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This easy oven baked ham is an impressive holiday meal — with just 5 ingredients! The classic glazed Virginia smoked ham is a flavorful entree that’s perfect for Easter, Christmas, or your next Sunday brunch.
Table of Contents
If you’re looking for even more traditional Virginia recipes, don’t miss this oyster stew, Virginia Brunswick stew, crab imperial, and spoon bread, too!
Virginia Baked Ham is a Southern Tradition
If there’s one thing that we know a lot about in Virginia, it’s pork! Here in Madison, Kite’s produces some of the best cured country ham that you’ll ever taste. It’s absolute perfection when paired with flaky biscuits for ham biscuits!
But a couple of hours away, in Smithfield, Virginia, they’re producing pork in just about every variety you can imagine — including beautiful smoked hams that are ideal for your holiday table. Needless to say, Virginians are proud of our pork — and today’s oven baked ham recipe is no exception!
A Classic Baked Ham Glaze
The simple ham glaze really makes this dish special. It’s an easy combination of 4 basic ingredients that were traditionally used on smoked hams in Colonial Virginia. These ingredients were readily available and reflected both English and early American culinary influences. Fortunately, they’re still readily available and delicious by today’s standards! The brown sugar, molasses, apple cider vinegar, and yellow mustard create a sweet, savory, and rich glaze that pairs beautifully with the salty, smoked meat.
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- This brown sugar ham glaze recipe works with a variety of different sizes of smoked ham — bone-in or boneless, spiral cut, whole, half, or quarter hams. You’ll just need to adjust the total baking time based on the ham that you choose (see my notes below for more detailed instructions).
- I’ve tested this recipe with both a Smithfield spiral sliced boneless ham (shown here) and the larger Smithfield bone-in smoked half ham. Use a whole bone-in ham to feed a larger crowd. And if you’re not in Virginia and can’t find a Smithfield ham, that’s fine — anything similar will work. Just make sure that you’re using a pre-cooked ham.
- Total cooking time will vary depending on the size and type of ham that you choose. Boneless hams typically require less time than bone-in hams. While the boneless, spiral cut ham in this recipe needs about 12 to 15 minutes per pound in a 300°F oven, a larger bone-in ham requires about 15 to 18 minutes per pound.
- How much ham per person? For boneless ham, allocate about ⅓ to ½ pound per person. For instance, a 5- to 6-pound boneless ham like the one shown here can serve about 8 to 12 guests. If you’re using a bone-in ham, plan for ¾ to 1 pound per person. Obviously, if you’re serving other entrees like a roasted turkey breast or grilled beef tenderloin, you will need less ham per person.
How to Cook Virginia Ham
A baked ham is a lot like a Thanksgiving turkey — it sounds intimidating to a new home cook, but once you prepare one yourself, you realize just how easy it can be! In fact, I would say that a traditional baked ham is even easier than roasting a turkey because the meat is already smoked. In other words, you’re just heating and glazing the ham…the hard work has been done for you. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Let the ham sit on the counter and come to room temperature. This will help it cook through evenly.
- Place ham flat-side down in a shallow baking dish or roasting pan. Add enough water so that it’s about ¼-inch deep (or slightly less) and cover tightly with aluminum foil. The water and the foil help keep the ham moist during the cooking process.
- Bake the ham in a 300°F oven until it reaches an internal temperature of about 130°F. An instant-read meat thermometer is the key to make sure that your ham reaches the appropriate temperature without drying out.
- While the ham bakes, whisk together the glaze.
- Remove the foil cover and brush the glaze on the outside of the ham.
- Return the ham to a 425°F oven for about 15 more minutes, or until the glaze sizzles and forms a great crust on the outside. While the ham is already fully-cooked when it’s purchased, the meat should come to an internal temp of at least 140°F – 145°F for safe consumption.
