Spiral Slow Cooker Ham with Brown Sugar

My Slow Cooker Ham is the perfect brown sugar spiral ham recipe for your holiday gatherings.  Combining brown sugar and honey with the ham is an ideal entree.  Cooking this in your slow cooker saves you valuable time you can spend with your family instead!

Make my slow cooker mashed sweet potatoes and my best green beans recipe to serve alongside the ham for a perfect meal.

Slow Cooker Ham

In my family, ham is usually made around Christmas or Easter.  While I love it year-round, this more considerable portion is made perfect for sharing at the holiday table and, of course, tends to be a lot cheaper around holidays.  You can use this recipe any time you want a delicious, sweet, salty entree, and know that it freezes beautifully for later meals if it makes too much.

What is a Spiral Ham? 

A spiral ham is just a bone-in ham that has been processed and cut in a spiral manner around the bone so that slicing is easier once cooked.  Typically, the meat is cut down to within 1″ of the bone in the center, so all you have to do is slide the knife across the edges, and you will have perfect slices of ham to serve in an instant.

Do I Have to Use a Spiral Ham? 

You do not have to use a spiral ham for this slow cooker ham recipe.  Any bone-in ham or even bone-out chunk of ham can work with this tasty brown sugar glaze.  I chose a spiral ham as I know it is easier to tuck those spices into the crevices and slice them up fast once done cooking.  No matter what type of ham you use, make sure to pack down the brown sugar mixture into at least a few sliced areas across the top to get that flavor deep within the meat.

How to Use Leftover Slow Cooker Ham

Leftovers are my favorite part of cooking a big ham in my slow cooker.  Below are a few of the many ways you can use leftover slow cooker ham.

• In my Southwest breakfast casserole with ham recipe in place of the deli ham.
• A slice in the middle of a hot roll as a mini-slider sandwich.
• On toasted bread with cheese for a “hot ham and cheese.”
• Chopped up and mixed in with potatoes and cheese for a casserole.
• Cubed and thrown into the slow cooker with 1 pound of black beans, garlic, cumin, and water for a delicious bean soup.
• Added into your favorite homemade split pea soup.
• Served alongside eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast.
• Add the ham bone to a pot of pinto beans to enrich flavor.

Ingredients

• Spiral Ham
• Brown sugar
• Honey
• Dijon Mustard
• Cloves

How to Make Brown Sugar Slow Cooker Ham

Spray or line your slow cooker before placing the ham into the cooker.  You will make sure you place the ham cut side down.

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, honey, dijon mustard, cloves, and water until well-blended.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the sauce.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and whisk occasionally until well heated.  Pour the sauce over the ham, and cover with the slow cooker lid.

Set your cook time and heat level, then cook until ready to serve.  You can occasionally baste the ham or even turn it and baste mid-way through the cooking time.

Allow the ham to rest before slicing to serve.