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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I just had to share my own recipe for ham. The first time I ate this was at a church dinner and I didn’t even realize it was ham. It was prepared by the local fire chief and I asked him for his recipe which he gladly shared with me. I’m sure he is cooking this in heaven for our big homecoming day and I will get to eat it with him again. Anyway here it is:
1/2 of a ham with the bone app. 10-12 lbs.
1 can Coke
Place ham in pan lined with foil and pour coke over it. Bake at 225 all night or 10 hours covered with foil. When you take it out of the oven it falls apart and is very string with a brownish color. Thank you Bill Simms! This has been a hit with everyone I have shared it with and the wonderful part is your meat is ready when you get up or by dinner time. God bless!
Being a Texan, and a Baptist, Sunday dinner was very important. Mom would put on a pot roast in her Magnalite roaster, and it would cook all during church, and be ready when we got home. Or sometimes the whole family ate with my grandmother, who would make Chicken and Rice casserole, ham, mashed potatoes, and an assortment of veggies. Loved her homemade cobblers, especially the ‘berry’ pies, which my girls called “Gigi’s purple pie”. Awesome memories! Now, I’m in NJ for awhile, and we always do try to have a sit-down dinner on Sunday.
it’s only 9:30 am but I am ready to go fry some chicken,okra and mash some taters!
We always sit down to dinners every night unless some weird thing pops up……we aren’t a sports family at all so it’s easy for this to happen. I stay busy enough as it is with JROTC and Awanas without throwing practices and games on top of it. I admire all the parents who can do it all but that ain’t me 🙂
Sundays are usually bigger and there is always a dessert. When my husband isn’t deployed he will often ask if I’d like to go out and be served (he’s such a sweetie,love that man) so we go out every once in awhile.So in about 8 months maybe we can go to Outback LOL. I love to cook and especially in the crockpot on sundays…beef stew is one of the kids favorites, when I was a kid tho it was always fried chicken and mashed potatoes & green beans, banana pudding or watergate salad and a big old pitcher of sweet tea( my granny was a fantastic cook) Miss her so much, I even miss her little snuff can 🙂 Every once in a while I catch a whiff of something that reminds me of her sweet society snuff……memories
I grew up in Missouri (pronounced Miz oo rah) and Sunday dinners on the farm ALWAYS centered around fried chicken.
Uncle Alvin would chase a chicken around until he caught it, bring it to Aunt Fan who would poke it a few times to determine if it was fat enough for her. Uncle Alvin would behead and pluck the unlucky fowl.
The rest of dinner varied depending on what the garden was producing or, in winter, what we had the most of in the canning cupboard plus home made biscuits.
Lots of love around that kitchen table, never realized we were “poor” because I never felt hungry or neglected.
Sunday dinners( also known as LUNCH for others) was usually homemade chicken and dumplins. My Mama made the dumplins from scratch and rolled out with a glass with lots of flour on wax paper and cut with knife and put in the rolling chicken stock which the whole chicken (fryer she called it) sat. She said “you never stir them it will tear em up”! A little dough was always left and that became my “hoecake” cooked on a black skillet on top of stove. The sides were usually baked sweet taters and greens in winter. The summer version was chicken and dumplins with vegetables out of our garden butter beans (colored ones were my fav) and what ever was growing. WE always had meals with SWEET TEA and always some sort of DESSERT. This took place after I toted lunch across the street to ole man Chavers who looked 100 years old from my childish eyes. My Mama said” she could not eat if her neighbor was hungry”. What a woman !!!
My tummy is growlin’ now! This looks delicious and perfect since I’ve been craving baked ham for a while.
I terribly miss having Sunday dinners with my family back home. Ma would have anything from fried chicken, ham, roast, or what ever she had and LOTS of sides! Especially in the summer time when the garden is in, she has fresh green beans, corn, butter beans, slaw, mac n cheese, mashed taters, sliced tomatoes (fried green ones if we were lucky, but I felt lucky either way), and so much more. It is like have thanksgiving every week!
Now that I’ve moved away with my husband, we fix whatever is the quickest because we are usually starving by the time church is out. There is no one but us 2 so we don’t really go all out with the big meals. I can’t wait to have a big family though and start making those memories around our own table.
Now….I need to get a ham lol.
I can’t wait to try this. I’ve searched for an easy glaze recipe but none have ever struck my fancy..’til now! I agree with you and the Southern Dialect..When hubby tries to use the voice call feature on the mobile phone it never understands the commands…maybe they need to reprogram them using Southern Dialect!