Ham in the slow cooker? I never would have imagined- but it was one of those life changing recipes. You will definitely want to bookmark this recipe for Easter! I always loved to cook a nice spiral sliced ham, but it took up my oven at too low of temperature to make anything else with it. And honestly I think I only liked to cook the ham as a means to get the bone and extra meat for soups and other uses. I was so excited to try this recipe and it was better than I could have imagined. Instead of a drier good ham, I got an amazingly tender, juicy, falling off the bone ham that was infused with flavor. (In fact, I had to keep wiping the juices off the plate to get a clean picture!) To top it off there was plenty of drippings for lots of ham gravy (my favorite!)…. All without the use of my oven! I will never make ham another way again.
This works best with a spiral sliced ham, which is done in 4-5 hours. I have tried it with a regular ham and it does produce a nice tender ham (not quite as amazing as the results from the spiral sliced) but takes a couple hours longer (6-8 hours). Honestly, It could just be that I prefer and always have preferred spiral sliced. It is just much easier to serve and I just like the slices. And don’t forget to save that ham bone and extra meat for some yummy split pea and ham soup or ham and bean soup. Or you could use them in these hot ham and cheese sliders. I also cut up my leftover ham into bite size pieces, freeze them and then have them to use in eggs and other recipes.
Slow Cooker Maple Brown Sugar Ham
Ingredients
- 7-10 pound bone-in spiral sliced ham keep in mind size of your crockpot
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup water-Original recipe calls for 2 cups pineapple juice but I don't use it and it is amazing!
- 2 Tbsp of deli brown mustard or dijon--I love the flavor this adds.
Instructions
- Use a 6-7 quart crockpot. Unwrap ham, discard glaze packet, and place ham flat side down in slow cooker.
- Rub brown sugar and mustard all over ham.Pour maple syrup over ham and pour water (or pineapple juice) in the bottom.
- Cover tightly and cook on low 4-5 hours, basting once or twice during the last hour.
- If desired, remove from crockpot and let rest for 10-20 min before serving (I often just serve it right out of the crockpot)
- Reserve the juices to make gravy if you want
Notes
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First trying to make a ham in the crockpot. It came out better than I expected. Soooo good!
So glad you liked it!
I’m cooking a 4 pound boneless spiral sliced precooked ham that is already glazed tomorrow. Would like to do it in my large crockpot. How long do I cook it on low? Should I just add water to the bottom?
1/2 cup? Do I need something else on top of the pre glaze?
Made today at Easter. Cut down on the brown sugar. Wow. So good
I have a 5 lb boneless spiral cut ham. Should I just half the amounts of your recipe and how long would it take just to heat it through on low in the Crock-Pot?
I usually leave the house for work at 5 am and do not usually get home till about 4 pm. Could I do this maybe on the warm setting and still get a great result?
That would be a really long time. I would be concerned the ham would dry out in that time.
I have been doing this for years but i used Brown Sugar with a can of COKE A COLA 12 OZ. Cook it on low for 4 to 5 hours
What size ham would you suggest for a 7.5 quart crock pot for 6 people?
I have a 7 quart and have cooked up to the 10 pound ham. It’s best if the lid fits on the crockpot well though. There are 7 of us and even a smaller ham is plenty but I love the leftoevers for other recipes!!
The mustard you add no mention of type (dry or other) nor amounts
In the directions it says 2 Tbsp of deli brown mustard. But honestly you can omit or use what you have 🙂
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Do you set the crock pot on high or low setting for the four to five hours? I didn’t see this posted anywhere I. The recipe
It’s low setting. You just want to heat it through since its already cooked 🙂
Amy, just found your site and this recipe. I want to be sure I’m understanding this – we are talking about fully cooked hams right? I get my meat from the farmers market and can get either fully cooked or not cooked at all…
Yes this is for a fully cooked ham.
What side would go great with it if u have picky children
My kids love mashed potatoes with gravy made from the juices. Or they love these roasted potatoes with them.
Do you have a recipe for your ham gravy?
I just wing it- I transfer the liquid to a saucepan and I usually whisk in a slurry of water and flour while heating it. I add enough to get the consistency I like.
Do you use all of the liquid from the ham to make the gravy?? It sounds like there may be a lot of liquid.
Yes it can be a lot of liquid so no I only use what I need 🙂
I just tried your slow cooker spiral ham recipe yesterday as I was hosting dinner for my husbands family (just over 30 guests) and I knew my oven would be fully occupied. It was hands down THE BEST ham I have ever made! And the added bonus of not having to use up valuable oven space/time makes this recipe even better.
I will never cook my ham any other way!!!
Thank you!!
