How to Heat Fully Cooked Ham

Step-by-step instructions to heat a slow-roasted, spiral sliced, or boneless ham

Last Updated: January 26, 2023

Most hams that you can buy in the grocery store – whether slow-roasted, spiral-sliced, or boneless – are already cooked. When you get them home, you just have to reheat them and serve! Using a low temperature on slow-roasted hams prevents them from drying out, while a higher temperature with a bit of water in the pan will keep spiral-sliced ham moist. Make sure you follow the heating directions based on the weight of your ham to get moist, delicious ham every time!

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Reheating Slow Roasted Hams

1
Slice the ham into pieces. The size of the slices are up to you, but they should be sliced thin enough that they're ready to serve. You can slice up the entire ham, or you can do a bit at a time if you're not serving many people at once.^{[1]
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2
Place the ham slices in a shallow baking dish and cover with foil.mic The foil will help to keep any moisture released from the ham slices inside the dish, which helps prevent the ham from drying out. The foil should be wrapped around the sides of the dish to prevent any heat from escaping.^{[2]
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3
Reheat the ham in the oven. The oven should be set to 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius). How long you have to reheat it will depend on how much the ham weighs. You should leave the ham in the oven for 10 minutes for every pound (0.5 kg) it weighs.^{[3]
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4
Check your ham to make sure it doesn't dry out. About halfway through your cooking time, remove the foil from a corner of the baking dish. The slices should still look mostly pink. If you notice them turning white, they're drying out. Add a few tablespoons of water to the dish and put the ham back in the oven.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Warming Spiral Sliced Ham

1
Place the ham cut-side down in a baking dish. Placing the cut side down helps trap moisture in the ham. It also prevents the glaze that normally comes on spiral sliced hams from drying out or getting stuck to the bottom of the pan.^{[4]
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2
Cover the ham with heavy aluminum foil. The ham itself should be covered, and the foil should wrap around the edges of the baking dish. Heavy aluminum foil (as opposed to regular aluminum foil) will help protect the ham from drying out.^{[5]
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3
Heat the ham for 10 minutes per pound (0.5 kg). With your oven set at 325 Fahrenheit (163 Celsius), heat the ham for about 10 minutes for every pound (0.5 kg) of ham. The internal temperature of the ham should reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius) for store-bought ham and 165 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius) for leftover ham.^{[6]
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4
Check the ham halfway through heating. Pull the ham out of the oven about halfway through the cook time. Pull away a corner of the foil and stick a meat thermometer into the ham. It should be at about 160 degrees Fahrenheit (81 degrees Celsius). If you notice the ham turning white and drying out, add a bit more water to the dish and rewrap it before putting it back in the oven.
5
Warm individual slices in the microwave. Place the slices on a microwave-safe plate and cover the plate with a piece of paper towel. Heat the ham for about one minute per slice.^{[7]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Reheating Boneless Hams

1
Place the ham in a shallow baking pan. Add a half a cup (119 mL) of water to the pan. This will help the ham maintain its water content and should keep the ham moist after it's been heated.^{[8]
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2
Cover the ham with aluminum foil. The edges of the foil should wrap around the sides of the baking pan. Make sure you pinch or crimp the sides of the foil so no heat or steam escapes while the ham is reheating.^{[9]
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3
Reheat the ham at 20 to 30 minutes per pound (0.5 kg). The oven should be set to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (163 degrees Celsius). Check the ham about halfway through the total heating time to see what temperature it's at. The internal temperature should eventually reach about 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius).^{[10]
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4
Reduce the cooking time for bone-in hams. If your ham still has its bone, you should heat it for 15 to 20 for every pound (0.5 kg) of ham. Everything else should be the same as for a boneless ham – place the ham with a half cup (119 mL) of water in a shallow baking dish and cover it with foil.^{[11]
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5
Check the ham halfway through heating. Pull the ham out of the oven about halfway through the cook time. Pull away a corner of the foil and stick a meat thermometer into the ham. It should be at about 160 degrees Fahrenheit (81 degrees Celsius). If you notice the ham turning white and drying out, add a bit more water to the dish and rewrap it before putting it back in the oven.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I refreeze it after heating?

Community Answer

Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking. However, there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooking raw foods that were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days.
Question

How long will a cooked ham that is vacuum sealed last in the fridge?

Community Answer

3 to 5 days.