Our easy baked ham glaze recipe with orange juice, brown sugar and honey makes your pork taste amazing!! With just 3-ingredients, you can make this in 5 minutes to make your holiday meal sweet.
Ok so it’s Easter, or Christmas and you’re ready to make a big meal for everyone. I don’t know about you but I’m not interested in spending more time than I have to on anything but also want to impress my guests. Yours will think you spent hours on this one!
Easy is key in my opinion when it comes to cooking delicious food for the holidays, and our Old Fashioned family recipe for ham glaze is just that! Some come with the mysterious “packet” to pour on top after mixed with water with just tastes like chemicals, throw that away and try this right now!
I have tried that and quite frankly it tastes like sugar poured on top and doesn’t give it a lot of other flavors. Whether you’re slicing it yourself or following our Spiral Ham in the Oven recipe, this will work!
Easy Ham Glaze Ingredients
I think orange juice is great way to start with this but any juice will really do. Pulp free is best. Now we have used pineapple juice before and that was a hit too with my kids who love all Hawaiian flavors, choose your favorite.
You are going to add light brown sugar that is very lightly packed for a deep sweetness with a tinge of a molasses flavor to it.
You will then use honey for added sweetness. Alternatives would be either agave nectar or maple syrup. I like organic varieties of all of these myself as it has a richer flavor.
Variations and Substitutions
This is super easy to adjust as I mentioned above a little bit but beyond that a few tweaks you can make would be to: add 1 tsp red pepper flakes to make a bit spicy and/or I have heard that the sugar free splenda version of “sugar” is a good substitute to this too especially when using this to make our crockpot ham recipe.
Do you glaze a ham before or after baking?
Most people will add it about 45 minutes before it is done. Baste with additional glaze every 10-15 minutes until the cook time is up. This helps build up a nice, sticky, flavorful crust. If you want an extra caramelized finish, you can briefly broil for a few minutes at the end.
Can I glaze an already cooked ham?
Absolutely. Most hams are pre-cooked / smoked when you buy them at the store. Whether you are baking, air frying or Smoking a Cooked Ham you will likely expect to have some sort of sweet and tangy sauce over the top. You will want to baste throughout the heating process for best results.
Even without more poured on top of your cut slices the orange juice and sweetness makes it’s way into your meat and permeates it to taste amazing. Some like a bit more added on top and you should have plenty. Mine was 2.5 lb. so if you cook a really large one you might want to double the recipe but it’s really easy to make and I’ve been doing it for years.
What can I do to remedy a ham glaze that got to thick?
Gently reheating it can help to thin it out especially if there is sugar or honey in it. Gradually add a liquid while stirring to reach the desired consistency or warm in a pan over low heat. Choices include; water, juice or apple cider vinegar can add a pop of flavor.
3 Ingredient Ham Glaze Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup orange juice, pulp free is best, or pineapple juice works
- 1 cup brown sugar, not packed
- 1/2 cup honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
Instructions
- Whisk your 3 ingredients together. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your liking.
- Pour on top of your ham, bake as you like in the oven, crockpot or make Instant Pot Ham
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Best way to cook a ham with glaze
We have several recipes on our site depending on which cooking method you prefer. I have included slow cooker, smoker and Instant Pot above but there are a few others. You can make a Ninja Foodi Ham with this sauce. To use a boneless (smaller version) try our Air Fryer Ham directions. Last but not least our Dutch Oven Ham is super popular at Christmas time.
