A great tasting moist honey glazed ham from your crock pot and you don't need to eat ham for a week. This two-pound boneless ham is just the right size for the smaller household.
Introduction and My Rating
We all want a great honey glazed ham, but in the smaller household, this is a big issue. Most hams are in the 8+ pound range. That is 16 servings and a ham bone soup (see my Crock Pot Ham Bone Soup). But what to do if you don't need that much ham?
It is hard to name an inspiration piece for this recipe since I read so many recipes and combined, but probably the most informative was Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Ham ~ Holiday Dinner from the Crock Pot! At Five Heart Home.
I started with a quarter of a boneless ham. You have seen them in the meat department. Not very appetizing looking is it? I have usually used them for salad toppings diced up.
A quarter boneless ham runs about 2 to 2 ¼ pounds, which makes 4 good size servings. Just right for the smaller household.
My Rating
A nice solid 4. Much better than just heating it up, lots more moisture and taste.
🐖Boneless Ham
Boneless ham comes in two varieties. The first is pieces of ham pressed together. That is a canned or deli ham. Not necessarily bad but this is not what we are discussing.
The second type of boneless ham will come shaped like an oval and come sealed in plastic. You can buy a whole, half or quarter ham. So great for smaller households that don’t want to eat ham for a week.
They really are an actual ham with the bone cut out. They are already fully cooked and ready to eat. They are brined and salted like bone-in hams which makes them hard to get wrong.
What size of ham to buy?
For a holiday meal, plan about ½ pound of boneless ham per person. For a bone-in ham, you should plan for ¾ to 1 pound of ham per person.
Since this is "cooking for two" I went for the 2.2 pound quarter boneless ham so some leftovers but as small as it comes.
♨️Cook
It is perfectly safe just to cut the ham and eat it. But you want more, especially for a holiday meal. So we are adding big-time taste and moisture — worth the little trouble.
The crock pot I used was 3.5 quart. I believe this would be fine in a bigger pot. Basically, if the ham fits, it should work.
Ham Size: If you want to go for the 4 pounds half ham, I would keep pineapple the same and up the other ingredients by about 50%. That should take about 4 hours.
⏰🌡️Timing and Temperature
Cook until an internal temperature of 140°-150°. With the quarter ham should take about 2+ hours on low. A half ham will be about 4+ hours on low.
Time will vary by the crock pot and the size/thickness of the ham.
📖Other Recipes
Old Fashion Cheesy Potato Casserole
🖼️Photo Instructions
Prep a small crock pot with a good coat of PAM. Place 8 oz can of crushed pineapple in the bottom the crock pot.
Brush the ham with a generous amount of honey, about 1-2 tablespoons.
Mix ½ cup brown sugar with ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves, cinnamon, and dry mustard. Pack the brown sugar mixture on the ham.
Move the ham cut side down to the crock pot on top of the pineapple. Pile any remaining brown sugar on top of the ham. Cook for approximately 3 hours on low.
At about 1 ½ to 2 hours into cooking, spoon some of the pineapple solution on top of the ham and check the temperature. Cook to an internal temp of 140°-150°. Your time may vary some due to the difference in crock pots and size/thickness of the ham.
Remove from crock pot and allow to sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with some of the pineapple solution.
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📖 Recipe
Smaller Crock Pot Honey Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- 2 pound boneless ham
- 1-2 tablespoons honey
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 oz crushed pineapple
Instructions
- Prep a small crock pot with a good coat of PAM.
- Place 8 oz can of crushed pineapple in the bottom the crock pot.
- Brush the ham with a generous amount of honey, about 1-2 tablespoons.
- Mix ½ cup brown sugar with ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves, cinnamon, and dry mustard.
- Pack the brown sugar mixture on the ham.
- Move the ham cut side down to the crock pot on top of the pineapple. Pile any remaining brown sugar on top of the ham.
- Cook for approximately 3 hours on low.
- At about 1 ½ to 2 hours into cooking, spoon some of the pineapple solution on top of the ham and check the temperature. Cook to an internal temp of 140°-150°. Your time may vary some due to the difference in crock pots and size/thickness of the ham.
- Remove from crock pot and allow to sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with some of the pineapple solution.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Plan about ½ pound of boneless ham per person.
- Since this is "cooking for two" I went for the 2.2-pound quarter boneless ham. If you want to go for the 4 pounds half ham, I would keep pineapple the same and up the other ingredients by about 50%. That should take about 4 hours.
- The crock pot I used was 3.5 quart. This would be fine in a bigger pot.
- You can cut the pineapple in half but what are you going to do with it. It makes a great topping a the end.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. Should also freeze well for 2-3 months.
TO ADJUST THE RECIPE SIZE:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition
Editor's Note: Originally Published March 19, 2016. Updated with expanded discussion and updated photos.
This Recipe Featured in These Recipe Roundups
Easter Recipe Recommendation
B
Hi
I don't have can pineapple , do I need this or can I substitute something else like water?
Thanks
B
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
I would just skip the pineapple and let it just glaze. In step 4 where you spoon the liquid, it there is any then do it but there may not be any. It will be fine.
Dan
Juli
So Dan, for a two pound ham I should cook in crock pot for two hours? But at what setting: low or high?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Juli,
Welcome to the blog.
For a two pound ham, about 2 but up to 3 hours on low. The variance is due to differences between crock pots and the thickness of the ham. Thicker takes longer to get to temperature. At about 2 hours check the temp and spoon some of the pineapple on top.
I clarified the wording a bit in the post and recipe card to help.
Dan
Stacy
Very good!
