Brown Sugar Glazed Ham With Apricot Sauce

Make a juicy, caramelized brown sugar glazed ham that the whole family loves. Begin by cooking the ham in the apricot sauce then caramelize with the brown sugar glaze.

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Perfectly browned and glazed spiral ham recipe on a blue platter.

Make the perfect, juicy brown sugar glazed ham with our apricot ham sauce and brown sugar glaze. Make the sauce with ground cloves, nutmeg, ginger, mustard and apricot preserves and orange juice. This will fill your spiral ham with the most delicious flavors. Then caramelize your ham with our amazing brown sugar glaze.

Image collage - 1. ham sauce in pan. 2. ham sauce being basted onto ham. 3 and 4 cooked ham in slices. — Perfectly basted and caramelized ham.

Enjoy brown sugar glazed ham as a full meal:

Side Dish: Brussels Sprouts– Once roasted, these are the perfect combo of crunchy and savory.
Bread: Pizza Dough Garlic Knots – Make these with premade pizza dough. They couldn’t be easier!
Potatoes: Creamy Mashed Potatoes – These potatoes pair perfectly with ham.
Dessert: Pineapple Upside Down Mini Cakes – This needs no introduction!

Juicey, sliced ham on a blue and white serving plate — Perfectly seasoned ham.

Table of Contents

Ingredients:

Spices: Using dried spices you probably already have in your spice drawer. We love ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground ginger and ground mustard.
Preserves: Apricot preserves take this ham to the next level.
Sugar: This brown sugar glazed ham calls for both light brown sugar as well as granulated sugar.
Orange Juice: Fresh or from the grocery!
Salted Butter: A little butter helps make the perfect brown sugar glazed ham.

How to Make Brown Sugar Glazed Ham:

Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 275°F.

Make Ham Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the basting sauce ingredients. Heat over medium, stirring occasionally until the sugar and jam have dissolved. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.

white pot full of orange juice, spices, apricot jam before being mixed together. — Add orange juice, jam and spices to sauce pan.

brown ham glaze in a white sauce pan. — Add orange juice, jam and spices to sauce pan.

Prepare Ham: Remove the pre-cooked ham from its packaging. Place the ham, cut side down, on a rack in a large roasting pan.

Baste Ham: Use a pastry brush to coat the ham with the basting sauce. The sauce will be runny, some will run down into the roasting pan and that is fine. Baste the sauce between the layers of ham as much as possible.

hand basting uncooked ham with apricot orange sauce. — Baste uncooked ham with sauce.

Bake Ham: Cover the ham and pan with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 2 ½ hours. (The ham is already cooked through, so you are heating it to serving temperature, typically 140°F.) Check the ham every 30 minutes or so and brush the juices up over the ham to baste it (optional).

When the ham is heated through, remove it from the oven and discard the aluminum foil. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F.

Make Brown Sugar Glaze Combine the glaze ingredients (sugar, butter, and brown sugar) in a small saucepan and heat over medium until the butter is melted and the mixture forms a paste.

Brush the glaze all over the outside of the ham.

Butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan. — Make the sugar glaze.

Brown ham glaze in sauce pan next to ham in a roasting pan. — Make the sugar glaze.

Caramelize Ham: Place the ham back into the oven (no cover) and cook for 10-20 minutes longer until the sugar glaze caramelizes. Be careful not to burn the glaze. Remove from the oven.

Let ham sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Perfectly browned and caramelized cooked ham in roasting pan. — Perfectly caramelized ham.

Expert Tips

In the past, I would go to the store, buy whatever ham was available, and cook it with the spices provided in the package. It’s no wonder I hated ham! Follow these tips for a delicious brown sugar glazed ham you’ll love.

What type of ham to buy?

Fully Cooked: You can find both cooked and uncooked hams at the grocery store. This recipe requires a pre-cooked ham. That means it’s safe to eat right out of the package. Double check your ham package to make sure it says fully cooked.
Bone in: A bone-in ham with have the best shape and texture. Most hams that have the bone removed have been reshaped and processed more and will not taste the same as unprocessed ham.
Spiral Cut: A spiral cut ham is cut in a continuous spiral cut all the way through the ham. You’ll be able to easily pull away the ham slices easily. And you won’t have to cut the ham! Plus, the recipe is best if you can baste the individual slices with the apricot ham sauce.

caramelized and perfectly browned spiral ham with a brown sugar glaze. Side dish of green beans with almonds. — Caramelized spiral ham pairs perfectly with green beans.

spiral sliced ham close up on blue and white serving plate. — Caramelized spiral ham pairs perfectly with green beans.

Adjust the spices to your taste

Feel free to adjust the basting sauce spices and flavors. Honey is a great sweetener if you are trying to avoid processed sugars. You can also use pure maple syrup.

Substitute orange marmalade or peach preserves for the apricot preserves if you’d like.

Optional ways to finish the ham

Baked: Finish the ham as directed in the instructions at 425°F for 10 to 20 minutes. This will caramelize the ham evenly all over.
Broiled: To get that perfectly browned caramelized crust on your ham you can also place the ham under the broiler to finish off the glaze – this will caramelize the glaze much more quickly but is also more susceptible to burning or burning the top without caramelizing the sides. Watch it closely.

Image collage: 1- sliced ham stacked on a serving plate. 2 - ham sauce in sauce pan. 3 - Ham glaze in sauce pan — The two step ham sauce then ham glaze makes the perfect finished ham.

Variations

Orange marmalade: Substitute the apricot jam/preserves for orange marmalade.
Maple syrup: Omit the glaze in this recipe and warm a pure maple syrup to use as a glaze.
Add wine: Use a 1/2 cup of sweet wine with 1/2 cup of orange juice in the ham sauce.

Three slices of ham on a plate with green beans and almond slivers. — Ham pairs perfectly with green beans.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long can you refrigerate cooked ham?

Once your ham is glazed and cooked you can store for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Can you freeze cooked ham?

Yes, you can store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator.

How do you make ham gluten free?

Read the ingredients on your ham package. Sometimes the company will use gluten in their processing. This recipe, however, is gluten free.

How do you make brown sugar glazed ham dairy free?

Substitute the butter for your favorite butter substitute. Keep in mind it will be cooked at high temperatures so it must be stable enough to reach 425°F.

How do you make ham glaze from scratch?

Throw away the glaze packet that comes with your ham! Use butter, sugar and brown sugar to make a glaze that will leave your ham perfectly caramelized.

Pineapple Upside Down Mini Cakes

Delicious little pineapple upside down mini cakes with a cherry on top. Quick and easy to make.

See Recipe

pineapple upside down mini cakes on a white plate. Red cherry on top.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Rich and creamy mashed potatoes made with Yukon gold potatoes and seasoned to perfection.

See Recipe

bowl of creamy mashed potatoes with butter on top

Ways To Serve Leftovers

Ham Sandwiches: This thick sliced ham makes an excellent ham sandwich. Use a thick hoagie roll and your favorite condiments and vegetables for a full meal.
Omelets: Dice the ham and make omelets for breakfast.
Soup: Use this delicious brown sugar glazed ham in a ham and cheddar soup or a split pea soup.
Baked Potatoes: Add diced ham to a loaded baked potato.
Rice Pilaf: Add diced ham to a rice pilaf.

Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

Ingredients:

How to Make Brown Sugar Glazed Ham: