Slow Cooker Cranberry Ham
A fully cooked ham is coated with an easy homemade cranberry sauce and cooked in a slow cooker with orange slices for a zesty finish. ( Jump to Recipe)
Start with picking out a 6 to 7 pound fully cooked, bone-in ham. This is considered the shank portion or leg. Anything over 7 pounds and you’ll have a hard time fitting it into the 6-quart slow cooker and covering it with a lid.
If you’ve already chosen your ham and it is over 7 pounds, try fitting it into the slow cooker and place the lid on. If the lid does not close or seat all the way down like it’s supposed to, you may slice about an inch horizontally off the bottom of the ham and try to fit it again. If it still does not fit, slice off one more inch and try again. That should do the trick!
If you’ve chosen a really large size ham and cannot fit it in the slower cooker what so ever, your best bet will be to use the oven at this point. You’ll still get great results but you will have to manage oven space and time with other side dishes you might be preparing.
To make this super easy homemade cranberry sauce from scratch you will need:
- 1 12 oz package fresh cranberries, rinsed
- 1 orange, cut into wedges
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup water
Place cranberries in a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped.
Place finely chopped cranberries and all of the ingredients into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to medium/low and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove orange wedges and discard. Your cranberry sauce is now ready to coat the ham.
Next, fit the ham into the 6-quart slow cooker. Place fresh orange wedges around the ham. (See photo above)
Pour your homemade cranberry sauce right over the ham. Spread it out with a spoon to coat the entire ham. Place the lid on top and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. An instant-read thermometer should reach 140 degrees F, this will tell you the ham is warmed up all the way through inside.
Once it is finished, remove the ham and place it on a serving platter. Use the orange wedges to place around the ham for presentation. Remove the cranberry sauce from the bottom of the slow cooker and place it into a serving bowl. Serve the cranberry sauce with the carved ham.
If you decide to cook the ham in an oven instead of a slow cooker, you will still get the same great results. Follow through all of the directions and assemble everything in a roasting pan. Bake on 325 degrees F on center rack for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 mins. An instant-read thermometer should reach 140 degrees F. Serve the ham the same way as noted above.
Are you looking to make a side that goes well with this ham? Try these:
Rosemary-Parmesan Butternut Squash
Slow Cooker Cranberry Ham
Ingredients
- 1 12 oz package fresh cranberries, rinsed
- 2 oranges, cut into wedges
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup water
- 6-7 pound fully cooked, bone-in ham
Instructions
- Place cranberries in a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped.
- Place finely chopped cranberries, half of the orange wedges, sugar, cinnamon, and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to medium/low and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once sauce is finished, remove and discard orange wedges.
- Fit the ham into the 6-quart slow cooker. Place the rest of the fresh orange wedges around the ham.
- Pour cranberry sauce over the ham. Spread it out with a spoon to coat entire ham. Place lid on top and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. An instant-read thermometer should reach 140 degrees F and ham should be warmed up all the way through.
- Once finished, remove ham and place on a serving platter. Use orange wedges to place around ham for presentation. Remove cranberry sauce from bottom of the slow cooker and place into a serving bowl. Serve cranberry sauce with carved ham.
Did you make this Slow Cooker Cranberry Ham? Tag @fettysfoodblog or #fettysfoodblog on Insta, I’d love to see your creation!