Baked Ham with Cranberry Glaze, the Best Ham I’ve Ever Eaten

This show-stopping baked ham with cranberry glaze bursts with craveable flavor. My Cranberry Glazed Ham is smoky, savory and salty with a to-die-for sweet-tart glaze. It’s the best ham I’ve ever eaten. You’re gonna flip for this easy recipe!

This delectable glazed ham recipe creates a juicy, tender ham that is simple enough to serve at any family dinner. But it’s also special enough to be the toast of the table at any dinner party or holiday celebration.

The combination of tart-sweet cranberry sauce with spicy, briny mustard and sweet brown sugar transforms an ordinary baked ham into a meal that inspires “just one more bite.” You guys, it’s SO good. And that’s coming form someone who is NOT a ham person.

I used my homemade whole berry cranberry sauce when I baked this ham, and I’m not gonna lie, it’s spectacular. A three-ingredient recipe that can be done in minutes and tastes that good is a no-brainer for me. So I made it from scratch.

But the good news is if time is at a premium and you don’t need one more thing to make from scratch, you can definitely use canned whole-berry cranberry sauce and still make a glorious baked ham with cranberry glaze!

The Ingredients

Like the easy cranberry sauce recipe, you only need minimal ingredients to make this delicious cranberry glazed ham. All of them are easy to find year-round, so this scrumptious glazed ham doesn’t need to be just for the holidays.

• 10-12 lb. Ham – This works with bone-in, boneless, spiral-cut or whole. Choose the ham your family likes best.
• Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
• Dark Brown Sugar
• Mustard

Tips for Choosing a Ham

Fully-Cooked Ham vs Fresh Ham

This recipe was created with and tested on fully-cooked, smoked ham. Where I live that is typically what’s available in most grocery stores and what we’re accustomed to baking with.

However, in some areas, you may be able to purchase something that is called “fresh ham.” Fresh ham is uncured, unsmoked and uncooked. It is the same cut as the ham we’re familiar with. But, the flavor will be more bland than cured ham and the cooking time needed will also be different. It’s not a good fit for this recipe.

Be sure to buy a fully-cooked ham. It doesn’t need to be smoked, but it does need to be fully cooked.

How Much Ham to Buy Per Person

When making a glazed baked ham, keep in mind that your total weight will include a considerable amount of fat (read that as flavor) and possibly a sizeable shank bone. While that bone can be saved to make fabulous Ham and Beans, it will not contribute to the actual meat that is available to feed your dinner guests.

To calculate how much ham to buy for the number of guests you’re serving, a good rule of thumb is:

• Bone-in Ham: Buy 1/2 pound per person.
• Boneless Ham: Buy 1/3 pound per person.

Boneless vs Bone-In Ham

There are differences both in flavor and texture between bone-in and boneless hams.

The bone in bone-in ham helps retain moisture in the meat stays juicy as it bakes, It also contributes to deeper richer flavor.

You’ll need to slice around the bone and trim some fat after baking a boneless ham. You won’t have as many neat and uniform slices, Some of it will come off the bone in juicy, tender, chunks.

Boneless hams still have a firm, meaty texture, but with the bone gone, the texture is smoother. They aren’t usually a juicy cut of meat.

And, the flavor of boneless hams is milder since the natural juices the bone helps produce and hold in the meat aren’t there.

Boneless hams are simple to slice and create nice uniform slices. So serving is a breeze, but there won’t be any ham bones for making soup or beans later.

I have used both types of ham and both are delicious. Think about who you’re serving and the convenience needs you have. While there is really no difference in how simple either will be to prep for this easy recipe, there will be a definite difference in how easy it is to slice and which is more flavorful and juicy.

What to Serve with Cranberry Glazed Ham

FAQs

How to Make Baked Ham with Cranberry Glaze

I. Make the Glaze

1. To make the glaze, whisk together the cranberry sauce, brown sugar and mustard in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Microwave on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Stir to incorporate ingredients completely.

II. Prep the Ham

3. Place your ham in a 9×13 baking pan or a roaster.
4. Cut a shallow (1/8″ deep) cross-hatch pattern across the top and sides of the ham to allow the glaze to easily penetrate the meat. 
5. Brush the top and sides of the ham, every surface you can reach, with 1/3 of your prepared cranberry glaze.  Set the remaining glaze aside.
6. Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the pan.

7. Tightly seal the baking pan with foil.  It takes me two to three sheets as I try to tent it up over the top of the ham so it’s actually tightly sealed around the pan but leaves a bubble of air space between the ham and the foil.  That helps the glaze to stay on the ham and not stick to the foil.

III. Baking and Glazing

8. When baking ham, plan for about 15 to 20 minutes per pound at 325°.  Ham always needs to cook to a minimum internal temperature of 145°.   IMPORTANT NOTE: Ham is typically precooked but still needs to be at a safe temperature before serving.  So yes, time it and plan for how long it will take, but always temp check your meat before removing it from the oven. Don’t rely on timing alone.  (My Cranberry Glazed Ham was 11.5 lbs so it needed just under 4 hours to be at a safe temp.  I actually went slightly over 145° and the ham was still marvelous.)
9. When 3/4 of your baking time is over (3 hours for me), remove the roasting pan to a wire cooling rack.
10. Brush your ham with half of the remaining glaze and return it to the oven with no more foil for the last quarter of baking time.  Reserve the last bit of glaze.
11. When your Cranberry Glazed Ham has completed roasting, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before trying to slice and serve it. 
12. Slice the ham and arrange it on a serving platter. 
13. Stir about 1/3 cup of the pan juices into the remaining glaze.  Drizzle or spoon the thinned glaze over your sliced ham.
14. Serve.

The Recipe

What to Make with Leftover Ham

There are tons of uses for leftover ham. Add it to your favorite breakfasts. Use it in place of sausage in my Scrumptious Italian Sausage Frittata Recipe or instead of bacon, use ham in Green Beans and Potatoes or my copycat version of Texas Roadhouse Green Beans.

Some of our favorite ways to use glazed holiday ham leftovers are in Ham Salad, Ham and Cheese Sliders and Ham and Bean Soup.

No matter when you serve it or how you use the leftovers, I hope Cranberry Glazed Ham becomes one of your favorite family and special occasion dinners. It’s such an easy recipe with knock-out flavor. You just can’t go wrong. I think you and your favorite people are gonna love it! Enjoy!