Cleffy
Make no mistake, that sucker is still mechanically reformed ham.. Pieces of leg and fat pressed together in the same manner as the canned and deli ham you mentioned.
Jena cooks
Buy a Cure 81 spiral cut boneless 3lb ham. Definitely not a pressed ham with lots of fat! It’s the real deal.
anne elfman
Thank you so much for this way to cook a small ham !
Will be cooking it for Easter as I only have 2 or 3 guests
Love your recipes Dr. Dan
A happy holiday to you and yours and also to your beautiful doggies !
Sue Thoma
I have a 5 quart oval crock pot. Do you know about how big a ham will fit in it? I'm planning on using your delicious recipe for Christmas.
DrDan
Hi Sue,
Welcome to the blog.
What will fit in your crockpot is somewhat determined by dimensions. About a 4 pounder would fit in most 5 qt. crock pots.
If you calculate by volume, a 5 qt pat at 60% volume (the most you usually want to go) would be 3 qt. Use 1 qt for the pineapple/brown sugar etc. Then 2 qt left for the meat. There are 2 pints or 4 cup per quart.
A pound of ham will be about 2 cups, so about 4 pounds in the last 2 qt of space we have. So, I'm staying with 4 pounds or slightly bigger. I would use the same amount of pineapple. Up brown sugar and spices by 50%. Paint with the honey (you may need a bit more) It should take an hour or so more. Pay attention to the temperature.
Hope that helps. I have not done a 4 pounder but the above should be about right.
Dan
Deborah
Hi Dr Dan, I have a 2.5 smoked honey ham. Since it’s a honey ham already how would you suggest changing the recipe or do you think it’s ok to keep just the same. Thanks for your thoughts,
DrDan
Hi Deborah,
Welcome to the blog.
That does affect things. It is a bit sweet anyways. So taste the ham and cut back the honey and sugar. If I thought I needed to cut back 1/3, I would cut back 1/2. So overcompensate a little.
Have a good holiday.
Dan
Judy M.
Delicious, easy, & very tasty! Put sweet potatoes (cut-skin on) at the bottom on my 4qt. crock and cooked frozen peas & carrots separately. Fantastic meal!
DrDan
Hi Judy,
Welcome to the blog and sorry for the late reply.
I do like "dolling up" these smaller pieces of ham and making them a little special.
Glad it worked well for you and thanks for the note.
Dan
Amber
I can only find a fully cooked small ham. Will this recipe still work? Thank you so much!
DrDan
This is for the "fully cooked" ham. To my knowledge, that is the only way this small hams are sold.
Dan
Diane
Dr Dan
I made a boneless 3 lb. ham yesterday in my crock pot.......delicious. My question is about the netting and if to remove it or not before cooking or after. I kept it on and removed it after cooking...................just a guess! Which way?
Thanks.
DrDan
Hi Diane,
I would remove any net if it is plastic like. Sometimes you will have a roast with a cotton-like netting and those can be left on. When in doubt, remove it.
Glad it worked well for you.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Robin
Hi there! Wondering...if I wanted to bake mine in the oven how long would you say? I’m thinking of scoring it and baking to get a nice crust. Either way, great recipe! Thanks :)
DrDan
I have never done it but my guess is about 15-20 minutes per pound at 350. It is precooked so you only want to get to 140 internal temp or so. No reason to dry it out. I don't know if that will do much crust.
Kim
You are the man Dan!!!
This is exactly what I was looking for down to the last ingredient ha ha. I will be starting my ham soon as it's barely 11am but I want to say thanx so much for posting this and I will think of you at dinner🐷🐷🐷
I❤Ham
DrDan
It was just one of those recipes I had to do. Hope it works well for you.
Dan
Cerwyn
I have a bigger ham to cook. Now exactly sure of the weight but like the normal size ud buy for Easter. What adjustments would I need to make for that? Thank u!!
DrDan
Hi Cerwyn,
I have done these 1/4 hams a couple of times but never bigger. I have a link above to the recipe I modeled that was for a bigger full size ham. Check that out. It, of course, would take longer 4-6 hours. If it is the half which would be about 4 plus pounds I have suggestion above. For the 8-9 pound whole, I would probably just double what I have suggested for the 4 pound. At least as a start. But check that other recipe site though, she has done large hams and I have not...
Dan
Melissa
Can I prep this the night before and then cook in the crock pot the next day?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Melissa,
Welcome to the blog.
The trouble with your plan is that most crockpot have ceramic inserts. They can break when moved from cold (refrigerator) to hot (crockpot).
It is a fast prep. Maybe make up the brown sugar/spice mix tonight. It will only take a few minutes to get it started tomorrow.
Dan
Lois Clements
I just made this and it was so good and juicy...loved the juice.. Yum 😋 thanks for the recipe!
DrDan
Thanks for the note. Exactly what I want the recipe to do.
Dan
Janice S.
Found this recipe last night and made it for our new years dinner today. Didn't have nutmeg or dry mustard so improvised with a little dijon mustard instead. It came out delicious! It's only two of us so we usually don't buy a large ham. This was perfect for the 2 lb. Boars Head that we got. It will be a regular at our house! Thanks so much!
Kendall
Dr Dan! Thank you so much for publishing this recipe. I have been looking for something like this for some time now. Also, you have an amazing BLOG. I just so happened to come across it this morning as I was searching for a Blackened Tilapia recipe (which I will be using yours tonight!). Keep up the great work.... and don't worry, I will not be asking you any questions about my health. ;) Make it a great day!
DrDan
You look healthy from here... Nobody ever reads that...
You will love the tilapia but watch the heat factor.
Thanks for the note
DrDan