Juicy Slow Cooker Glazed Ham cooked in a sweet and spicy brown sugar glaze. Let you slow cooker do the work this holiday and enjoy the juiciest glazed ham for dinner!
Looking for more super easy Thanksgiving recipes? Head on over to my popular posts for my Perfect, Easy Thanksgiving Turkey, Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole.
![slow cooker glazed ham, sliced and resting on platter](https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Slowcookerglazedham_2b-2-scaled.jpg)
Why This Recipe Works
Easy holiday recipe โ I don’t know about you, but when Thanksgiving rolls around my head is spinning with all the dishes I want to make, their ingredients, and getting the timing down so that everything comes out on time. With this easy slow cooker glazed ham, all I have to do is set it and forget it for 4-6 hours. That means I can put it on right after lunch and it’ll be ready by dinner time.
This ham waits for you โ Even if your ham is done before you’re ready to eat, that’s okay! You can put your slow cooker on “keep warm” and the ham will be cooked, warm, and ready when you are.
6 ingredients โ Yep, you read that right, 6 ingredients is all you need to make a juicy, yummy slow cooker glazed ham for Thanksgiving. It can’t get much easier than that.
So delicious โ This ham is so juicy and delicious. I’m telling you the Dr. Pepper is what makes it so tasty and the sugars help it caramelize together with the brown sugar. Plus, after you slice it, you just spoon any remaining sauce right over the top so you get lots of that yummy flavor on every piece of juicy ham. Yummmm.
Ingredients
- Fully cooked ham โ Any size ham will work with this recipe, so long as you have a slow cooker large enough for it.
- Brown sugar โ I prefer dark brown sugar but if you only have light brown sugar that’ll work too.
- Honey โ Any old regular honey is good here.
- Spicy brown mustard โ You don’t have to use spicy mustard if you’re not the spicy type, but you can also use regular (non-spicy) mustard if you like.
- Dr. Pepper โ You only need half a can of Dr. Pepper in this recipe (using a small ham). If you go overboard, you’ll end up oversaturating the flavors with too much liquid.
- Maple syrup โ Because we’re just going for maple syrup flavor here, it’s okay to use the artificial kind rather than the natural maple syrup.
Here’s How You Make It
Alright so this ham. Seriously so easy to make. simply toss (okay set it) it into the slow cooker with a bit of water to keep it from scorching, then cover it and cook on low for about 6 hours. About an hour for serving you whip up the sauce, pour it over the ham, and let it cook for another 30 minutes. But I guess you want more details than that so here goes:
- First, score the ham with a sharp knife. Do this by cutting lines into the ham in a criss-cross pattern. They only need to be about an 1/8th of an inch deep.ย (photo 1)
- Then, add about 1 inch of water into the bottom of the slow cooker and add the ham. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. (not pictured)
- About an hour before you’re ready to serve the ham, you should prepare the sauce. Do this by whisking together all the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes longer. Take the sauce off the heat and let it sit to thicken, about 5-10 minutes. (photo 2)
- Drain the water and the ham juices from the slow cooker, then pour the sauce over the ham inside the slow cooker, making sure to cover the whole ham.ย (photo 3)
- Add the lid back on and allow the ham to cook for another 30 minutes. When time is up, take the ham out and place it on a serving dish. Slice the ham and spoon the remaining sauce from inside the slow cooker right over the ham. Serve it nice and warm and enjoy! (photo 4)
Expert Tips & Tricks
- This recipe works for a very small ham, about 2 pounds to a very large ham that will feel a big group. If you are making a ham that’s way larger, like around 7-8 pounds, you’ll need to definitely double the sauce recipe.
- This slow cooker glazed ham will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. I don’t recommend freezing it with the glaze on. If you want to freeze the ham, I would freeze it unglazed and add the glaze to the ham after thawing/reheating.
Unless you only plan on sleeping 4-6 hours and eating ham for breakfast, I would not recommend cooking a ham overnight in a slow cooker. Cooking it too much results in a dry, overcooked, rubbery ham.
The answer to this question is no. You want to glaze a ham after it’s cooked. Why? Well, because glazing it any sooner will burn the sugars in the brown sugar and the Dr. Pepper. That results in a, well, burnt-tasting ham.ย
That’s why you should apply the glaze in the last 30 minutes to an hour of cooking. Once you apply the glaze to the ham, and then let it cook another 30 minutes or so in the slow cooker, you are allowing the sugars in the glaze to crystallize, and coat the ham in that nice, shimmery, sweet coating we all love so much.ย
Cooking a glaze at too-high of a heat or for too long will result in a charred glaze.
More Holiday Dinner Recipes
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Slow Cooker Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- 1 fully cooked ham - (any size will work as long as you have a slow cooker large enough for it)
Glaze
- 1 ยผ cups brown sugar
- ยผ cup honey
- ยผ cup spicy brown mustard
- ยพ cup Dr. Pepper - (half of a can)
- ยผ cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Score ham by using a sharp knife to cut lines into ham in a criss cross pattern. The lines only need to be about 1/8th of an inch deep. Fill slow cooker with about 1 inch of water. Place ham in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- 1 hour before serving, prepare the sauce. Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to thicken for 5-10 minutes.
- Drain water and ham juices from slow cooker. Pour sauce over ham inside the slow cooker, being sure to cover the whole ham. Cover and cook another 30 minutes. Place ham on serving dish. Carve/slice the ham and spoon the remaining sauce from the slow cooker over the ham. Serve warm. Enjoy!
The photo looks like a black forest ham based on how dar the outside is. Can you use a black forest ham for this Recipe?
Sure, if that is your preference!
What could i substute for Dr Pepper? Thanks
Any dark soda could work.
this is one of my favorite recipes! I make it every year for the holidays
Year 4 of making this recipe for Thanksgiving! Itโs become a family favorite! Thank you for sharing this.