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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Our Sunday dinners were spent at my maternal grandmother’s (Nanny’s) house who just happened to live right down the road from us. And, more often than not, she’d have her famous fried chicken (which, as a child, I always teased her about setting up a stand by the road selling “Nanny’s Famous Fried Chicken”). Of course, she had all the fixin’s, fresh from the garden when in season, but it’s the chicken that stands out in my memories. Maybe it’s because I’ve never tasted any other that comes close to how good it was. And the funny thing is, I don’t think Nanny had some “secret” recipe, I think it was simply made with an abundance of love! Miss my Nanny and her fried chicken!
This brought back a lot of sweet memories, my childhood Sundays sounded just like Karen Coes, i checked her name to see if we’re related, Ha ha ,no I don’t think so, i guess in the south, thats the way it was. And then after I married , all of my husbands family ended up at my Mother-in-laws, most Sundays and I loved it there too,It was almost like being at my Grandparents again, All the wonderful food , the little cousins laughing and playing, the laughter and talking of us grown-up people then.Then as time marched on, I worked on some Sundays (I hated that ) when i was off I would fix a Hugh Breakfast and a nice Dinner, usually a roast or chicken, with all the trimmings, so my children would have thier own memories one day, with our traditions. Now there is just hubby and me, on most Sundays ,unless we have a family Birthday or Holiday, we just go out to eat after church. Thank-You for your ham recipe, it sounds really good, I will probably fix it for Easter .
There is just my husband and me now but we always sit at the table for a meal. Sometimes during the week I will have my daughter and her 3 girls for dinner and the best part is sitting around the table and talking long after the meal is finished. My favorite meal is straight from the 50’s meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans.
My mother in law (who has gone on ) made the most wonderful Sunday dinners, they were one of the best parts of marrying into her family. she was, however, from the east and did things a bit differently. The very first Sunday dinner I attended, she cooked a beef roast. To my horror, she poured off the pan juices, put them in a sealed container and discarded them. She proceeded to make macaroni and cheese as a side dish. She must have noticed the look on my face. she asked what I did with the juices. I told her that I made gravy for the mashed potatoes. Apparently they did not make much gravy in her family. She said we could try that the next time she made a beef roast. True to her word, she allowed me to make mashed potatoes and gravy which pretty well did away with the mac and cheese with beef roast. We still had plenty of mac and cheese but usually with a wonderful ham(that’s how it supposed to be isn’t it?) Seeing the Ham made me think of her and this little incident…..she was a wonderful mother in law and I loved her so much. People from the east just eat differently….imagine Thanksgiving Dinner with Acorn Squash and NO Sweet potatoes. Bless her heart, she was generous with her kitchen and allowed me to cook “my things” which the whole family come to love( as who does not love southern cooking?) I could probably write a book about a ” Southern cook in a Yankee kitchen!!
Christy , you have brought so much joy to my life and the stories that go along with the great recipes you have shared with all of us . You stories are like mine ….the wonderful times with my Grandmother’s .
I’m so happy that you start this site and my wonderful husband of 42 years bought me your cookbook for Christmas . I have really enjoyed it and thanks for bringing back some of the “old recipes” that I didn’t have .
Blessings to you and your beautiful family.
Sunday dinner growing up in Atlanta was most often fried chicken which my mother cooked to perfection. No KFC at her house. With it she served rice and milk gravy and fresh vegetables from the farmer’s market – purple hull peas, okra, butter beans, green beans, etc. She also made macaroni and cheese different from any recipes I have seen. She layered cooked macaroni and shredded cheddar cheese. Then poured a mixture of beaten eggs and milk over and baked. Eggs gave it more of a custard consistency.
Our Sunday dinners were special because my daddy, an old Army cook, would bust out the big pans and cook for about 30 people. It gave my mother a break on the weekend and boy, can he cook for a crowd. You never had to ask if someone could join us for dinner because there was always plenty. It was common to see folks taking home plates for work the next day or dinner sometime the next week. A long standing favorite is homemade fried chicken, rice & gravy, sweet peas, homemade rolls or biscuits, pear salad, and a tall cake of some flavor. Yummy!!!
p.s. My daddy’s favorite & most requested dessert when he comes to my house is your “Mama’s Amazingly Easy Coconut Pie”. I gladly make him one every time as a little thanks for all those Sunday dinners he made for us!
Growing up I lived with my grandparents, I have some vague memories of my grandma making very big roast and potatoes dinners on Sunday for my grandpa, she loved to cook for him. After he passed away back in 1978 when I was 10, she seem to lose her desire to cook. She would still make Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter dinners but you could tell that heart just wasn’t in it any more. I took over the cooking for the both of us, nothing to elaborate just simple soups and sandwich type things that a 10 year old could manage.
Now today, with my husband and two girls, I normally pick a recipe that I have been eyeing all week and will make that for Sunday dinner with some type of dessert, rather it is a cake, brownies or cookies. Just something to make that meal a little bit more special for them.
Lately though, I just haven’t had any desire to cook, my mother just recently passed away unexpectantly on Feb 12th, and I just haven’t felt like doing anything. While we were in Minnesota packing up her belongings, I came across a family cook book that has some of my grandmother’s recipes in it but it also has my mom, aunts and all of my cousins. I already told my self (I have a bad habit of talking to myself) that this Sunday, I am going to randomly pick a recipe and make it for dinner.
Thank you Christy for this post, I got a little misty eyed writing this but I think you just but the bug back in my ear so to speak to get myself out my dulldrums and make a special dinner for my family this weekend.
Raquel, isn’t it strange how events shape our life and what we like to do or lose the desire to do. I have been married a long time (56 years) and after cooking so many meals while raising 4 children and working full time I did not enjoy cooking as much. Then 2 years ago we lost our 46 year old son suddenly. Cooking became my therapy. It gave me something to think about and to do and there was great satisfaction in putting good meals on the table for my husband and me. I’m sorry about your mom. You are blessed to have found some family recipes. Enjoy them and make some traditions for your family. They will long remember your Sunday dinners.