound. Check to be sure the ham reaches an internal temperature of 140°F.
Can I make pineapple glazed ham ahead of time?
Yes...and it reheats beautifully. Bake and glaze the ham completely, let it cool, then cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To reheat, wrap the ham loosely in foil with a splash of pineapple juice or water to keep it moist, and warm in a 325°F oven until it reaches 140°F internally. Apply one final brush of glaze in the last 10 minutes to freshen the caramelized finish.
Glazed Ham FAQs, answers and tips:
I will plan on about ¾ lb. per person for a bone-in ham, so an 8 lb. ham will feed about 10-11 people. It also depends on how many side dishes you will be serving.
By adding a brown sugar glaze to ham, it is helping to lock in the moisture, adds a layer of caramel flavor, color, and adds extra sweetness. The extended bake time with the thin layer of glaze will give the edges of the ham slices a sugary crispy edge.
Use wooden or bamboo toothpicks one through the center of each maraschino cherry and into the pineapple ring, then angled down into the ham. Press them in at a slight downward angle so they grip as the ham contracts during baking. After the first 45-minute covered bake, check and reset any that have shifted before the glazing rounds begin. Remove all toothpicks before serving.
Spiral-cut hams are fully cooked before you purchase them, so you are reheating rather than cooking from raw. The USDA recommends an internal temperature of 140°F for reheated fully cooked ham. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, away from the bone, to get an accurate reading.
Skip it. The packet that comes with most grocery store spiral hams is a small amount of pre-mixed powder that produces a thin, one-note sweet glaze. The brown sugar, honey, and pineapple juice glaze in this recipe produces a significantly richer, more complex result - and the four-round basting method caramelizes it in a way no packet glaze can replicate. Throw the packet out and use this one instead.
What to Serve with Pineapple Glazed Ham
- Rhodes Rolls - Try this recipe with the best frozen dinner rolls when you want to make homemade rolls without the work!
- Oven Roasted Asparagus - Roasting asparagus is a quick and easy way to enhance the delicate flavors of the asparagus and give the asparagus tips a bit of char.
Leftover Ham Recipes
- Ham Pot Pie - This is an easy ham pot pie recipe that uses homemade ham pot pie dough squares, leftover ham cubed and diced potatoes. Made in the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition of slippery ham pot pie where there is a boiled dough instead of a top flaky crust.
- Ham and Potato Crockpot Soup - Set your crockpot in the morning and come home to delicious soup your whole family will love.
- Hoppin' John - made in a slow cooker, is a traditional New Year's Recipe but is perfect for any time you are craving slow cooker black-eyed peas.
Ingredients
- 4-6 Pounds (1 ⅘ kg) ham
- 1 can (1 can) pineapple rings
- 1 Jar (1 Jar) maraschino cherries
- ½ Cup (169 ½ Gram) Honey
- ½ Cup (110 Gram) Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup (236 Gram) pineapple juice reserved from the can of pineapple rings
Instructions
- In a saucepan add the honey and the brown sugar.
- Add the pineapple juice to the pan, stir to dissolve the brown sugar bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Allow the honey brown sugar glaze to boil for 1 minute and start to reduce.
- The honey glaze will thicken as it cools.
- Place the ham in a deep baking dish and using wooden toothpicks, secure the pineapple rings to the ham. Preheat the oven to
350 °F (177 °C) - If the pineapples, overlap, that is fine. They will shrink and cook down slightly as the ham bakes.
- Add a maraschino cherry to the center of each pineapple ring. Add 1 cup of water to the pan, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- After the first bake time, remove the foil from the ham and adjust the toothpicks in the cherries and pineapple rings if they have slipped.
- Using a basting brush, brush the brown sugar honey glaze over the ham, pineapples and cherries. Leaving the foil off of the ham, place the ham back in the oven and allow the glaze to reduce and caramelized on the ham for 10 minutes.
- Repeat the basting and baking 3 times for a total of 40 additional baking time.
Nutrition
I am Sarah Mock. Welcome!
Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and a graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 17 years, Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
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