Salty, savory ham is a perfect match for a sweet glaze, and this Brown Sugar Ham Glaze is my favorite. Am I biased because it’s based on my mom’s recipe? Nope, Mom knows what’s up! With brown sugar, tangy apple cider vinegar, your choice of jam, and zippy Dijon, it truly is the best.
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Why You’ll Love This Ham Glaze Recipe
- A Balanced Bite. On its own, ham leans towards salty because it’s typically brined. Unfortunately, a lot of ham glaze recipes add so much sugar, you end up with a ham that’s cloyingly sweet. What I love about this brown sugar ham glaze is that it creates a balanced flavor by pairing the sweetness of sugar with acidity (vinegar), sharpness (mustard), and fruitiness (jam).
- Five Simple Ingredients. You probably have them on hand in your kitchen right now. (My Salmon Seasoning and Chicken Marinade are also made with pantry staples!) A 5 ingredient ham glaze? SOLD!
- Perfect for the Holidays. I use this brown sugar ham glaze with my Crockpot Ham, which is my go-to recipe when making a crowd-pleasing holiday main dish. Don’t forget the Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and Ham Gravy!
How to Make Easy Brown Sugar Ham Glaze
The Ingredients
- Jelly or Jam. Choose your favorite! My mom uses cherry, plum, apricot, or apple, but you can also combine a few if you’d like.
- Brown Sugar. You can use light or dark.
- Dijon Mustard. Dijon adds complexity and depth to this brown sugar ham glaze.
- Apple Cider Vinegar. The acidity of the vinegar cuts through the sweetness, adding a pleasing tanginess.
- Cornstarch. To make sure the glaze is thick and sticky so it doesn’t drip right off the ham!
The Directions
- Combine. Stir all the ingredients together in a small saucepan.
- Cook. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, stirring frequently.
- Brush. Add it all over the oven-baked ham during the last 20 minutes of cooking or brush onto crockpot ham when it’s finished cooking. ENJOY!
Meal Prep Tip
You can prepare the glaze up to a week ahead of time to get a jump start on your holiday cooking.
Recipe Variations
- Try Another Vinegar. White wine vinegar or champagne vinegar can be used instead of apple cider vinegar if you’d like; they both have a similar acidity.
- Add Herbs. Cook the glaze with a sprig of rosemary or thyme to infuse some herbal notes into the glaze.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Brush Generously. This is how you get all that flavor onto your ham! If you have a spiral ham, the excess glaze with drip between the slices, giving every bite maximum flavor.
- Warm It Up If Needed. As the glaze cools, it will thicken. If it thickens too much, you can reheat it on the stovetop until it’s brushable again.
- Use Jam or Jelly. I don’t recommend preserves, which are excellent for PB & J Bars, but not so much for a glaze. The bits and chunks of fruit aren’t well-suited for brushing onto a ham.
Brown Sugar Ham Glaze
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Servings: 1 cup
This easy brown sugar ham glaze recipe infuses your holiday ham with so much sweet and savory flavor. Just 5 simple ingredients!
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Ingredients
- ½ cup jelly or jam of choice my mom uses cherry, plum, apricot, apple, or even a mix
- ½ cup brown sugar light or dark
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, stir together the jelly, brown sugar, Dijon, vinegar, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil and cooking, stirring very frequently, until the glaze is thickened and darkened somewhat, about 3 minutes.
- To use on oven baked ham, brush half of the glaze liberally all over the ham during the last 20 minutes of cooking (if the glaze has thickened up too much to spread, simply rewarm it on the stove).To use on Sow Cooker Ham, wait to brush until the ham has been removed from the crockpot.
Notes
- Recipe is my Mom’s
- TO STORE: Refrigerate brown sugar ham glaze in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- TO REHEAT: Warm up the glaze in a saucepan set over medium-low heat.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tablespoonCalories: 58kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.02gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gPotassium: 20mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 0.1mg
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this should not be this easy—it’s TOO GOOD. Will be my go to for holiday ham now.
Yay so glad to hear it!
Great addition of jelly.
Thank you Marta!
This glaze was so easy to pull together and added great flavor to our precooked ham. I used a cranberry cherry jam and followed the recipe exactly. I totally plan to use this again because our holiday guests loved it and couldn’t believe it was so simple.
YAY, so glad to hear it, thanks for the feedback Rachel!
Wow, this glaze turned out better than I could have imagined! I was worried it might be too sweet, but the brown sugar is balanced out perfectly with the mustard and the apple cider vinegar. The glaze thickened up so nicely and gave the ham this amazing caramelized crust that was packed with flavor.
So happy to hear, thank you Samantha!
Cooked the ham with this glaze yesterday and the family enjoyed it immensely. Scrumptious flavor. I made gravy using the pan drippings..so yum! Unfortunately, everyone was so hungry and anxious to eat, I failed to take a picture.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Abby! Thank you!
The flavors were spot on and with just the right amount of sweetness with a little kick from the mustard. It coated the ham beautifully and gave it this glossy, sticky finish that had everyone grabbing seconds. I will definitely be making this for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Thank you!
Great to hear, thank you Portia!
Dumb question sorry, but recipe says brush on half the glaze before final baking. Do you brush on remaining half when ham comes out of the oven or save for another use? Thanks. Looking to change up my usual honey mustard glaze this year.
Hi Julie, you’ll brush the rest during the last 20 minutes! Enjoy!
How long would you cook a 6 lb ham in the crockpot ?
Hi Kim! It’s going to depend on if it is boneless or not. Here is my recipe for crockpot ham: https://www.wellplated.com/crockpot-ham/
This glaze sounds wonderful. Can I sub coconut sugar in place of the brown sugar?
Absolutely Linda!