I’m so glad it worked out for you. I agree- I won’t make ham another way.
made this for Christmas dinner today and it was fantastic – very well received by my family! using the crockpot also kept my small wall oven free for other things. thank you so much for sharing the recipe!
🙂
Can I put spiral cut ham on its side , the bone in won’t let me close the lid
Yes I don’t see why not 🙂
I know this is probably a dumb question, but do you thaw your ham first if it’s frozen?
Not a dumb question but yes I would thaw it first.
I don’t like a sweet ham. Is there anyway to make this where it’s not as sweet without making it dry?
I’m sure you could just leave out the sweet things and use any seasonings you want or none at all. It shouldn’t affect much but the taste.
Trying this for the first time this Christmas. I don’t eat ham so I have no idea what I am doing. I want to get it right for the in-laws of course. I bought a 8 pound boneless spiral cut ham that is smoked. Will that be okay or will the “smoked” change this for the worse? Thanks.
That should be great!
Thanks Amy…what you would suggest about adjusting the time since I have a boneless ham ? Can you tell I am anxious about preparing this meal? 🙂
It will probably take less time. The most important thing would be to just remember (at least with the fully cooked hams which it probably is) that you are just warming it through. This way it doesn’t dry out.
Wow. We are part of a two state power outage (pacific NW) and we are spending Thanksgiving at a lake cabin with power. Couldn’t figure out yow to do a “traditional” T-giving dinner w/ limited resources (i.e. limited oven space) and found this site. Ham in in the crockpot as we speak!! Now small oven is free for other things. Starting to smell amazing.
hope it worked out for you!
Can you use regular mustard?
I would use whatever you have- it should be fine!
Just curious, can you just baste it/rub the mix/packet it comes with and just add the water to the bottom?? It sounds delish though, may have to try it this Thanksgiving! Thanks!
I’m sure you could, the method wouldn’t change any.
I don’t understand what you mean about a foul lid. How is that done and do you always do it?
**foil lid
I try not to use a foil lid, just the crock pot lid. I had a ham that was too big and covered it tightly with a double layer of foil and it worked ok.
I’m making this recipe for thanksgiving! When you say cover tight do you just mean cover with only the crockpot lid? And cook on low 4-5 hours? Thanks!
Yup, just tightly close the lid to the crockpot 🙂
I am very excited/nervous to be preparing this ham for my in laws on thanksgiving….. I am not a pro in the kitchen and the last time they put me in charge of the ham i overcooked it in the oven…a couple questions: do you use Dark Brown Sugar or Light (don’t know if it makes a difference) and the ham I just purchased is a little under 10lbs and it barely fits in my crockpot (the lid doesn’t shut all the way) any suggestions? should I bungee-cord the lid down (perhaps this is why i am not a pro in the kitchen) or is it possible to ‘trim’ 1/2″ to get it to fit..thank you in advance
Either dark or light brown sugar work well. I just did this with an 11 lb ham (regular not spiral sliced) and ended up tripling foil to put on top, then putting the lid on as best I could. It took a bit longer cause of the size of the ham and heat loss but still came out very moist. If you can get the lid on its best but improvising works too.
This looks soo good and I must try. I don’t usually get spiral hams but this sure makes me want to try. Your slices look thicker than ones I’ve been served by someone else. Could you please tell me what brand you bought because I’d prefer these thicker slices. Thanks so much and keep those recipes coming.
I usually get my hams at Aldi’s and they are great. I think the one in the photo was an uncured, nitrite free one which I have not seen yet this year.
I’m doing this with a much smaller ham (2lbs). The recipe sounds delicious! Has anyone put veggies in to cook as well, like carrots and small potatoes? Any suggestions as to when to put in the veggies? Thanks!
If your ham is already pre-cooked it shouldn’t take long at all, I am not sure if veggies would cook through in the amount of time it would take to warm a 2 lb ham 🙂
Just wanted to say that this was a real lifesaver this Easter. Ham turned out nice and moist and my oven was free for all the yummy sides.
So glad it worked out. I love this method!
What temp setting should you cook it on?
For the slow cooker the low setting.
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I was planning on doing this for easter tomorrow but I may have to end up putting the ham in the oven. Have you ever made this recipe in the oven? Wondering if I would still need to cover it.
So sorry I couldn’t get back to you but the website went down and I had no access. I have never made it in the oven but I am sure you could, less time and low temp. I would definitely cover it well so it won’t dry out.
How about posting the recipe for the ham gravy you mention, made with the drippings from the slow-cooker ham? Thanks!
The next time I make it I will keep that in mind. I usually just thicken with a flour/water slurry and heat through though.
