Crockpot Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham

For a perfect holiday dinner, try this Crockpot Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham. With little prep and the crock pot doing all the work, this is the ultimate easy recipe.

Perfect for Easter, Christmas or any holiday dinner you want an easy but impressive entree for!

Crockpot Ham with Pineapple Glaze

Pineapple and pork is one of my favorite combinations, so this is my go-to recipe for when I decide to make ham for a special celebration like Easter or Christmas. And while I usually don’t douse dinner in brown sugar… There’s not really any other way here, so we’ll just go with it 😉

It’s incredibly easy to make the pineapple glaze. Basically, it’s crushed pineapple (with the juice), some orange juice for flavor, brown sugar and spices cooked into a sticky glaze. Absolutely fuss-free, hands-off and delicious!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Ingredient notes

• Use a boneless ham labelled as “fully cooked”. A spiral-cut ham is NOT preferable for this recipe, they tend to dry out in the slow cooker.
• Brown sugar: I always use light brown sugar for this recipe, because I like the taste best. Dark brown makes the glaze more intense.
• Cider vinegar: This adds a nice note to the glaze, but it’s optional. Your glaze will not taste vinegar-y from this. Please don’t use any other vinegar in place of cider vinegar, just skip it if you don’t have it.
• Mustard: I use Dijon mustard because that’s what I always have on hand. Feel free to use yellow or whatever favorite you have.
• Ground cloves: I used both ground and whole cloves for maximum flavor. If you only have whole cloves, you can use 5-10 pieces of those in the glaze without using ground. Or leave them out entirely if you’re not a fan!

A note on ham size: I used to always get a 5 pound ham for this recipe, to feed our extended family on holidays. But since life has been different for all of us in the last year, I decided to test the recipe with a smaller ham when I wanted to take new photos for Easter:

I used a 2 ½ pound ham and cut the glaze ingredients in half. I used a smaller crockpot (2.5 quart) and cooked the ham on LOW for 3 hours, which worked out great.

If your ham is larger (8-10 pounds), use an 8 quart slow cooker and double the glaze. Cook the ham on LOW for 7-8 hours, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.

A spiral cut ham cooks a little faster, but it tends to dry out, so be mindful you don’t overcook it.

Step by step instructions

1. Start by placing your fully cooked ham in a large, lightly oiled crockpot.

2. Place all remaining ingredients into a saucepan and simmer until bubbly and thickened.

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3. Pour the glaze over the ham in the crockpot, then slow cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

4. Allow the ham to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes, then slice to serve with the pineapple glaze from the crock. I also added some maraschino cherries to the serving platter for a festive look!

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Recipe tips

• The glaze doesn’t need to cook for long, just simmer it until it looks glossy and has thickened.
• Make sure to use a 5-6 quart crockpot to hold a 5 pound ham. You need to be able to close the lid, and I prefer the ham not to touch the sides too much. They can scorch.
• The glaze thins out a little during cooking, due to the juices the ham releases. If you prefer it very thick, either add ½ an extra tablespoon of cornstarch at the beginning, OR place it back into a saucepan after slow cooking and thicken it on a low simmer on the stove with a slurry made from ½ tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water.

How hot should a ham be in the middle

If you have a vacuum packed, fully-cooked ham from a government-inspected plant (I know that’s awfully specific, but ham cooking times are somewhat confusing), 145°F is the recommended internal temperature to heat it to.

Refer to this page on the USDA website for more information.

Oven instructions

You can bake this in a Dutch oven!

Simply follow the instructions, but instead of cooking the ham in the slow cooker, baked it in a Dutch oven with the lid on at 350°F for around 20 minutes per pound. If you have time, baste it a few times with the glaze during baking time.

Leftovers

Place leftover ham and glaze in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days. I reheat it in a pan on the stove with the lid closed, or use just the ham diced up in casseroles and soups.

Serving ideas

Since this is a classic holiday dinner recipe, we usually eat it with all of the trimmings. Aka our favorite holiday sides!

For Easter, we always have roasted asparagus, roasted baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes, glazed carrots and a nice big salad.

For Christmas, I make sautéed green beans, mashed potatoes… and probably the glazed carrots, too 😉

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Recipe first published on 04/11/2019. Updated with new photos and text on 04/02/2021.

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