This is the best ham steak recipe! Glazed with a simple brown sugar reduction, this easy recipe is just like mama used to make it. Sweet, quick, and on the table in minutes!
This glazed ham steak recipe was inspired by something my mom used to make when I was a kid as a quick weeknight meal. A dinner that we used to come running to the table for and had us all begging for seconds.
This recipe takes 20 minutes to put together, requires just five ingredients, one pan, and results in tender and flavorful ham and a buttery brown sugar cola sweet glaze. I’ll be honest… After you try this, you might just be wishing you did have the entire ham.
What is a ham steak?
Ham steak is a single slice of ham usually cut from the center of a whole ham roast. It’s pre-cooked and sold in individual packages of single slices in the meat department (usually near the bacon).
Since ham steaks are thin and already cured, they are quick to cook and perfect for when you’re serving just a couple of people. You get the delicious flavor of roast ham without having to buy a whole ham!
This recipe was one of those easy dinners my mom used to make on busy weeknights that the whole family loved.
There are many ways to cook a ham steak, like grilled ham steaks, oven-baked, or just dicing them up and tossing them into eggs for a hearty breakfast like this diner-style ham and cheese ham and cheese omelet. But this brown sugar ham steak recipe will always be my favorite.
Ham Steaks Recipe Ingredients
- Butter – make sure it’s unsalted.
- Ham Steak – they can be found next to the whole roast hams at your local grocery store. Ensure that the package says “fully cooked”, “cured”, or “hickory smoked”. For this recipe, we skip the bone-in pound ham slice and go for the smaller cured slices just like you would slice off a spiral sliced ham.
- Cola, Worcestershire Sauce, and Brown Sugar – combined with the butter to make up a sweet and savory glaze for the ham.
How to Cook Ham Steak
I’m convinced a great pan sear is the best way to best way to cook a ham steak! It results in edge-to-edge golden brown crisping while still keeping everything moist in just a few minutes of prep!
This great recipe forgoes a ham steak marinade, instead cooking the meat in a sweet brown sugar sauce that reduces to the glaze.
Since the meat is already cooked, all you need to do is apply some heat. Here’s how to prep these simple ham steaks:
1. Heat one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add in the pork.
2. Brown the steaks on both sides for 5-7 minutes.
3. In a bowl, stir together the cola, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.
4. Pour the cola mixture over the ham, then simmer until slightly thickened (about 3-5 minutes.)
5. Remove from the heat and set aside.
6. Add one more tablespoon of butter to the same skillet, stir until smooth, then serve the brown sugar glaze over the finished ham steaks.
What goes with Glazed Ham Slices?
I love to make my brown sugar ham steak into a complete meal by serving it with my favorite sides; a pile of mashed potatoes, green beans, steamed broccoli, and buttery biscuits.
You can also chop up leftover ham steaks and use it in pretty much any ham recipe you want! That means breakfast casseroles, breakfast hash, mac and cheese, salads, stir-fries, frittatas, you name it.
How to store
Leftover cooked ham steak will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for 1-2 months. To enjoy again, thaw first in the fridge if frozen, then warm on the stove until heated through.
Recipe FAQs
It depends. In this case, you do want to buy ham steak that is already cooked so that all you’re really doing is warming it. When you’re looking for one at the grocery store, look for packages that read “fully cooked”, “cured”, or “hickory smoked”.
If your steak is tough then it’s probably overcooked. You’ll brown on each side for 5-7 minutes but not much more than that. If it cooks too long you miss out on that perfect tender texture.
More easy ham steak recipes
Dinner Recipes
Grilled Ham Steaks with Brown Sugar-Mustard Glaze
GC Original
Maple Glazed Ham Steaks with Red-Eye Gravy
Recipes With Pork
Diner-Style Ham and Cheese Omelette
If you’ve tried my Southern Cola Ham Steak recipe, or any other recipe on GirlCarnivore.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below. I get inspired by your feedback and comments! You can also FOLLOW ME on Instagram @girlcarnivore as well as on Twitter and Facebook.
Brown Sugar Glazed Ham Steak Recipe
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
Ham Steaks
- 2 tbs butter divided
- 2 ham steaks
Brown Sugar Glaze
- 1/2 cup cola
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
Instructions
Heat the Ham Steaks
- Heat 1 tbs butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.2 tbs butter divided
- Add the ham steaks and brown on both sides, 5 – 7 minutes.2 ham steaks
Make the Sweet Brown Sugar Glaze
- Stir the cola, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar together in a bowl and pour over the ham steaks.1/2 cup cola, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp brown sugar
- Simmer until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and set the ham steaks aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon butter to the brown sugar glaze and stir until smooth.2 tbs butter divided
Serve
- Serve the sauce over the ham steaks and other fixings as gravy.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I know you said that this recipe is for pre-cooked ham steaks. I’m wondering how it can be adjusted to uncooked ham steaks without totally drying them out? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
This is a great question, Shelia. Thanks for asking. One, I always check to make sure the package doesn’t say ‘smoked’ ‘cured’ or ‘cooked’ if cooking from raw. Then to keep it from drying out (and OMG this happens SO often!) I pull a trick from my mama. I double the sauce recipe and bake the ham steak in the oven preheated to 350F in a baking dish covered with foil until its cooked to 140 degrees internal. I try to get thin ham steaks so that it doesn’t take too long. Check after 20-25 minutes depending on the thickness.
Hope this helps!
I’m still confused about the serving size. I need to know the actual serving size for the calories because I am on a 1200 calorie diet. The serving size can’t be 1 g as indicated. Also, can you tell me how much butter should be used in this recipe. Thanks
Hi Anne, I’m not sure what’s up with that 1G either, the nutrition facts are automatically calculated by the recipe plug-in. However, when I do ham steaks, I get 2 servings per steak and have this recipe as 4 servings if that helps. I believe that is where most of the information on nutrition is being pulled from.
Hope this helps!
Aw just text me!!
I’ve done a root beer glazed ham before so you know I’d be on board with this too!
I saw a root beer the other day and wondered if you had that brand and bottle yet. ;D
Carbs look great but I am confused about the serving size. 1 g?
Hey Bill, thanks for the catch. The nutrition is calculated by the recipe app so I am guessing there’s a hitch in this one >< I'll see what. I can do to update it.
Yum! I rarely post comments but this was too good.
Simple, quick, and tasty weeknight dish that everyone raved over. Served alongside Sous Vide carrots, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Perfectly balanced sweetness and flavor profile prepared exactly as written. No changes needed. This has been saved to Paprika so I can find, prepare, and share.
Thanks for this one!
Today was my second time following this delicious recipe. The only thing u added was a tablespoon of honey. The ham steak turned out amazing! Thanks for the Great recipe
ooooh. I gotta try the honey!
The butter amount is confusing. Ingredients shows 6 tbsp of butter but directions only say to use 2. ????
Ah! Thanks for the catch! I am so sorry about that. yes, you will use all of the butter in the dish. Editing the recipe now.
It says to add the remaining butter to the cola sauce in the skillet.
This is the first cola meat recipe I have tried, a little skeptical at first, but wow! Great recipe.
Would you believe my family and I were just talking about this over the weekend?! Cola meat was a big thing in the Midwest!