Learn how to cook a whole, boneless ham with the best glaze. It’s an easy option for entertaining because they come pre-cooked. All you do is add flavor.
It’s funny to me that ham can seem daunting to make since it almost always comes pre-cooked. Whether you’re cooking a whole, bone-in ham, or a boneless ham like this recipe calls for, all you’re really doing when you’re cooking ham is heating it through and adding flavor.
That’s why ham is so great for entertaining. You don’t have to worry about under or overcooking your meat, all of the hard work is done for you, you only have to do some finishing touches.
So, What Is Boneless Ham?
Ham is pork that is cured or smoked from the leg of a pig. The big hams that you see with the bone in them are processed as they are. Boneless ham is typically pieces of the leg meat jelled together and wrapped in a casing. Kind of like a large, delicious piece of ham deli meat.
Why Do You Want To Make Boneless Ham?
Boneless hams tend to be much quicker to cook (aka heat) and they’re easier to slice because they tend to be smaller, and there isn’t a bone to work around. While bone-in hams are sometimes spiral-sliced, which does make things easier, you do still have to work around that pesky ham hock.
So, if it’s your first time hosting a holiday meal, or you consider yourself to be more of a beginner cook, opt for a boneless ham. It’s much less hassle with plenty of meat to go around.
How Do You Cook A Boneless Ham?
This is the really easy part. All you have to do is set the ham in a baking dish with some water and cover it. It steams and heats in the oven for about an hour, I usually do 15 minutes per pound.
Now, you can stop right there. The ham is pre-cooked, as I’ve mentioned, and it’s totally safe to eat at this point. But, I prefer to add some flavor and texture with a glaze.
The glaze I use is very simple – some butter, brown sugar, orange zest, and spices. It gets brushed all over the ham in several stages, and in between each brushing, it goes back into the oven to caramelize.
When the ham has finished baking, you must rest it for a minimum of 15 minutes before slicing so it stays juicy. But the beauty of it is that you can serve it hot or cold and it will be lovely. Perfect for leftover ham sandwiches and more!
Ways To Use Leftover Ham
Half of the reason that I bake a ham is to have delicious leftovers to use in all kinds of things. Here are some of my favorite ham recipes that would be perfect for your leftovers:
- Classic Potato Ham Soup
- Baked Monte Cristo Casserole
- Pasta Carbonara (made with Greek yogurt and ham)
- And, my favorite brunch idea for a crowd, Easy Ham and Egg Breakfast Sliders
Have a great day! -Christine xo
How to Cook Whole Boneless Ham
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Learn how to cook a whole, boneless ham with the best glaze. It’s an easy option for entertaining because they come pre-cooked. All you do is add flavor.
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make ham, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Ingredients
- 1 (5-6 lb.) boneless ham
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup butter, melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. orange zest
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- 1 pinch allspice
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Remove the ham from the packaging and place it into a large baking dish. Pour the water in the dish with the ham.
- Cover the dish with foil or a lid. Allow the ham to cook covered for about an hour, about 15 minutes per pound.
- Now, you can stop there, this will heat the ham through, and since it’s already cooked, you can eat it. However, it’s much better to add a glaze.
- Make the glaze by mixing together the butter, brown sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, and the pinch of salt.
- Pull the ham out of the oven and drain out the water. Brush the top and sides of the ham with one third of the glaze mixture.
- Put the ham back into the oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add another third of the glaze. Put it back into the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the final third of the glaze. Bake for a final 10 minutes uncovered.
- Remove the ham from the oven, and let it rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
This post originally appeared in November 2019 and was revised and republished in December 2020.
Di says
So easy to follow and perhaps you can substitute the water to pineapple orange juice or apple juice.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for sharing, Di!
P Jackson says
A great help for those cooking a large boneless ham.
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
I’m happy to hear it helped! Happy Easter!
Cory says
Do you have any recommendations or suggested changes to this recipe for someone using an uncured as opposed to a cured ham? Thanks!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Great question, Cory! Unfortunately, I don’t have a great answer for you though. Uncured ham can mean a couple of different things. Sometimes it is fully-cooked and just needs heating, like the ham used above. Other times, it actually needs to be cooked. Your best bet is to look at the instructions on the packaging or to ask the butcher where you got your ham. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
Rachel says
The flavors in this recipe are so good. Excellent preparation for ham!
★★★★★
Dawn says
This worked perfectly! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Cheryl says
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was perfect! The glaze is really good and everyone liked it. I’m back here again to print it out for Christmas. Thank yoU!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Cheryl, I’m delighted that you liked it so much. Have a Merry Christmas!
