A Christmas ham is already cooked when you buy it. Your only real jobs are warming it without drying it out and giving it a glaze that tastes like a holiday. This honey glazed ham does both, and the glaze uses about a quarter of the sugar of the classic brown sugar version.
A 4-ounce serving gives you 22 grams of protein for about 190 calories, calculated from the actual ingredients. That makes ham one of the better choices on the Christmas table, as long as you know one honest catch, which is the salt. More on that below.
The glaze is honey, Dijon mustard, fresh orange, and a pinch of cloves. It takes five minutes, and it is the part everyone remembers. The full holiday plan is in my Healthy Christmas Guide.
- 22 g protein and about 190 calories per 4-ounce serving
- The glaze adds about 4 g of sugar per serving, compared with roughly 18 g from a classic one-cup brown sugar glaze
- The one technique that matters: warm it covered, glaze it uncovered, and take it out at 140F
- Leftovers keep 4 days in the fridge and turn into fast high-protein lunches
- Honest caveat: ham is salty, about 1,370 mg sodium per serving, so keep the sides around it lower in salt
Why This Recipe Works
Ham is lean, cured pork, and a normal serving brings more protein than most of the other dishes on a Christmas table combined. Protein is what makes a holiday meal filling, and it is what helps you hold onto muscle as you get older.
The calories in a typical Christmas ham are not really in the ham. They are in the glaze. A classic recipe pours a full cup of brown sugar over the meat, and much of it ends up as candy on the plate. Honey and Dijon give you the same sticky, glossy finish with a fraction of the sugar.
A question I hear a lot this time of year is whether ham is a bad choice because it is processed. It is a cured meat, so I would not eat it every day. On Christmas, a real serving of ham next to vegetables is a far better plan than a small slice and three helpings of potatoes.
A Few Notes on the Ingredients
Boneless fully cooked ham at about 3 pounds serves twelve and heats evenly in under an hour. Look for one labeled lower sodium if your store has it. A bone-in spiral ham works too; the timing is below in the notes.
Honey at 3 tablespoons is the only sweetener. It caramelizes faster than brown sugar, which is why the glaze goes on near the end instead of at the start.
Dijon mustard at 1/4 cup is what keeps the glaze from tasting like dessert. It adds tang and helps the glaze cling to the surface. Whole grain Dijon works if that is what you have.
Fresh orange, both the zest and the juice, brightens the whole thing and thins the glaze so it brushes on easily. A pinch of ground cloves makes it taste like Christmas without anyone being able to name why.
Tools I Use for This Ham
An instant-read thermometer takes the guessing out of warming a ham. These are the tools I recommend for holiday roasts. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Honey Dijon Glazed Ham
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Take the ham out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Heat the oven to 325F.
- Set the ham in a roasting pan or baking dish, flat side down. With a sharp knife, score the top in a diamond pattern about 1/4 inch deep. Pour the water into the pan and cover the pan tightly with foil.
- Warm the ham covered for 40 to 50 minutes, until a thermometer in the center reads about 125F.
- While it warms, whisk the honey, Dijon, orange zest, orange juice, cloves, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Take off the foil and turn the oven up to 400F. Brush about half the glaze all over the ham, working it into the cuts.
- Return the ham to the oven uncovered for 10 minutes. Brush on the rest of the glaze and cook 5 to 10 minutes more, until the glaze is sticky and browned at the edges and the center reads 140F.
- Let the ham rest 10 minutes, then slice it thin across the grain. Spoon any glaze and juices from the pan over the slices.
Nutrition
Notes
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Plan your week
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- Lower sodium: choose a ham labeled lower sodium, skip salt in every side dish, and serve it with plain roasted vegetables and fruit.
- Spicier: add 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne or a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger to the glaze.
- Maple Dijon: swap the honey for the same amount of pure maple syrup. The nutrition stays almost identical.
- Bone-in spiral ham: use a 7 to 8 pound ham, double the glaze, and warm it about 12 minutes per pound before glazing. Brush the glaze between the slices.
- Smaller crowd: a 1.5 pound boneless ham works with half the glaze and takes about 30 minutes covered.
Storage, Leftovers, and Serving
Mix the glaze up to 3 days ahead and keep it in a jar in the fridge. Christmas Day then becomes oven in, oven out. Carve right before serving so the slices stay moist.
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Leftover ham keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes for 2 months. Dice it into eggs, a bean soup, or a big salad for quick lunches the week after Christmas. Because it is already salty, it seasons those meals on its own.
For the rest of the plate, add something green and something bright. My maple balsamic Brussels sprouts, cauliflower mashed potatoes, and a spoon of low sugar cranberry sauce all work with ham. For dessert, my protein sugar cookies keep the treat without the sugar crash. The rest of the menu is in the holiday recipes.
Where I shop
Where I Buy My Pantry Staples
Thrive Market is the online grocery membership I use for pantry staples. It is handy for the oils, nuts, seeds, spices and gluten-free basics that recipes like this one call for, delivered to your door.
Get 40% off your first order →Referral link: new members get 40% off their first order (up to $30), and Thrive Market gives me store credit if you join. I only recommend products I use myself or recommend to my clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Keep a Glazed Ham From Drying Out?
Keep it covered with foil and a little water in the pan while it warms, and only uncover it for the last 10 to 15 minutes when the glaze goes on. Take it out when a thermometer in the center reads 140F. A fully cooked ham only needs to be heated through, so every minute past that just dries it out.
Is Ham a Healthy Choice for Christmas Dinner?
It can be. A 4-ounce serving of this ham gives you 22 g of protein for about 190 calories, which is a strong protein anchor for the plate. The catch is sodium, about 1,370 mg a serving, so if you watch salt, choose a lower sodium ham and keep the side dishes simple.
Can I Make the Honey Dijon Glaze Ahead?
Yes. Mix the glaze up to 3 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or warm it for a few seconds so it brushes on smoothly.
How Much Ham Do I Need Per Person?
Plan on about 4 ounces of boneless ham per person, or 3/4 pound per person for a bone-in ham since the bone adds weight. A 3 pound boneless ham feeds twelve, with a little left over for lunches.
Your This-Week Plan
Mix a half batch of the glaze this week and brush it on a pork tenderloin or a few chicken thighs for a weeknight dinner. You will know exactly how fast it browns in your oven, and Christmas Day will feel like a repeat instead of a test.
This article is for general education and isn’t medical or nutrition advice. Nutrition values are calculated from the listed ingredients and will vary with brands and substitutions. If you have a health condition, follow a low-sodium diet, have a food allergy, or take medication, please check with your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing how you eat.
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