5-Ingredient Baked Ham with Apricot Glaze

You only need 5 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep to make this Baked Ham with Apricot Glaze! Serve it for your next special holiday or throw it together for an easy dinner recipe any night of the week!

By mixing together just a few simple ingredients and baking a ham in your oven, you can have a fancy-looking dinner on the table with just a mere 5 minutes of prep time!

My boys loved the combination of the sweet glaze over the salty, smokey ham. I appreciate that the ham is pre-sliced, which eliminates one more step in the process of getting this dinner on the table fast. If you have any left-overs, just keep the ham in the refrigerator to enjoy on sandwiches throughout the week. This is truly the best baked ham recipe!

How to make a baked ham:

First, you'll start with a small, boneless smoked ham that weighs between 2.5 and 3 lbs. Place the ham in a baking dish.

Baked Ham Glaze:

Next, stir together 4 ingredients for the best ham glaze recipe:

• Apricot preserves
• Dijon mustard
• Brown sugar
• Ground cloves

I love the flavor of baked ham with cloves, so I use ¼ teaspoon of cloves. This gives the glaze a fairly prominent clove flavor. If you want a more subtle taste of cloves, I suggest only adding about a pinch (or up to ⅛ teaspoon).

Spoon about ¼ of the glaze over the ham and then cover the ham with foil.

Bake the Pre Cooked Ham:

If you're wondering how long to bake a ham that has already been smoked, it's safe to assume that you'll need to heat the ham in a 325 degree F oven for about 12-15 minutes per pound. For example, a 3-lb. ham will require about 36 minutes of total baking time.

Make sure to cover the ham for the first part of the baking time. This helps to keep the ham moist, and it prevents the sugars in the glaze from burning.

By removing the foil cover during the final 15-20 minutes, you give the glaze just enough time to caramelize and get crispy without drying out the meat.

What to serve with baked ham:

Here are a few delicious and easy sides that go well with baked ham:

• Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
• Southern Collard Greens
• Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Cheesy Potato Casserole
• Southern Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
• Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits
• Easy Creamed Spinach Casserole
• Orange Pineapple Fluff Salad
• Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
• Make Ahead Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Slow Cooker Southern Green Beans
• Pink Ambrosia

Cook's Tips and Recipe Variations:

• It's safe to assume about ⅓ lb. - ½ lb. of the baked ham per person. For example, a 3-lb. ham will serve about 6 people.
• Cooked ham will keep in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.
• Wrapped tightly, the cooked ham will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• If you don't want a fairly strong cloves taste, you can decrease the amount that you use to just a dash.
• Instead of apricot preserves, try using orange marmalade for an equally delicious ham glaze!

Other easy ham recipes that you might enjoy:

• Crock Pot Ham with Cola Glaze
• Make Ahead Ham and Cheese Sliders
• {Overnight} Ham, Egg and Cheese Monkey Bread
• 5-Ingredient Ham and Noodle Casserole
• Virginia Brown Sugar Baked Ham

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5-Ingredient Baked Ham with Apricot Glaze

You only need 5 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep to make this Baked Ham with Apricot Glaze!

Course Lunch or Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword baked ham, baked ham glaze, baked ham recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 270kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

• 1 sliced smoked boneless ham (about 2.5 – 3 lbs.)
• ¾ cup apricot preserves
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (use less cloves if you don’t want a strong cloves taste)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place ham in a baking dish.
• In a small bowl, combine preserves, mustard, sugar, and cloves. Spread about ¼ of the mixture on top of the ham. Reserve the remaining glaze.
• Cover ham loosely with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
• Uncover ham, spread another ¼ of the glaze over top, and bake (uncovered) for an additional 15-20 minutes. Do not overcook.
• Warm remaining glaze in a saucepan and serve with ham slices.

Notes

• It's safe to assume about ⅓ lb. - ½ lb. of the baked ham per person. For example, a 3-lb. ham will serve about 6 people.
• Cooked ham will keep in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.
• Wrapped tightly, the cooked ham will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• If you don't want a fairly strong cloves taste, you can decrease the amount that you use to just a dash.
• Instead of apricot preserves, try using orange marmalade for an equally delicious ham glaze!

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5lb. of ham and ⅙ of the glaze | Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 2874mg | Potassium: 634mg | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 3.2mg

This recipe was originally published in April, 2014. It was updated in March, 2019.