Slow Cooker Spiral Ham
Slow Cooker Spiral Ham is tender and juicy, made with pre-cooked and sliced spiral ham slow cooked in a pineapple, honey, and brown sugar glaze, perfect for the holidays!
Slow Cooker Spiral Ham is the PERFECT holiday meal because it’s super easy to make, and looks really fancy during a holiday dinner, with a broiled homemade glaze on top. I let the crock pot do all of the work for me, leaving myself and the oven free to enjoy the holiday. Everyone will ask you for your amazing ham recipe this year! This recipe takes about 5 minutes to prep, a total cook time of about 5 hours, and will serve about 14 people.
The best part of a holiday ham is the leftovers! Try using the rest of this slow cooker ham to make my Ham and Split Pea Soup, Crockpot Corn Chowder with Ham, and my Ham Salad Sandwiches.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Set It and Forget It – The slow cooker does all of the heavy lifting and frees up oven space for a hands-off cooking experience. That means super juicy, tender ham with barely any effort—perfect for busy days, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or when you just don’t want to babysit the oven.
Leftovers – There’s always a ton of leftover ham recipes the next day! Try making ham sandwiches, Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole, or ham and cheese sliders for dinner!
Family Favorite – This is the PERFECT recipe for big family gatherings, potlucks, or holidays because it looks really fancy, but it’s secretly very easy to make! Spiral-sliced ham is already cooked, and we’re just heating it through with a simple glaze. It’ll quickly become one of your favorite recipes for the holidays!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Spiral Ham. For this recipe, you will need a spiral-cut ham that is already fully cooked. We’re warming it through and adding a glaze. Spiral ham usually comes with a glaze packet, but I throw this away because they’re not all gluten free, and I’m making my own.
I usually use a 7-9 pound spiral bone-in ham. I like to place it on its side so it fits into the slow cooker better, and I can get the glaze ingredients between each slice. If your ham is small enough, you can place it flat side down.
If I can’t get the slow cooker lid closed, I will trim the bottom of the ham until it fits perfectly. You can throw what you trimmed off the ham into the crockpot to the side.
Light Brown Sugar. This is arguably the most important ingredient in the glaze recipe because it adds sweetness and an incredible flavor to the ham.
Honey. This adds a sweetness that compliments the salty flavor of the ham perfectly. You can also use maple syrup for more of a maple flavor.
Pineapple Juice. The ham will release cooking juices that mix with the brown sugar and pineapple juice to help keep the ham juicy and sweet and create an amazing flavor while it’s slow cooking.
If you want some pineapple bits with the ham, just pour a can of crushed pineapple over the whole thing.
If you’re not a fan of pineapple juice, you can also use orange juice, apple juice, or apple cider.
Kitchen Tools
For this slow cooker ham recipe, you’ll need a 6-7 quart slow cooker or larger.
How to Make Slow Cooker Spiral Ham
Cover the bottom of the slow cooker with brown sugar. Try to spread it out evenly and break up any big pieces.
Turn the ham on its side and place it on top of the brown sugar. You can trim the ham to fit in the crockpot if needed.
The rest of the brown sugar gets sprinkled over the ham, trying to get it between the slices. Then honey is drizzled over everything, followed by pineapple juice.
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Close the slow cooker lid and simmer for 4-5 hours on the low setting, or until the center of the ham reaches an internal temperature of 140°F on a meat thermometer. Use a ladle to baste the ham right before serving.
If you want caramelized edges on the ham slices, place the ham on a baking tray. Sprinkle with a few more tablespoons of brown sugar, and broil in the oven for 3-4 minutes.
Recipe Variations
- There are a million different ways to make a ham glaze! Try a mustard glaze by rubbing the ham with dijon mustard, then patting it with brown sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.
- Try using orange juice instead of pineapple juice, and rubbing the ham with orange marmalade.
- Try adding some heat with crushed red pepper flakes and some sriracha whisked into the glaze. Make this look more caramelized with a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
- Add a can of pineapple chunks right on top of the ham before slow cooking. Serve with pineapple rings on top for presentation!
- Try adding some spices to the glaze, like cinnamon, allspice, or cloves.
- If you’d like a thicker glaze to serve it with, place more of the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a high simmer and cook until it begins to thicken, stirring often, about 20 minutes.
Recipe Tip! If you want the best presentation, broil the ham with extra brown sugar before serving. It will look caramelized and amazing, with a sticky and delicious glaze right on top!
