Southern Baked Ham Recipe with 3-Ingredient Brown Sugar Glaze
Set this Southern baked ham recipe on the holiday table and watch everybody try to guess what’s in that shiny brown sugar glaze. It comes from my great-grandmother Lela, and her 3-ingredient glaze is just brown sugar, yellow mustard and a splash of Coke. A bone-in smoked ham bakes wrapped in foil for an hour, gets a second coat of glaze and bakes 30 minutes more uncovered, so you’re looking at about 1 hour 45 minutes plus a short rest before slicing.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Baked Ham With Brown Sugar Glaze
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: approx 8-lb. smoked, ready-to-cook, bone-in ham, packed brown sugar, coke, yellow mustard
- Why You'll Love It: This recipe for baked ham features the easiest and tastiest 3-ingredient brown sugar glaze that makes your ham positively shine. Also, save that ham bone for other delicious recipes!
There’s no honey, ground cloves or pineapple rings in this ham glaze, and nobody misses them. A good baked ham is a wonderful main course for Easter, Christmas or any Sunday dinner, and the leftovers usually give me at least three more meals. One of my favorite ways to use them is to warm up some Jordan rolls the next morning, split them and layer in warm slices of ham for a quick breakfast with a cup of coffee. Save that ham bone with a little meat still on it, too. Pop it in a gallon-size bag in the freezer and it’ll flavor the best pot of pinto beans or Senate bean soup you’ve ever had.
There’s another great ham recipe in my cookbook that you won’t find on SouthernPlate.com, so be sure to check it out.
Why This Baked Ham Recipe Works
The Coke turns the brown sugar and mustard into a glaze that’s a lot looser than you’d expect, so it brushes right on and coats every part of the ham you can reach. Wrapping the ham in foil for the first hour keeps it juicy while it heats through, and then the second coat of glaze bakes uncovered so it can brown on the outside.
What You Need for Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
- Smoked ham: I use an 8-pound smoked, ready-to-cook, bone-in ham. Spiral-cut and boneless hams are out there too, but bone-in is the one I recommend for this recipe, and you get that ham bone for later.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark, whatever you have in the pantry.
- Coke: Any cola works, including Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper. For a more traditional glaze, swap in orange juice, or try ginger ale if you dare.
- Yellow mustard: Just a tablespoon of plain yellow mustard balances out the sweetness.
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Use a baking pan with sides. The ham juice will leak out, and if it gets in the bottom of your oven you’ll have quite the smell in your house.
- Heavy-duty foil is great if you have it, but regular foil works fine. No sense spending extra money when you don’t have to.
- No basting brush? Spoon the glaze over the ham in big gobs and smear it around.
- If the glaze doesn’t loosen up after stirring, add another tablespoon of Coke.
- I slice my ham with an electric knife I got for about $25, but a sharp regular knife works just fine.
How to Make a Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze
1Stir the glaze
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, Coke and mustard. It will turn a lot more liquid than you expect.
2Glaze and wrap the ham
Line a rimmed baking pan with foil and set the ham in the center. Brush half of the glaze over every part of the ham you can reach, then wrap the foil up and seal it well.
3Bake for 1 hour
Bake the wrapped ham at 350°F for 1 hour.
4Glaze again and bake uncovered
Peel the foil back without moving the ham and brush on the rest of the glaze. Return it to the oven uncovered for 30 minutes more, or until lightly browned.
5Rest and slice
Let the ham sit for about 10 minutes before slicing. If you need to serve it later, cover it with foil to keep it warm, but I suggest slicing within half an hour, because that’s about as long as anybody can stand waiting once they smell it.
What to Serve with Baked Ham
For a holiday or Easter ham, I like it with homemade mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes, a pot of fresh green beans and a plate of Southern deviled eggs. Cheesy hashbrown casserole, candied sweet potatoes and a basket of homemade dinner rolls round it out nicely, and a cool tomato, onion and cucumber salad keeps things light. Planning a big holiday dinner? My holiday menu ideas have plenty more sides to pick from.
Baked Ham FAQs
How long do you bake a ham at 350 degrees?
For an 8-pound smoked, ready-to-cook, bone-in ham, I bake it wrapped in foil for 1 hour, then uncovered for 30 minutes more after the second coat of glaze. Hams vary, so check the label on yours for its heating instructions too.
Can you make a ham glaze without honey?
This one doesn’t use any honey at all. Brown sugar, yellow mustard and Coke make a sweet, tangy glaze that’s simple to stir together from what’s already in your pantry.
What can I use instead of Coke in ham glaze?
Any carbonated soda works, including Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper. Orange juice makes a more traditional glaze, and ginger ale is fun if you want to try something different.
Southern Baked Ham with 3-Ingredient Brown Sugar Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 approx 8-lb. smoked, ready-to-cook, bone-in ham
- 1 cup packed brown sugar light or dark, whatever you have
- 2 tablespoons coke or your favorite carbonated soda
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
Instructions
- Line a large pan with a lip around it with aluminum foil. Place the ham in the center of the foil.1 approx 8-lb. smoked, ready-to-cook, bone-in ham
- In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, coke, and mustard to make your glaze. Brush half of the glaze over the ham. Wrap the entire ham well in foil. Place in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour.1 cup packed brown sugar, 2 tablespoons coke, 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- Remove the ham from the oven and peel back the foil, but don't move the ham. Brush the remaining glaze over the ham and return to the oven, uncovered, for another 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes or so before cutting. If you need to serve it later you can cover it with foil to keep it warm and let it sit on your stovetop. I suggest cutting it within half an hour of removing it from the oven because that is about as long as you'll be able to stand waiting once you smell it.
Notes
- Storage: Keep leftover ham in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Serve it cold or reheat it quickly in the microwave. Freeze leftovers in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Soda swaps: Any cola works, including Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper. Use orange juice for a more traditional glaze, or ginger ale for something different.
