This is the best ever Pineapple Glaze recipe! Made in just 10 minutes, this easy glaze is packed with brown sugar, pineapple juice, and simple spices. Slather over a moist, tender ham for an addictive holiday meal with tons of flavor and sticky, caramelized edges.
The fastest, easiest way to make a ham taste AMAZING is adding a glaze. This Pineapple Glaze for Ham is ultra-sticky and sweet, with tons more flavor than the little brown sugar glaze packet that comes with many hams. It adds that wow factor to your Christmas or Easter ham!
This is our go-to glaze for our Electric Roaster Ham recipe. But it is equally delicious on a classic baked ham for your Easter or Christmas dinner.
🏅 Why this recipe is great
- Simple recipe done in just 10 minutes!
- Better than Honey Baked Ham - for real!
- Flavorful and delightfully sticky without chopping any fresh pineapple!
- Caramelizes perfectly. 🤤🤤🤤
- Great for spiral cut ham, boneless ham, ham steaks, or even pork chops!
🍍 Ingredients for Pineapple Brown Sugar Glaze
Simple ingredients is all you need for this brown sugar pineapple ham glaze.
- Pineapple juice: You can use the juice from canned pineapple slices or pineapple chunks, or just buy juice. You will need one cup pineapple juice.
- Brown sugar: We prefer light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar can be used.
- Cornstarch: Just a touch to thicken. This should go in to room temperature ingredients, not warm.
- Butter: We use salted, but unsalted butter is fine too.
- Stone ground mustard: You can substitute with dijon mustard or spicy brown mustard instead.
- Seasonings: You’ll need garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, paprika, nutmeg, and cloves.
🔪 How to make pineapple glaze for ham
- Whisk everything together in a medium saucepan.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Once simmering, cook for 1 minute, or until slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat. Brush pineapple glaze on top of the ham (cover the outside of the ham) or store in the fridge.
🙋 Questions and Answers
Yes, you can make pineapple glaze ahead and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. When ready to use, reheat it on half power in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until it is loose.
This recipe makes about 1.5 cups of pineapple glaze, which is enough for a 9-12 pound spiral cut whole ham.
Ham glaze is a must for a stunning holiday ham. Glaze adds flavor, moisture, and that deliciously sticky, caramelized texture that your favorite Honey Baked Ham has.
Both! We glaze our ham before baking, then again at the end for deliciously sticky edges.
Our family favorites is spiral sliced ham, however this would work on any bone-in ham.
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- Whisk the pineapple glaze really well before and during cooking to prevent the cornstarch from clumping.
- Don’t simmer the sweet glaze too long or it will become too thick.
- If reheating, use a low heat on the stove or half power in the microwave until it is loose enough to brush.
- Brush a little glaze on leftover ham to make it as delicious as the first time!
📖 Other holiday recipes
- Ham in Electric Roaster - A great option for keeping the oven free during big holiday meals! The main dish ham bakes in a disposable roasting pan for an easy way to clean up!
- Make Ahead Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes - One of the family favorite recipes! Cover with aluminum foil and freeze for a delicious make-ahead side dish!
- Fresh Green Beans with Bacon - The most delicious way to round out your Thanksgiving dinner menu!
- Buttery Frozen Dinner Rolls - An easy recipe to have on hand when the holidays roll around!
👋🏻 Connect with us!
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating to let us know how it is! We’d also love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Tag @borrowedbites or hashtag #borrowedbites to show us your food!
📋 Recipe
The Best Pineapple Glaze for Ham (w/ Brown Sugar)
Ingredients
- 1 cup pineapple juice (canned or bottled)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard or dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
Instructions
- Whisk everything together in a small saucepan off the heat.1 cup pineapple juice, 1 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until simmering gently. Once simmering, cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
- Use on a ham or store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
- We love comments! Please come back and leave us one after you’ve tried this recipe.
Notes
- Whisk the glaze really well before and during cooking to prevent the cornstarch from clumping.
- Don’t simmer the glaze too long or it will become too thick.
- If reheating, use a low heat on the stove or half power in the microwave until it is loose enough to brush.
- Brush a little extra glaze on leftover ham to make it as delicious as the first time!
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
Phyllis says
Hello Danielle and Misty
Well I just have to say that you are right about this glaze making my spiral cut ham taste as good or better than the expensive one that we sometimes spring for. . Never again though. I was so happy with how the glaze and ham turned out. Thank you for your directions. This is a repeat recipe for sure
By the way, my ham was a bit to big for my roaster so I oven cooked it at 260 degrees and tightly covered with heavy duty tin foil. I let it rest a short while and then caramelized it under the broiler. Perfect. Moist and tasty.
Misty says
So glad you liked it!
Phyllis says
Hello Danielle and Misty
Well I just have to say that you are right about this glaze making my spiral cut ham taste as good or better than the expensive one that we sometimes spring for. . Never again though. I was so happy with how the glaze and ham turned out. Thank you for your directions. This is a repeat recipe for sure
Mia says
I use this glaze on your "Glazed Ham In A Roaster" recipe. It was amazing. The thick consistency helped the glaze stick to the ham and get into the sliced pieces. This will be by "go to" recipe for ham glaze.
Danielle says
So happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. It really does make our day!
Lori says
Hi do you cook the ham covered after putting glaze on or not? I covered with foil but doesn’t seem to be getting caramelized after 30 mins. And what temp? Thank you.
Danielle says
The glaze will not caramelize if it is covered in foil. The cooking instructions for ham vary widely depending on the type of ham you are cooking and the method of cooking. Once the ham is cooked through you can broil the glaze to caramelize it. If you are cooking a spiral ham in an electric rooster we have step-by-step instructions for that. For the recipe type "ham" in the search bar. Happy eating!
ESTHER says
Can you let us know how long to cook in oven and 300 or 350 heat? Thank you.
Danielle says
Esther,
We usually cook our ham in an electric roaster. That recipe is linked in the post. You could try modifying the electric roaster recipe for a regular oven, but I haven't done that so I can't tell you for sure how long it would take. If you give it a try please let us know how it turns out!
Mike says
How to reduce the recipe for smaller amounts.
Misty says
Hi Mike, you can use half the ingredients if you would like to make a small batch. Enjoy!
Bradley D Tjapkes says
I have been baking and glazing hams for 40 years and this year I found this glaze recipe. I always get compliment on my ham gravy made with ham drippings and glaze bot today for Christmas dinner I got wow!
I love the flavor and that it is thick and sticks to the ham with better coverage.
This recipe is a winner!
Misty says
Wow, what high praise! We're so glad you liked it. Thank you for sharing.
Kenny Harge says
Please send me all the delicious recipes listed here
Danielle says
To find any of the recipes listed jut click on the colored words. That will take you right to what you are looking for.