Pam Ryder says
Where does the orange marmalade come in?
Christine Pittman says
Pam, I’m not sure what you mean. The recipe doesn’t call for marmalade.
Barbara says
Hi! I hate to sound dense…but I want to make sure I understand these directions. I have a 3-lb fully cooked boneless ham. I get that I should add water, cover the pan, and bake for 1 hour at 350°. For the 3-step glaze process, does that add 30 minutes of bake time (1.5 hours total) for my 3 lb. ham?
Christine Pittman says
Barbara, sorry if it was confusing. It’s 15 minutes per pound to start, so yours will be 45 minutes first, and then the three part glazing process will add another 30 minutes, for a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes. Enjoy!
Misty says
After you put the glaze on, do you cover it back up?
Christine Pittman says
Misty, no, don’t cover it back up. At this point, what you’re hoping is that the glaze will lightly caramelize onto the ham. If you cover it, it will be more likely to steam and then the glaze will just drip off. Great question! Note that I’ve edited the instructions so others aren’t similarly confused.
Leah says
Hi… I am wondering if the boneless ham will give off broth for a gravy when cooked? Thank you,Leah
Christine Pittman says
You might get enough drippings from your ham, Leah, but if not you can follow along our gravy recipe that doesn’t need drippings! https://cookthestory.com/easy-gravy-without-drippings/
Margaret says
Ok I’m trying it, post when it’s done lol Merry Christmas
Christine Pittman says
Looking forward to hearing how it turns out for you, Margaret. Merry Christmas!
Justin says
What type or brand of bone less ham?
Christine Pittman says
Justin, Look for something that looks like the picture. It’s a processed fully-cooked ham without a bone. It is shaped kind of like a football. I hope this helps!
Epsie says
Do you cut off the rind? And, if so, when, after you’ve cooked it but before you start putting the glaze on?
Christine Pittman says
Epsie, I actually don’t trim anything off. If your ham looks similar to the one in the picture, you don’t have to trim anything off. Double-check from the packaging though that you have a fully-cooked boneless ham. Also check if they have specific instructions for their brand. My general experience is that the kind of ham that needs a hard rind trimmed off isn’t the fully-cooked kind and needs different instructions from those found here.
Ashley says
Do you met the butter first? Or soften it?
Christine Pittman says
You’ll want to melt the butter and then mix it with the other ingredients to make the glaze, Ashley. Enjoy!
Heath McMullen says
Timing in this is waaaay off. 3lb ham, 60 minutes…75 degrees when I checked. I keep an oven thermometer in our ovens so we know that the temp is correct. Anyway, going to bump up temp and give it another 20-30 minutes. Fingers crossed ??.
Christine Pittman says
Heath, The instructions given were for a 5-6 lb. ham. That is, if you have a 5-6 lb. ham, you’ll cook it for about 15 minutes per pound. If it’s smaller, it might need a longer time, like 20-25 minutes per pound. This can seem counter-intuitive but reheating can be slow at first and so can take as long for a smaller ham as for a larger one.
The USDA guidelines are here. If you look at the timetable for cooking ham, you’ll see that my numbers for a boneless ham are the same as theirs.
Having said all that, I think that a 3 lb. boneless ham at 350F in the oven should be done by 60 minutes. In addition to the USDA site, I’ve looked at 3 different cookbooks that I use as references and they all have hams cooked to a finished temperature of 140F in that time. The All New Good Hosuekeeping Cookbook, which is one of my favorite old standbys, has a 6-8 lb. ham done in 1 hour total cooking time. A whole ham of 14-16 lbs. is listed as 1 to 1.75 hours total cooking time. So I’m really not sure what went wrong for you. The 3 lb. ham should really be finished in an hour. I’m really not sure. You say you have an oven thermometer, which is great. Have you tested your instant read thermometer to see if it’s accurate? That’s just one idea. I’m stumped.
Sandy Klocinski says
Whole Boneless Ham is awesome! This looks like a great way to cook it.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Sandy!
Angelica says
I don’t think anything is better than a whole roast of ham. I’ve only ever made bone-in, I’ll have to look harder next time I’m at the grocery store to find boneless! So much less hassle, although I do love making bone broth with the bone-in leftovers.
Christine Pittman says
Sounds great, Angelica!
Kathleen Duncan says
I have a boneless ham in the freezer. This looks like a perfect way to fix it.
Christine Pittman says
Enjoy, Kathleen! Tag @cookthestory on Insta when you make it so we can see!