Crock pot ham with spiced honey is the perfect hands off dinner for your holiday table! Only a handful of ingredients and only ten minutes prep work required.
Last month I shared my favorite Dry Brined Turkey Recipe just in time for Thanksgiving, and while a dry brine is less work, roasting a turkey is always a ton of work. If you are looking for simple, but still packed with delicious flavor, this crock pot ham with spiced honey sauce is the recipe for you!
You can have it in the crock pot in under 10 minutes, and you can baste it, or not. It’s really that hands off!
I hope you give this ham a try for your Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving table.
Reasons you’ll love crock pot ham
- it has minimal prep work (you can get it in the crock pot in under 10 minutes!)
- it has the most delicious spiced honey sauce (you could save some for spooning over roasted veggies)
- it frees up your oven for side dishes or dessert
- you can keep it warm on the ‘warm’ setting of your slow cooker
How to cook it
Cooking your holiday ham in the slow cooker is so easy, and it frees up your oven for your other recipes.
Here’s how to cook a ham in a crock pot:
- Shake together the sauce: honey, apple cider vinegar, dijon and spices.
- Remove your spiral ham from the package and place in the crock pot.
- Drizzle evenly with the sauce
- Cook on low 4-6 hours.
- Baste every hour. Or don’t! This is one loosey-goosey recipe!
What kind of ham should I use?
I recommend a fully cooked, spiral-cut ham, and look for one that is no larger than 10 lbs in order to fit into a 6 quart slow cooker. I found mine at Costco!
Not only is spiral-cut ham pretty to serve for a holiday meal, but as you baste with the sauce, it absorbs much better into the ham than an uncut ham.
How much ham should I cook per guest?
Martha suggests 3/4 lb per person for a bone-in ham. So for a 8-9 lb spiral ham, you’ll have enough for 10-12 guests. Don’t worry if you have extras, it’s easy to freeze and there are a ton of ways to use up your leftover slow cooker ham!
Use up your leftovers
This recipe makes a big batch of ham, so it’s a good idea to have a plan to use up the leftovers. Here are some ideas:
- ham sandwiches
- add to pasta: One Pot Fajita Pasta (swap for black beans), One Pan Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake (swap for chicken) or Ground Turkey Pasta in Romesco Sauce (swap for ground turkey)
- Add it to my favorite Fried Rice or Cauliflower Fried Rice recipes
- Ultimate Freezer Breakfast Burritos
- Healthy Breakfast Egg Muffins
- Swap for bacon in this Make Ahead Quiche and this Overnight Breakfast Casserole
- Add to this Sheet Pan Eggs recipe
- Swap for turkey sausage in these Turkey Sausage Sweet Potato Lunch Bowls
Serve it with
This crock pot ham is the perfect main course for your holiday feast! Here are some ideas of what you could serve with it for Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving:
- Make Ahead Honey Roasted Carrots
- Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower
- Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf
- Make Ahead Sage Apple Stuffing
- Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pomegranate
- Instant Pot Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes
- Make Ahead Apple Crisp
Recipe tips
- you will need a large crock pot to fit a spiral cut ham; I used this 6 quart crock pot
- I shook up my glaze in my trusty salad dressing shaker or a simple 1 pint mason jar to shake up the teriyaki sauce
- Looking for more Christmas recipes? Check out this Whole Roasted Cauliflower, this Harvest Lentil Salad
- Check out my post on How To Open a Pomegranate for tips and a video!
or a simple 
to shake up the teriyaki sauce
Crock Pot Ham
Ingredients
- 7-9 lbs spiral cut ham (fully cooked)
Spiced Honey Sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
To serve
- pomegranate seeds
- chopped fresh herbs
Instructions
- Place spiral cut ham in a large 6 quart slow cooker (trim bottom off ham if it's too tall).
- Shake together sauce ingredients and pour over the ham.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours, basting every hour with the sauce.
- Serve, spooning extra spiced honey sauce over the ham, and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds and fresh herbs.
- Optional- use a baster to pull the liquids out of the slow cooker (reserve for later), and carefully tip the ham out and onto a large, sturdy sheet pan. Broil the ham for approximately 5 minutes, basting with the reserved liquid halfway through. Serve with additional reserved cooking liquid.
Charles D'souza
I’m not facilitating christmas at everything except I believe I will make this only so there’s ham available for brisk snacks and meals in the bustling impending days.
Chelsea
This may be a silly question but is it possible to do a variation of this recipe with an uncooked ham? How would you change the cooking time? Thank you!
Denise Bustard
Hi Chelsea! Unfortunately I cannot say without retesting. Wish I could be of more help :/
Terry Carlson
Does this only work for spiral cut ham. I have a 7 lb ham but not cut.
Denise
Hi Terry! My parents tried this recipe with an uncut ham, and while they did enjoy the flavor, they thought it would be much better if it was pre-cut as the sauce will absorb so much better. But yes, it does work for a regular ham as well!
Tata
What fresh herbs do you use? I’m not a creative cook, I need instructions!
Denise
Hi Tata! I just used fresh parsley for the photos, but I wouldn’t bother when serving as it doesn’t add any real flavor 😉 Hope you enjoyed if you gave it a try!
Jen Bartels
This looks amazing and a great departure from the soda and pineapple sauced ham we typically make. I’m not hosting christmas at all but I think I’m going to make this just so there’s ham on hand for quick lunches & dinners in the busy upcoming days. In the description in the post about the sauce you mention dijon, but there’s none listed on the actual recipe ingredients list so how much dijon is used? I’m sure I can eyeball it and taste, but was curious how much you added. Thank you for what is sure to be an excellent recipe!
Denise
Hi Jen! Thank you for catching that! It was just a teaspoon. I’ll update the recipe asap 🙂
joseph
Very tasty Crock Pot Ham !!
Denise
I am glad you enjoyed!