This spiral ham cooking time chart uses the rule on our ham’s package: 325°F, covered with foil, 10 minutes per pound, until the center reaches about 135°F. A 6 lb ham takes about 60 minutes and a 10 lb ham about 100.
Our spiral sliced ham is fully cooked, so all of this is reheating, not cooking, and the goal is warm slices that are still moist. The chart below runs pound by pound, and the sections after it answer the questions people ask most in Thanksgiving week.
- The chart, by weight
- 325°F or 350°F, and which finish temperature
- How to keep it from drying out
- Thanksgiving oven plan
- Questions people ask
Spiral ham cooking time chart at 325°F, covered
| Ham weight | Time at 10 minutes per pound | Start checking the center at | Pull at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 lb | 60 minutes | 50 minutes | About 135°F (the package target) |
| 7 lb | 70 minutes | 60 minutes | Same |
| 8 lb | 80 minutes | 70 minutes | Same |
| 9 lb | 90 minutes | 80 minutes | Same |
| 10 lb | 100 minutes | 90 minutes | Same |
The minutes column is the package rule times the weight. Ovens vary, so the thermometer, not the clock, decides when the ham comes out.
Here is the arithmetic in words for the sizes between the rows: a 6.5 lb ham is 65 minutes, a 7.5 lb ham is 75, an 8.5 lb ham is 85, and a 9.5 lb ham is 95. The weight is on the package label, so read it before the ham goes in and write the minutes on a sticky note by the oven.
The package says “the center,” so read the thermometer at the center of the ham. Our ham comes in 6 to 10 lb, so the chart covers every size we sell.
325°F or 350°F, and which finish temperature
Our package says 325°F. USDA’s hams and food safety page says the same: to reheat a spiral sliced ham, cover it with heavy foil and heat at 325°F for about 10 minutes per pound, in an oven set no lower than 325°F. Hotter ovens dry the cut edges before the center warms.
For this ham, follow the package target of about 135°F. USDA general guidance, stated separately: cooked hams packaged in USDA inspected plants are reheated to 140°F, and leftover or repackaged ham to 165°F. Which case applies to a given ham depends on where it was packaged, so we give the package’s own number first and USDA’s rule as written.
How to keep a spiral ham from drying out
Cover it. Foil over the whole ham is the instruction both our package and USDA give, and USDA’s page names spiral sliced ham as the kind to cover. Keep the oven at 325°F, and pull the ham as soon as the center reaches the package target.
Glaze before heating, the way the package says: prepare and apply the included honey glaze, then cover. Water in the pan is not on the package or the USDA page, so we do not add it. The glaze is optional; the package says “if desired,” and the ham is smoked and seasoned already.
Step by step, with the same numbers, is in how to cook a spiral ham. A brown sugar option is in spiral ham glaze.
Thanksgiving oven plan for an 8 lb ham
The ham ships frozen; USDA’s ham page says to thaw in the refrigerator, and the days that takes depend on the weight, so start early in the week. Sizing is in how much ham per person, and our older post on seasonal heritage pork pairings covers what to serve beside it.
For a 2 pm meal with an 8 lb ham: glazed and covered, into a 325°F oven at 12:10, check the center at 1:10, out at about 1:30 when it reads 135°F, carve and serve. The oven is free for sides by 1:30.
Leftovers: USDA lists a cooked half ham at 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator and 1 to 2 months in the freezer. Sliced and wrapped, it is leftover ham recipes for the rest of the week. The ham sells out around the holidays; if the product page shows out of stock, the farm shop has the rest of the line.
Questions people ask about spiral ham cooking time
What is the best way to cook a spiral ham so it doesn’t dry out?
Cover it with foil, keep the oven at 325°F, and pull it when the center reaches the package target, about 135°F for ours. Do not heat it past that.
Do you cook a spiral ham at 325 or 350?
325°F. That is our package temperature and the USDA reheating temperature for spiral sliced ham. A hotter oven dries the cut edges before the center is warm.
Do you put water in the pan when cooking a spiral ham?
Our package does not call for it, and neither does USDA’s spiral ham instruction; the foil cover is the moisture step.
How long do you cook a spiral ham that’s already fully cooked?
About 10 minutes per pound at 325°F, covered. Use the chart above and a thermometer in the center.
What are common mistakes when cooking ham?
Heating it uncovered, running the oven hot, and cooking a fully cooked ham as if it were raw. A spiral ham only needs to be warmed through, and the package’s 10 minutes per pound is the whole schedule.
Ten minutes a pound, covered, then stop. That is the whole spiral ham cooking time chart in one line, and a Heritage Duroc ham, applewood smoked and fully cooked, is the ham it was written for.
Check availability on the spiral sliced ham, or browse the farm shop.