Spiral Ham Crock Pot Recipe (with no sugar glaze!)

Making a spiral ham in a Crock Pot is seriously the best way to make a holiday ham easy, juicy, and simple. It's so moist and delicious in every bite, you'll never go back to an oven baked ham again!

Slow cooked with lots of flavor, you can skip the processed seasoning packet that often comes with ham and make our simple no sugar ham "caramel" glaze too OR you can serve it plain with no glaze too.

Our healthier ham recipe is low carb, gluten-free, no sugar, processed ingredient free, paleo and keto-friendly too.

Serve the sweet and savory ham with cold broccoli salad or cauliflower au gratin to make a healthy and delicious holiday menu with all natural ingredients. 

Crock Pot Spiral Ham is a crowd-pleaser!

Why a pre-cooked spiral sliced ham?

It’s pretty much the easiest fancy ham on the market, all the work is done for you and they even toss in a seasoning packet. I always skip the seasoning packet and either serve the ham as is or make my own sweet and savory ham glaze without sugar.

Other than for Thanksgiving, making a spiral ham in the crockpot seems to be our go-to holiday main dish. Not only is it simple, but it's always a crowd-pleaser and is definitely kid-friendly too. No muss, no fuss and you aren’t taking up valuable oven space.

When we want to make a holiday meal simple, our first instinct is to always cook a slow cooker bone in ham that comes spiral sliced and pre-cooked. Thank you applewood smoked spiral sliced ham from Costco! 😉 Ham always makes a low cost way to feed a crowd.

If we're having a smaller gathering or want to go a little fancy, then we'll make something like Pan Seared Filet Mignon, Surf and Turf Steak and Lobster Tails, or an Easy Seafood Boil.

Yet, it's hard to go wrong with a ham and a holiday meal is not the time to mess up the main dish.

• Buying a pre-cooked, spiral cut ham means an easy dish that you don't have to worry about overcooking
• Cooking spiral ham in ham in a crock pot frees up valuable oven space.
• Making your own sugar free ham glaze creates a sauce with deep, rich flavors, yet skips the fake sauce packet ingredients
• Because this makes the best crock pot ham recipe!

And even if you accidentally buy a ham that's larger than your crockpot, we can still help you remedy that situation too! 😉

Ingredients you'll need

7-8 lb bone-in spiral sliced pre-cooked ham

Making our sugar free glaze is totally optional! Sometimes we just slow cook the ham and don't even make the sauce at all.

Sugar Free Ham Glaze

• 4 T butter
• 1 T cider vinegar
• 1 T Dijon
• ¼ salt
• ¼ cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 T sweetener (honey or monk fruit brown sugar substitute)

My husband recently started a weight loss diet and is following a keto program, instead of using granulated or brown sugar, we've been using a natural monk fruit blend in the place of sugar. The sauce packet that usually comes with the grocery store ham has sugar and other artificial ingredients, if you're following a low carb or keto diet, you'll want to be sure to make a keto ham recipe with our low carb ham glaze.

Feel free to use honey or brown sugar as a sweetener if you aren't necessarily trying to make this is a sugar-free ham.

How to cook Spiral Ham in Crock Pot

Prepping the Ham

Preheat your crockpot by turning it on Low. 

Remove the ham from the packaging and place into the slow cooker. Gently separate the ham pieces so that when the ham glaze gets drizzled on the ham, it'll easily drip down in between the ham slices.

Cover the ham and continue with making the ham glaze recipe. This delicious and savory ham glaze can be made either low carb or you can use honey or brown sugar, depending on your personal preferences.

To Make the Sugar Free Ham Glaze

Melt the butter on medium-low heat in a small saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of your sweetener of choice (Swerve, honey, brown sugar, or erythritol), bring it to a slow simmer, where it’s just starting to bubble. This will take about 2-3 minutes.

Add the apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, cloves, salt, and cinnamon. 

Simmer all ingredients on medium-low for 5 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken. If it starts to bubble up, then turn down the heat to low. Periodically stir the low carb ham glaze. 

Once the glaze is done, drizzle over the top of the unheated ham that's waiting in the crock pot.

How long to cook spiral ham in crock pot?

Put the lid back on the slow cooker and cook the crockpot ham for 4-5 hours on low until heated through and it reaches an internal temperature of 145F.

Let the ham rest for a few minutes and then transfer the spiral ham in crock pot to a serving platter.  I like to drizzle some of the slow cooker ham pan glaze on the individual ham slices after the ham is finished cooking. Can you really have too much sauce on your holiday ham??

Makes fantastic leftovers for something like a broccoli ham quiche, casserole, or for soup! Be sure to save the ham bone for making a hearty crockpot of savory beans or a bean soup.

Recipe notes

• If you like a thinner sauce, you can cook the ham glaze for less than the time mentioned in the recipe. We made ours like caramel.
• You can cook the ham on high temperature for 1.5-2 hrs, but if you take the time to cook it on low, it always turns out juicier.
• Add pineapple juice, orange juice, or soda in addition to cooking the ham in it's own juices.
• Add canned pineapple rings on top of the glazed ham before cooking for a fruity variation.
• If you buy a ham that's too big for your crockpot just tightly cover the ham with a double layer of foil before setting the lid on top.

Serving ideas

• Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe
• Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
• Keto Broccoli Salad
• Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables
• Jalapeno Popper Deviled Eggs with Bacon
• Cheese Green Bean Casserole with Cream Cheese Sauce
• Loaded Avocado Kale Salad

How Much Ham per Person?

To decide what size ham you should buy for your gathering, you should plan on about ½ pound per person for a bone in ham. If you're serving other main dishes besides the ham you could cut back on that a little bit. Personally, I'll even buy a huge ham cooking for 4 people just so we can freeze leftovers and use them for other dishes.

A 7-8 lb ham seems to be the standard size for the applewood smoked glazed ham from Costco, I know all major grocery stores sell something similar too.

Storage and leftovers

Store: Sliced ham can last up to five days in the fridge if you store it in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.
Freeze: Wrap the leftover ham tightly in plastic wrap and then in a double layer of aluminum foil. Lay the ham flat side down in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Reheat spiral sliced ham in a Crock Pot by adding broth or pineapple juice to the pot, add the ham, and cook on low for 2-3 hours. To microwave leftover ham slices, put the slices in a microwave safe dish and cover them with a damp paper towel. On 50% power, microwave the ham in for 1-2 minutes until heated through.

How do you keep spiral ham from drying out in a crock pot?

To prevent your ham from drying out in the crockpot, you can add some liquid to the pot, like broth, juice or water, to keep it moist during cooking. It's also important not to overcook the ham, and of course cooking it low and slow is always preferred.

You can also baste the ham periodically to help keep it moist. We also recommend using a digital meat thermometer and to cook the ham just until it reaches 145 F.

What can I add to ham for more flavor options?

Brown sugar - To make your ham sweeter you can sprinkle it on top or mix it with a liquid to make a glaze.
Honey - drizzle it on top or make a glaze
Mustard - Dijon or stone ground mustard
Pineapple slices - either fresh or canned
Garlic - You can mince fresh garlic or use garlic powder to add flavor
Herbs - Adding herbs such as thyme, rosemary, or sage
Apple cider vinegar - A splash of this can add tang
Orange juice - Adds a citrus flavor

More holiday sides

• Oven Roasted Broccoli with Garlic
• Brussel Sprouts Au Gratin
• Low Carb Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Cheesy Roasted Green Beans

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