Spiral sliced ham, orange juice, brown sugar, spicy brown mustard, and the King of soda… Dr Pepper comes together to create the most tantalizing and easy glaze for Easter or Christmas Ham!

Whole Dr Pepper Glazed Spiral Ham on a serving platter surrounded by parsley and sliced oranges.

If you know me, you know that I’m a Dr Pepper addict! (Not looking for a recovery program!) For months, I’ve been toying around with the idea of creating a glaze that focused on my favorite beverage.

This particular glaze recipe has been around for several years. I’ve updated it and given it a twist using spicy brown mustard in place of Dijon and my preferred cooking method. I’ve also combined all the glaze ingredients, bring them to a boil, and reduce them down, rather than just reducing the Dr Pepper.

I wanted a smooth glaze, that would slip between the slices of a spiraled ham. To accomplish that goal, I created a thick syrup by combining everything at once.

This glaze really calls for a spiraled ham, but it can be used on any type of ham and the best part…this glaze can be served on the side for guest to drizzle over their personal serving.

This Dr Pepper Glaze is so good they may want to drink it! (Hide the straws!)

How To Make Dr Pepper Glazed Ham

Ingredients Need to Make This Recipe

One (7-10 pound) spiral-sliced, bone-in, preferably shank end, OR One (3-5) spiral-sliced, boneless, ham.
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Dr Pepper
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons Spicy Brown Mustard, or Dijon Mustard

Ingredients for Dr Pepper Glaze measured out on a cutting board.

Preparing the Glaze

Please note that you can prepare the glaze while the ham is cooking, or you can prepare it beforehand.

In a medium pan, over medium heat, add Dr Pepper, Sugar, Orange Juice, and mustard to a boil. Boil for 3–4 minutes.

Reduce heat and simmer until syrup thickens, and reduces to 3/4 a cup, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Dr Pepper Glaze reducing on low heat in a saucepan on top of the stove.

How to Make a Juicy Spiral Ham

Adjust oven rack to the lowest position. Preheat oven to 250° (120 °C).

There are two different methods for baking a spiral ham. Both produce juicy moist results.

The first is to use a plastic oven bag and follow the instructions on the box. Easy Peasy!

The second method is to use aluminum foil. Which is my preferred method. It turns out beautifully!

Line a baking dish with foil. Then add 2 more pieces of foil for the ham. One piece vertically and another horizontally.

Remove the ham from the packaging and discard the plastic disk that covers the bone for a whole bone-in ham, or remove the packaging from the spiral boneless ham.

Place the ham, and juices, on top of the foil in the baking dish.

Wrap the ham tightly with the foil. Let the ham set for 1 hour to bring it to room temperature.

Bake the ham until the center registers 100 °F (37 °C) on an instant read thermometer. 1½ hours to 2½ hours depending on the size of your ham.

TIP: For a four pound ham it took 1 and 15 minutes. (Calculate about 14 minutes per pound).

Ham wrapped tightly in foil for baking in a baking dish.

Remove the ham from the oven. Carefully roll back the foil, or plastic baking bag, to expose the meat. Carefully tip out the juices that have collected in the pan into your sink.

TIP: Ham is often dry because it is overcooked. Most hams sold in the U.S. are cured and cooked for safety reasons. The key is to remember that hams are being “warmed”, but they can take several hours to completely heat through.

Glazing the Ham

Give the Dr Pepper Glaze a good stir. If it has been setting for a while you may need to reheat it.

Brush the ham liberally with the Dr Pepper Glaze. I like to use a large spoon and slowly spoon it over the spiral cuts in the ham. Either works well.

Return the ham to the oven, on broil, uncovered, until the glaze become sticky, about 3–5 minutes. Check the ham occasionally to check to see if it is beginning to brown.

Remove the ham from the oven, brush it again with the Dr Pepper glaze. Tent the ham loosely with the cooking foil in the baking pan, and let it rest for 20–30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Ham back in the oven, uncovered, and brushed with glazed.

Plate the spiraled ham and drizzle with remaining glaze. Garnish with parsley and orange slices.