- Let the meat rest for about 15-20 minutes before serving. Baste with the pan juices to keep it nice and moist.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the glazed Virginia ham with holiday dinner favorites like Aunt Bee’s 3-ingredient easy potato casserole, this easy potato salad recipe, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, corn sticks, Snickers salad, Southern pineapple casserole, our favorite ambrosia salad recipe, this classic Watergate salad recipe, spinach casserole, 7UP biscuits, Jiffy cornbread with creamed corn, a house salad with candied pecans, creamy baked mac and cheese, creamed peas, Southern collard greens, Jiffy corn casserole, or vegetable casserole.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Reheat the ham in a 325°F oven until the internal temperature reaches 140°F. If I’m reheating a small portion of ham (such as a few slices), I like to wrap it in foil before placing it in the oven (this keeps it nice and moist). You can also warm individual servings in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
- There are so many great recipes for leftover ham! Favorites include this dump-and-bake ham and egg casserole, scalloped potatoes and ham, a pot of ham and potato soup, ham and bean soup with canned beans, a Virginia ham salad recipe on sandwiches, and this classic ham and noodle casserole.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Virginia Oven Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 (5- to 6-lb.) fully cooked boneless spiral-cut ham (see my notes below if you’re using a larger bone-in ham)
- Water
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
Instructions
- Unwrap the ham and let it come to room temperature for about 1 hour before baking.
- Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the ham, flat-side down, in a roasting pan or other shallow baking pan. Pour about ¼-inch of water into the pan. Cover the pan tightly with foil. Roast the ham for 12 to 15 minutes per pound, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 130°F.
- While the ham is in the oven, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, molasses, vinegar, and yellow mustard.
- Once the ham is heated through, remove the pan from the oven and take off the cover. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Brush or spoon some of the glaze over the ham. Return the pan to the oven, uncovered, and roast until the glaze sizzles and begins to form a crust, about 10 to 15 more minutes. The final internal temperature of the ham should be 140°F.
- Let the ham rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Baste frequently with the pan juices. Serve warm.
Notes
- You can use this glaze with a larger bone-in ham, too. Boneless hams typically require less time than bone-in hams. While the boneless, spiral cut ham in this recipe needs about 12 to 15 minutes per pound, a larger bone-in ham requires about 15 to 18 minutes per pound.
- If you’re not using a spiral-sliced ham, I recommend using a sharp knife to score the surface of the ham with ¼-inch-deep cuts in a diamond pattern. This will help infuse the flavor of the glaze into the meat.
- Recipe adapted from Southern Living.
Nutrition
More Baked Ham Recipes
Pineapple Glazed Ham
2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Bourbon Glazed Ham
2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Baked Ham with Apricot Glaze {5 Ingredients!}
50 minutes mins
Originally published in March, 2018, this recipe was updated in April, 2025.
I’ve never made a ham before, but I definitely need to, now that I have an easy recipe! Sounds delicious with that brown sugar glaze, my favorite way to eat it! This would be perfect for Easter, or any time, really. And I bet the leftovers are amazing, too!
This is such a great one to start with — simple, fast, and delicious! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Gayle!
Hi do u live in Madison West Virginia. And will be trying this ham recipe for Easter thanks
Hi Patricia,
No, we’re in Madison, Virginia. We hope you enjoy the recipe and have a very happy Easter!
I love the recipe can’t weigh to try it
We hope you enjoy it, Dorothy!
Here’s my intelligent comment regarding this recipe: “YUMMY”…
Thanks! 🙂 It’s definitely yummy!
Hi, Deb! You can do either the spiral cut or the whole ham. If you’re using a spiral cut ham, you’ll probably want to keep it covered for most of the cooking time so that it doesn’t dry out. I used a spiral cut ham in this recipe, so you can follow those cooking instructions (but still use the brown sugar glaze shown here): https://www.theseasonedmom.com/5-ingredient-apricot-glazed-ham/ If you use a larger ham, just increase the cooking time accordingly.
I hope that helps, and let me know if you have any other questions. So glad that you enjoy the blog! xoxo