It came out great! I cooked it overnight and will have it for dinner tonight. It’s my first time cooking a ham in a crock pot. I was surprised of the amount of juice it produced. Should I leave it sitting in the juice while I go to work? Or drain it? I am not sure how to store it?
Sorry it took so long to respond- have been having email issues! I think I would have let it sit in the juice to keep it moist. Hope it worked out!
I tried this today with very poor results to say the least. My ham was 8.92 pounds. I used the “foil” lid to seal. When I uncovered to baste ham after cooking it on Low for 4 hours in my 7 quart Crock-pot cooker I found liquid was covering half of ham. The ham was over-cooked and dried out on bottom and edges. My family joked that my new found recipe was for Ham Jerky.
I’m sorry it didn’t work for you 🙁 I have always made an incredibly tender juicy ham this way and so have many others here and on other blogs. The only thing I can think of is the foil lid being the issue. I have always been able to fit it with the glass lid. Or maybe less time was needed- I’ve noticed some crockpots really heat more than others.
Just wanted to let you know that all went well with my aluminum foil lid! Ty so much for the haminacrockpot idea!
I’m glad it worked- good to know if I ever have a ham that doesn’t quite fit with the lid!
Trying this tomorrow for Xmas! Never done one in the slow cooker! It will be a great help as my oven in already going to filled to maximum occupancy! Will post how it turns out! Gracias!
Hope you enjoy it. It is great to free up the oven!
Is the ham fully cooked before putting it in the crock pot?
Yes- spiral cut hams are pre cooked and just need to be warmed. If using non spiral cut ham, check your packaging- but many bone in shank or butt hams are precooked also. It should say if its “ready to eat” or not and give instructions. I think “fresh ham” or “country ham” are the hams that are not cooked at all prior to selling. For pre cooked or “ready to eat” ham it should reach an internal temp of 140°F while a “cook before eating” or uncooked ham needs to reach 160°F. Hope this helps 🙂
Do you slice the spiral sliced all the way thru before slicing like in the picture? Or just put it in crock pot like it comes from the store and slice after cooking?
I actually didn’t do anything to the spiral sliced ham in the picture besides cook it. It was so tender out of the crockpot, that is what it looked like. So just throw the spiral sliced ham as is right in 🙂
This is just what I’m looking for. I have a Christmas family breakfast in two days and didn’t know how I was going to cook the ham and an egg casserole in the oven at the same time. I’ll be trying this recipe for sure, thanks!!
I love this ham- it really comes out moist 🙂
have you ever done this to a larger ham (12.6 lbs)?
As long as it fits in your crock pot I don’t see why it would not work. I bought a larger 7 quart crock pot to fit bigger hams. It just may take a little longer to heat through.
it’s a bit “tall” for my giant crock but I figured I would make a foil lid…how long do u heat bigger hams? im trying to time all the cooking for a large event!
Oh dear- I don’t want to steer you wrong on timing!!! I believe I have done a 10 to 11 pound ham in the time the recipe calls for. I am not sure how a foil lid vs glass lid will affect the timing but you can always give yourself some extra time and just use the keep warm setting to hold it if needed- just baste it every now and then. Hope this helps- I know how hard and stressful timing can be with entertaining!!!
Just made this recipe with a 10.5 lb spiral bone-in ham ($22 on sale for 1.99/lb), had to cut off about 2″ of slices so it would fit in 7 qt crockpot. Followed recipe to a T (but used 1.5 cup pineapple juice instead of 1/2 c water; your recipe said orig recipe called for 2 cup pineapple juice). Double layered with heavy duty foil for a tight fit, then sat lid atop foil (lid was not loose nor tight). Started on high for 20 min, then switched to low for next 4 hrs. Disappointed it was not a darker brown, and flavor was meh, considering the brown sugar, syrup, mustard, juice. Also a bit dry. I was surprised at how much juice there was, a LOT, which I saved for broth. I thought, darn, the ham must have gotten boiled (I did not uncover lid til right before serving). My 10 yr old crockpot cooks at higher temp even when using low (has three settings only, high, low, warm). It was not an inexpensive cut of meat so disappointed that mine did not turn out like the majority who posted rave reviews here. Maybe it was a poor quality cut (will talk to my local grocer), or maybe it’s time for a new crockpot. Anyway, still thankful to celebrate this season of gratitude because we truly are blessed in this country, that we even are a country, that we GET to live here. Happy season of gratitude everyone!
I made this today for Easter & it was SO good! I loved not having ti turn the oven on all morning. Definitely a keeper, thank you!
I am so glad you liked it and thank you for commenting! I made this too yesterday and every time I just love how moist it comes out and love that I still have my oven free!