Pouring additional glaze on top of baked ham.

Sometimes it’s hard to find the words to describe how delicious a recipe is. Especially when it’s one that is so simple and easy to make!

Simply put…this ham is the BEST Spiral Ham I’ve ever had. The birds at this Nest agree!

The ham absorbs the characteristic that Dr Pepper is known for. Combined with the sweetness of the brown sugar, orange juice and the slightest tang from the mustard it’s spectacular!

The meat is super moist and tender and the glaze adds subtle flavor. It enhances the natural smokey flavor of ham without over-powering it.

Whole Spiral Cut Home on a serving platter with Dr Pepper Glaze and garnish of parsley and orange.

I knew someday my love of the “doc” would pay off! (Besides high blood sugar…and a caffeine high). This is going to be my “go-to” ham recipe forever and ever! It’s THAT good!

I can’t wait to serve this to my guest this Easter! They’ll love it! So will your guests! It’s certain to please.

FAQ’s for Spiral Cut Ham

Can I make this Ham in my Slow Cooker? Yes! I just made this ham last weekend in my slow cooker. I followed the steps for baking in a bag and placed the entire ham in my slow cooker on High for one hour, then on low for 2 more hours. Cut the slices off the bone, place in a 9 x 13 baking dish, spoon the remaining glaze over the ham and follow the remaining steps for broiling and tenting.
Do I have to use a spiral cut boneless ham? No! I’ve used this recipe on a bone in ham as well. Turns out fantastic either way!
Can the glaze be made ahead of time? Yes! You can make the glaze 2–3 days ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat before using.
Could I use Coke in place of Dr Pepper? You can, but why would you? Let’s not start that great soda debate! Lol

Other Favorite Ham Recipes

Thanks for stopping by and visiting! We hope you and yours have a wonderful Holiday filled with family, food, fun…and this Yummy Ham Recipe! Enjoy!

Happy Nesting,

Photo of Norine from Norine's Nest and Signature.

Yield: 10 servings

Dr Pepper Glazed Ham

Name: Dr Pepper Glazed Ham
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: One (7-10 pound) spiral-sliced, bone-in, preferably shank end, OR One (3-5) spiral-sliced, boneless, ham.; 3/4 cup packed brown sugar; 1/2 cup Dr Pepper; 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice; 2 teaspoons Spicy Brown Mustard or Dijon Mustard

Spiral sliced ham, orange juice, brown sugar, spicy brown mustard, and the King of soda...Dr Pepper come together to create the most tantalizing and easy glaze for Easter or Christmas Ham!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

One (7-10 pound) spiral-sliced, bone-in, preferably shank end, OR One (3-5) spiral-sliced, boneless, ham.
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Dr Pepper
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons Spicy Brown Mustard or Dijon Mustard

Instructions

Line a 13 x 9 baking dish with aluminum foil. Place Two more sheets of foil in the pan to wrap around and cover the ham. You can use a plastic oven baking bag too. I prefer to use foil.
Remove ham from the packaging and discard the plastic disk that covers the bone for the bone-in ham. For the bone-less ham just remove from packaging.
Place ham in baking bag, or the foil lined baking dish, with juices. Wrap the ham tightly in the foil. Let the ham rest for 1 hour to come to room temperature.
Adjust oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 250° (120°C).
Bake the ham until the center registers 100°F (37°C) on an instant read thermometer. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes to 2½ depending the size of the ham. (About 14 minutes per pound).
While the ham bakes, bring the sugar, Dr Pepper, orange juice and mustard to a boil, stirring frequently, in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until glaze reduces to 3/4 cup, about 8 minutes.
Remove ham from the oven and roll back the sides of the bag or the foil to expose the meat. Carefully tip out the juices that have collected in the pan into your sink. Brush the ham liberally with the Dr Pepper glaze and return it to the oven, uncovered, on broil until the glaze become sticky about 3-5 minutes. Watch ham closely.
Remove the ham from the oven and brush it again with the Dr Pepper glaze. Tent the ham loosely with foil and let it rest 20-30 minutes before serving.