This delicious honey roast ham is great for a crowd. The simple spice rub and honey glaze is all it takes to make a perfect roast ham for the holidays or a family dinner!
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Classic Oven Roasted Ham
I'm here to say I love a big family dinner with a baked ham as the main dish. It's salty and juicy, goes with just about any side dish, and makes for some of my favorite leftovers.
Roast ham is super economical, and a 7- to 10-pound cooked ham can feed 12 to 18 people, with plenty of tasty leftovers.
A honey roast ham is usually the most familiar and maybe what you had as a kid. The honey is sweet to the ham's salty flavor. Pure bliss.
I've added some spice, just pepper, mustard powder and some cinnamon and clove at the end, to give depth to the classic oven roasted ham.
Tip: My Brown Sugar Glazed Ham with Pomegranates is also delicious and has a little fruity tang. If you love brown sugar glazed ham, you'll love that recipe!
How to Buy the Best Ham
Depending on your location and what your store stocks, you may find a variety of hams.
Look for ham to go on sale around the holidays. You can get an extra ham and keep it in the freezer as well!
Here are some tips for buying ham:
Fully cooked, partially cooked or uncooked/fresh?
This is not a fresh ham recipe. I like to use cooked ham. I find it easier to work with and they are much more accessible.
You'll most often find a spiral-cut cooked ham and that will be great. If the cooked ham is un-sliced, no problem, that's perfect too.
Whether you're using a fresh ham recipe or this one with cooked ham, you'll get a great result with the spice rub and honey glaze.
The honey glaze and rub will work on any ham, just follow the package or butcher's directions if it is different than the recipe below.
Bone-In, boneless, shank end or spiral cut?
Use a bone-in, shank end cooked ham for a beautiful and classic presentation.
A spiral-cut, bone in ham is also a great option. Some think an un-cut shank end ham stays moister, but I find both the spiral cut and whole do well. You just forgo the crisscross scoring look on the outside edge if you go with a sliced ham.
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Recipe Ingredients To Have On Hand
Now that you know how to select the best ham at the grocery store, it's time to talk ham glaze!
I used a classic honey baked ham glaze for this recipe. It's made simply with honey, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves.
Prior to being roasted, the ham is rubbed with a spice blend of ground black pepper, garlic powder, and mustard powder. Once the glaze is added and the flavors meld, it tastes like the oven roast ham is coated in a honey mustard ham glaze!
How to Roast a Ham
If roasting a ham intimidates you, trust me when I say it's incredibly easy! You're just reheating the ham, in essence.
- Score the fat rind on the ham at 1-inch intervals with a knife. Skip this step if the ham is spiral-cut.
- Place ham, scored-side up, in a roasting pan. Place 1 cup water in the bottom of the pan.
- Combine the black pepper, garlic powder and mustard powder in a small bowl and then rub all over the surface of the ham.
- Tent the ham with foil and roast for 1½ hours.
- Make the glaze: combine the honey, cinnamon and ground cloves.
- Remove foil from ham and drizzle or brush honey glaze over it.
- Continue roasting, uncovered, for 30 minutes to caramelize the outside.
- Remove ham from oven and let rest 20 minutes before carving.
How Long to Roast Ham?
With this ham roast recipe, I use a fully cooked ham so you are just heating the ham. You'll want to cook the ham to an internal temperature of 115ºF to 120ºF on an instant read thermometer.
Reheating a cooked ham will take about 1 to 1 ½ hours in a 325ºF oven. It will need less time if you bring it to room temperature before cooking. Otherwise give it the full 1 ½ hours.
I also add an extra 30 minutes to cook it uncovered so I get the glaze caramelized. So my total time for a 7- to 9-pound ham is about 2 hours in the oven.
Tips for Roasting a Whole Ham
I like to bring my ham almost to room temperature before roasting it so it only takes an hour or hour and a half to roast and heat through.
You will want to add broth or water to the bottom of the pan so any juices don't scorch as the ham cooks. I add at least 1 cup of water, and more can be added as the pan dries up.
Any leftover juices can be served with the ham, or even made into a gravy if you'd like.
You can use a spiral-cut, bone-in ham for this recipe as well. Skip the step of scoring the outside and cook as directed in the recipe.
How to Store Leftover Ham
Like I mentioned, you can freeze a whole ham if you buy extra on sale at the store. Simply thaw it in the fridge for several days before using.
You can store leftover cooked and reheated ham in the fridge for up to a week.
Leftover roasted ham can also be frozen for up to 4 months. I suggest slicing the ham before freezing it so it is easy to thaw and use.
Recipes Using Leftover Ham
Love oven roasted ham? Here are some great ways to use the leftovers.
- Mini Ham Turnovers with Gruyere are great with soup
- Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich with Ham and Chutney
- Swap ham for turkey in my Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe
- Swap ham for sausage in my Sausage and Greens Soup
- Mac and Cheese with Ham and Pearl Onions
- Ham and Pea Pasta with Parmesan and Basil
What to Serve with Roast Ham
Oh there are so many delicious things to serve on the side of honey baked ham. Depending on the time of year, you can choose seasonal favorites.
- The fluffiest Mashed Potatoes
- Mashed Potatoes with Mix Ins
- Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes
- Artichokes with Lemon Mayo
- Roasted Vegetable Trio with Orange Dressing
- Baby Broccoli with Hazelnut Butter
Here are 40+ more side dishes to serve with ham!
Let me know how it went!
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Classic Honey Roast Ham
Ingredients
- 1 8-pound bone-in, shank-end cooked ham
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard powder
- ½ cup honey
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- Herbs and fruit for garnish If desired
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325ºF. Score fat rind on ham at 1-inch intervals with a knife. Skip scoring if ham is spiral-cut. Place ham, scored-side up, in a roasting pan. Place 1 cup water in the bottom of the pan.
- Combine black pepper, garlic powder and mustard powder in a small bowl and then rub all over the surface of the ham. Tent ham with foil and roast for 1½ hours.
- Combine honey, cinnamon and ground cloves. Remove foil from ham and drizzle or brush honey over the ham. Continue roasting, uncovered for 30 minutes to caramelize the outside.
- Remove ham from oven and let rest 20 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board to carve or present on a platter, garnished with herbs and fresh fruit if desired.
- Serve any juices from pan, in a bowl on the side, if desired.
Notes
- You can use a spiral-cut, bone-in ham for this recipe as well. Skip the step of scoring the outside and cook as directed in the recipe.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Make Ham and Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches with the leftovers, or Ham and Gruyere Mini Turnovers.
Nutrition
Find more main dish recipes for entertaining here:
- The best Roast Turkey and Gravy
- Spring Leg of Lamb Roast
- North Carolina Pulled Pork recipe
- Slow Cooker Short Ribs with Cheesy Polenta
Main Dish Recipes
Tools you'll need for this recipe:
About Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in the food publishing business for over 20 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television & advertising. Order my new cookbook & stick around for amazing things to eat.
Photography by Ty Mecham.