Frequently Asked Questions
Look for a spiral ham that is about 7-9 pounds, which should be small enough to fit in a 6-7 quart crockpot. Even so, ham can be oddly shaped, and you may have to trim it to get it to fit properly. Use a knife to trim the bottom of the ham until it rests easily in the slow cooker and the lid fits on top. You can take the pieces you trimmed off and place them next to the ham in the pot.
How long the ham needs to cook will depend on the size of the ham. The ham must come to an internal temperature of 140°F for food safety.
For a 6-7 pound ham, cook for 3.5-4 hours on low.
For a 7-9 pound ham, cook for 4-5 hours on low.
For a 9-10 pound ham, cook for 5-6 hours on low.
Once you get larger than about 8 pounds, the ham will be too big for a 6-7 quart slow cooker without cutting it up first.
Recipe Tip! For a full holiday table, try serving this ham with cooked green beans, Brussel sprouts, glazed carrots, and a starch like Cheesy Mashed Potatoes!
What to Serve with Slow Cooker Spiral Ham
- Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes
- Crockpot Green Beans
- Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole
- Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans
- Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Storage
Refrigerate leftover ham in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freeze leftover crockpot spiral ham in a freezer-safe container for 1-2 months.
Cooking Tips
- Be careful not to overcook, or your ham will turn out dry! Spiral ham is already pre-cooked, so all we’re doing is infusing flavor from the glaze, and warming it through to the bone. That’s why we’re only cooking this on low for 4-5 hours.
- A spiral ham is cut on – you guessed it – a spiral. You can cut along the natural spiral, but you also want to cut a few the opposite way so you can easily lift pieces of ham away from the bone.
- You can also roast this in the oven, about 15 minutes per pound at 325°F covered in an aluminum foil tent. Baste the ham a few times throughout the cooking time to keep it moist and spread that delicious flavor from the glaze. Broil for the last few minutes (remove the foil first) to caramelize the glaze on the top.
- If the ham has a bone in it, get about 1/2-1 pound per person, because some of that ham’s weight is bone and not meat. If it’s boneless, you’ll need about 1/4-1/2 pound of meat per person depending on what sides you serve.
Tried this recipe? ⭐ Leave a review and share what worked best for you—your tips help other home cooks get the same delicious results!
Slow Cooker Spiral Ham with Brown Sugar Pineapple Glaze
Equipment
- 1 6-7 quart slow cooker or larger
Ingredients
- 8 pound bone-in spiral ham, fully cooked
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
- Add 1 cup of brown sugar to the slow cooker, spreading out to cover the bottom of the pot.
- Place the spiral ham on top of the brown sugar, so the ham is on its side and you can easily separate the slices. Place another 1/2 cup of brown sugar on top of the ham, trying to get some of it between the slices. Drizzle the honey over the ham, then pour the pineapple juice over everything.
- Close the slow cooker lid and set on low for 4-5 hours, or until the center of the ham is 140°F on a meat thermometer. Use a ladle to baste the top of the ham with the cooking liquid before serving.
- If you want more caramelization (optional), remove the ham and place it in a baking dish. Sprinkle another 3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar on top of the ham and broil in the oven for 3-4 minutes, or until the sugar has melted and caramelized.
Notes
- Be careful not to overcook, or your ham will turn out dry! Spiral ham is already pre-cooked, so all we’re doing is infusing flavor from the glaze, and warming it through to the bone. That’s why we’re only cooking this on low for 4-5 hours.
- You can cut along the natural spiral, but you also want to cut a few the opposite way so you can easily lift pieces of ham away from the bone.
- You can also roast this in the oven, about 15 minutes per pound at 325°F covered in an aluminum foil tent. Baste the ham a few times throughout the cooking time to keep it moist. Broil for the last few minutes (without the foil) to caramelize the glaze on the top.
- If the ham has a bone in it, get about 1/2-1 pound per person, because some of that ham’s weight is bone and not meat. If it’s boneless, you’ll need about 1/4-1/2 pound of meat per person depending on what sides you serve.
Nutrition
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MY FAMILY LOVED THIS!
I used this recipe for a potluck but knowing it would be a mess to cut at the potluck, we went ahead and sliced it up before cooking, layering the slices with the brown sugar, crushed pineapple, and drizzled honey in between the layers of ham slices. I didn’t but would have looked nice with pineapple slices on too. I guess it was a hit because the crockpot came back with one slice in it. I tried it and it was really good!
I’m so happy everyone liked it!!
Can I put the ham in to start from only partially thawed?
I would not recommend it. The ham is a bigger cut of meat, so you want to make sure it comes to temperature all the way to the middle of the ham, and doesn’t spend too much time in the temperature danger zone.
This worked so well and was sooo delicious. Highly recommend.