- Use a pan with sides: The ham juices will leak, and they’ll smoke if they drip into your oven.
- Ham: This recipe is written for a bone-in smoked ham. Check your ham’s label for its heating instructions.
- For a festive touch: Decorate the ham with maraschino cherries.
Nutrition
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Christy, your ham glaze is exactly the one I use. It’s so easy, and delicious too.
My mama didn’t cook a big dinner on Sunday very often (she was more likely to cook a big meal on Saturday night because Sunday was a such a busy day). But when she did, oh boy….
I remember the summer I turned 15, all of her nieces and nephews came for the day one Sunday in late July. When they came around, Mama always cooked their favorites (most of them are my favorites too!), things her mother, who was a fabulous cook, often cooked on Sunday. On this particular day, she cooked (mostly by herself with a little help from Daddy) baked ham, chicken and dumplings, cornbread dressing, fresh Silver Queen corn, green beans, summer squash casserole and field peas, and served sliced tomatoes and cucumbers also on the side. All the veggies came from our garden. She made cornbread (no one makes finer cornbread than my mama) and homemade potato rolls from my MaMaw’s (daddy’s mother) recipe. For dessert there was homemade ice cream and apple dumplings from mama’s grandmother’s recipe which has been passed down in her family since well before the Civil War. This recipe is different from any I have seen. It calls for cooked apples wrapped in little pastry bundles and served with a sweet sauce made from cream, butter, a little flour, sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of salt.
I had many memorable meals at mother’s table. About the only thing she still cooks when I visit is cornbread. And we usually eat out on Sundays now. But I will always remember her great dishes. Thankfully, I have learned to make most of them. The thing I miss most about Sunday dinner growing up is listening to Daddy ask the Lord to bless the food. Nothing can replace his gentle voice and the squeeze of his hand as we prayed. Love and miss you, Daddy.
Growing up our Sunday dinners consisted of pot roast, ham or country fried steak. My mom always made Sunday dinners special.
Now that I am married I have started doing that for my husband and I. He never had big Sunday dinners, so I try to make them extra special for him. My husband now looks forward to our Sunday dinners and he especially likes it when I make your chicken and dumplings.
Sunday Dinner was a must at my home growing up. My Mother was a wonderful cook. When I got married and moved closer to my husbands family we started eating out more than we ate in. Something in my soul dried up a little bit over this and I did not even know it!
My husband got layed off about 21 months ago and I started cooking Sunday Dinners. It is now one of his family’s thing to do on Sundays. I feed anywhere from 9 to 15 people at Sunday Dinner and let me tell you there is nothing like it. I so enjoy the planning, cooking and the sigh’s of contenment at the dinner table.
I have had your cookbook for about two months and it has been a wonderful read. The recipes are great and so much like some of my own and then the others I just can’t wait to try.
Oh, those sweet and sour greenbeans…. they are hands done the best recipe you could have ever passed on. Thank You!
We ALWAYS had Sunday dinner at home when I grew up and I like to cook Sunday dinner for my family as well. Now, when morning church service is over, my friends ask if we want to join them for lunch and if I say no because I already cooked, one lady says, “That’s right..you’re one of THEM that cooks Sunday dinner!” Sometimes we go to lunch with them, but we prefer to eat at home. Cooking truly is a labor of love, and I like to cook things I know my family enjoys. I have made many recipes from this site and plan to try many more.
Doesn’t that sound just like a church lady! So rude! “One of THEM”, like there’s something wrong with cooking Sunday dinner!
My Memaw made the best fried okra and creamed corn that I ever put in my mouth! I asked her one time how she made her okra. She used cornmeal, salt, pepper, and green tomatoes! I never knew the green tomatoes were in there! I have very fond memories of watching her run her worn out knife up and down cobs of fresh corn that Papaw had just brought in from the garden to make her amazing creamed corn. He had such a big garden full of beans, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, and corn. And even peach and apple trees and a grape vine which Memaw used to make jam and Papaw used the old vines to make wreaths! They never let anything go to waste! Papaw passed away 5 years ago and Memaw passed away a few months ago and I miss them so terribly! The smell of Memaw’s lotion and the sound of Papaw’s guitar always takes me back. So many memories of two beautifully amazing people! What a blessing to have had them in my life!
I have been hounding my aunts’ to let me have a peek at her recipes and copy them so that I can pass the tradition down for our family to enjoy! I am thinking of bringing out the “big guns” and bring them some homemade cinnamon rolls to soften them up a bit! Wish me luck!
wow, reading these memories, is awesome. I remember us going to Maw Maw’s house for Sunday dinner. Maw Maw would roast a chicken. She just had the best. I have never found anyone that could do it like her. She would have veggies, and salad, and home made bread. And for our treat afterward, she would have home made Ba Ba. It’s a cake like dough, with a custard on top, then a merigue is topping it off. It is one delicious treat. And it had to be made from scratch. Just talking about all of this makes my mouth water. Sad part of this memory is that my Maw Maw died and she took her recipes with her.
Growing up my dad was the preacher and my mom taught Sunday School and sang in the choir. Mother usually cooked a huge roast before breakfast and warmed it up after church. It had onions, potatoes, and carrots cooked in it with green beans, rolls, and sliced tomatoes on the side. There was usually some kind of dessert, but I don’t remember the details. I didn’t eat dessert until I was an adult. We often had guest preachers and missionaries from around the world eat Sunday dinner with us. Some days we sat at the table for hours listening to stories. After lunch we washed all the plates and cookware, but the leftovers were covered in foil and left in the oven all afternoon. After the Sunday night church service, we warmed up the leftovers–and still had roast beef sandwiches at least halfway through the week.