Keto Ham Glaze Recipe

If you’d like to make a tasty ham for Christmas, Easter or any holiday meal, you have to try this brown sugar & spice keto ham glaze. This glaze is a nice mixture of brown sugar, orange flavors and spices which goes perfectly with roasted ham. It is low carb, sugar free and the whole batch has only 6 calories and 0.9g net carbs! So next time you make a glazed ham, try this sweet & spicy keto version.

You might also like this leftover ham recipes post!

I made our Easter ham early this year because we had planned to travel on Easter Day. Well that all changed but I did come up with a mighty tasty sugar free keto ham glaze which was perfect for anyone on a keto diet!

I asked my husband what flavors he liked in a glazed ham and he said he loved spices like cloves. So my sweet glaze was a combination of brown sugar and orange flavors along with warming spices like cloves, cinnamon and others.  This keto baked ham was a bit hit.

I was excited because this was the first time I made my own glaze for a holiday dinner. The whole batch has only 6 calories and a carb count of 0.9g net carbs so you can’t beat that! So throw away the glaze packet that comes with ham because it’s pure sugar and this sugar free glaze has much more flavor.

The 5 ingredients I used for this keto glaze.

I really love Swerve brown sugar sweetener. It tastes just like regular brown sugar to me. So the 5 ingredients I used for this sugar free glaze are: brown sweetener, apple cider vinegar, orange extract, orange zest, water and pumpkin pie spice. That’s it!

Brown Sugar Substitute
I used Swerve brown sugar sweetener for this recipe and while you can use your low carb sweetener of choice, it should have a brown sugar flavor. Lakanto golden monk fruit sweetener has a brown sugar flavor and it would work well too. I’m sure there are other keto friendly brown sugar substitutes you can try.

Orange Extract and Zest
The orange flavor from the extract and zest are what you are using instead of orange juice which has a lot of sugar. You can find orange extract at most grocery stores but you will also have to buy an orange for the zest.

Pumpkin Pie Spice
This is a spice blend that you can find at most grocery stores. I buy mine at Aldi. It’s usually a combination of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ground ginger. If you don’t have the pumpkin pie spice you can make your own blend of these spices.

Apple Cider Vinegar
You should use this flavor of vinegar if you have it. You can also use distilled white vinegar but stay away from red wine or balsamic vinegar if you can.

Howe to make the keto ham glaze.

This keto friendly glaze has that perfect blend of brown sugar sweetness with the orange and spice flavors. Once you make this, which will only take 5 minutes, you can add more orange or pumpkin spice flavors to your liking.

Step 1: Pre-heat oven. Get out a large baking dish, place the ham in the center and cover with aluminum foil. Place in the oven and bake as usual. Most precooked hams with the bone in (about 5 -7 pounds) will need to cook for about 22-25 minutes per pound in a 325F degree oven. Mine took a little over 3 hours because it was large.

Usually the label on the ham will tell you how to cook it. A larger ham will be about 18-20 minutes per pound. Here’s a good article about ham cooking times.

Also all uncooked hams with or with out the bone needs an internal temperature of 145°F for food safety. The pre-cooked hams which is what most people use, need to heat to 140°F.

Step 2: When you have 30 minutes left for your ham to bake, get out a medium saucepan and heat to medium heat. Quickly mix together the glaze ingredients on the stove. You can see what it looks like below. You want all the sugar to melt and get sticky. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Note though you don’t want to do this at the beginning because the sugar will get too hard so do it in the last 30 minutes of baking.

Step 3: Take the ham out of the oven and take off the foil if using. Once the glaze is ready, use a basting brush and apply the glaze all over the ham. Depending on the size of your ham you may have too much but I had a 9-10 lb bone-in spiral ham from Aldi. That should give you some idea to compare with.

Step 4: Once you apply the glaze, put the ham back in the oven (without aluminum foil) for the last 30 minutes. Hurry and soak your pan because the sugar can get hard and difficult to clean. If you have leftovers store in an airtight container it will probably harden. Just heat up in the microwave or stove.

And that is all there is to this keto friendly glaze. Let the ham rest for 10-15 minutes and then it’s ready to eat. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

Keto side dish recipe recipes to serve with this dish.

My family’s favorite side dishes to eat with ham is scalloped potatoes so now I make a keto friendly version with which has a delicious and rich flavor – keto scalloped cauliflower casserole. Another dish like this is my individual keto scalloped turnips stacks. They taste so much like potatoes!

As those dishes are so rich and tasty, I would then just serve a steamed green vegetable like broccoli or green beans and add a little butter and salt when they are done cooking.

Check out this post for 88 keto delicious recipes for the holidays to try. There are quite a few keto side dishes you might want to try and I have few cauliflower mash recipes too. 

Recipe Tips & Notes

• I bought roughly a 9-10 lb spiral bone in ham from Aldi. I had plenty of glaze for this size of ham.
• If you don’t buy a spiral ham, you can score it in a diamond pattern with a knife first before adding the glaze
• This brown sugar glaze has a strong orange flavor so if you aren’t sure, taste it before you add the orange extract. You can play around with quantities after it’s all melted and mixed.
• Don’t make the glaze until you are ready to use it. It should only take 5 minutes to get the Swerve brown sugar to melt. 
• Make sure to soak the pan right after eating because they glaze will harden and it’s difficult to clean.
• If you are looking for some keto ham recipes, check out this post about low carb ham leftovers.

I think this was one of the best hams we have ever had and since we will be home for Easter now, it will definitely be on our holiday table!  Even if you are not on a low carb diet, I know your family will love this brown sugar & spice sugar free glazed ham and perhaps become one of your favorite recipes.

The nutritional information for all of the sugar free ham glaze is 6 calories
0.2g fat / 1.2g carbs / 0.3g fiber / 0.1g protein = 0.9g net carbs

For a great side dish, try my friend Taryn’s keto creamed spinach!

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Brown Sugar & Spice Sugar Free Keto Ham Glaze

Yield: 1

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

If you'd like to make a nice sugar free keto glazed ham for the holidays, try this keto glazed ham recipe. The glaze is a nice mixture of brown sugar, orange flavoring and spices which taste wonderful with ham. The whole batch of glaze has only 6 calories and 0.9g net carbs!

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup Swerve brown sugar sweetener
• 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon orange extract
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tablespoons water
• zest of ½ of an orange

Instructions

1. Add the ham to a large baking dish and bake the ham as you normally would by following the instructions that came with your ham. However 30 minutes before the end, mix up your glaze.
2. In a saucepan add all the ingredients. Mix and cook for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and it gets bubbly and thick.
3. Pull out the ham from the oven and take off the foil if using. Using a basting or pastry brush, brush the glaze all over the ham. Place back in the oven without foil for the last 30 minutes and you are done.
4. Do not make the glaze until you are ready to use it. Otherwise it will harden and crystallize.

Notes

The nutritional information for all of the glaze is:

6 cals / 0.2g fat / 1.2g carbs / 0.3g fiber / 0.1g protein = 0.9g net carbs

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Orange Flavor Alcohol Free Certified Organic 2 Ounces
• 
  Amazon Brand - Happy Belly Pumpkin Pie Spice, 3 Ounces
• 
  Bragg USDA Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, With The Mother 16 Ounces Natural Cleanser, Promotes Weight Loss - Pack of 2 w/ Measuring Spoon
• 
  Swerve Sweetener, Brown Bundle, 12 oz pack of 2

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 6