Honey Glazed Ham Steak (Dinner For Two)

Get ready for Christmas and Easter with Honey Glazed Ham Steak dinner for two with pineapple. Fry it on the stovetop or bake it in the oven.

Holiday dinners.

You always see extravagant meals advertised with whole hams and every side dish imaginable with large families gathered around the kitchen table.

However, not every family is like this. Certainly not mine.

When you’re cooking dinner for one or two, holiday meals can be daunting. All of that food! So many leftovers!

Luckily I’m here to help you with scaling down meals. Just because you don’t have a large family doesn’t mean you have to skip your favorite holiday dishes.

Fortunately for us, ham steak exists. That means instead of buying a whole ham, you buy a slice of ham from a ham roast.

Since honey baked ham is popular, I made a Honey Glazed Ham Steak Dinner with pineapple. That way you can have the flavors of honey ham without throwing away leftovers.

Usually you serve ham for Christmas Dinner For Two andEaster Dinner For Two. However, I know some families serve up ham for Thanksgiving Dinner For Two as well. I prefer stuffed Cornish hen for that, but you do you.

The best part about cooking a ham slice dinner is it doesn’t take long to cook at all. You can have this ham steak recipe ready in 15 minutes.

And if that didn’t convince you enough, you fry ham steak on the stovetop, which frees up oven space for your side dishes.

What is ham steak?

A ham steak is a slice of ham from a ham roast, either with or without a bone.

Most ham steaks are already cooked, which will be labeled as “fully cooked” on the packaging. That means it won’t take long to prepare because all you have to do is warm it up.

Of course you add more flavor by making a ham steak glaze, but you certainly don’t want to overcook it.

However, if your ham slice is raw, make sure you cook it long enough for the internal temperature to reach 145F.

You also have to decide between boneless and bone-in ham steak. I used boneless, but if you do buy one with a ham bone, it’s the same cooking method.

After serving, save the ham bone and use it to make soup stock.

How many servings does a ham steak make?

For my ham steak recipe, the smallest ham slice I could find in 2020 was between 0.80 and 1 pound.

However, in 2021 I could only find 8 ounce ham steaks. If that’s the case for you, you can either cut the ham steak glaze in half or buy two 8 ounce steaks.

A 1 pound ham slice makes about 4 pieces while an 8 ounce ham slice makes about 2 pieces.

Portion sizes are always subjective, but because most people go back for seconds, for a 16 ounce ham slice I calculated 2 pieces per person. Hence dinner for two.

If you’re serving Easter or Christmas ham with side dishes, you could stretch it even further, especially if you’re hosting guests with smaller appetites.

Because my 16 ounce ham steak was big, I used a large 12 inch skillet (affiliate link).

However, if your meat is bigger than your skillet, you can cut the ham in half and fry each portion separately.

It’ll take a little longer to cook in batches, but you don’t need to buy a giant skillet if you have a small kitchen.

If you do find yourself with leftover ham, use it up in my Ham and Cheese Soup or Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese.

Ingredients For Ham Steak Recipe

To make your ham steak dinner, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Oil: Use vegetable or olive oil if frying
• Ham steak: Look for one 16 ounce slice or two 8 ounce slices
• Honey: Used to sweeten your ham steak glaze
• Pineapple juice and tidbits: Look for canned pineapple tidbits. If you can’t find any, you can also use crushed pineapple.
• Brown sugar: Helps caramelize the glaze
• Dijon mustard: Mustard is acidic enough to cut through all the sweetness.
• Paprika: Helps spice up the glaze so it’s not too sweet.

How To Cook Ham Steak

There are two ways to cook this ham steak recipe: fried on the stovetop or baked in the oven. You can’t go wrong with either method. Just depends on other dishes you are making with your ham.

If you’re baking side dishes such as Au Gratin Potatoes For Two, then you can cook your sliced ham on the stovetop.

Likewise if your stove burners are full from making Stove Top Scalloped Potatoes, you can bake it.

How To Fry Ham Steak

I personally think the best way to cook your ham steak dinner is on the stove. Not only is it quick, you don’t have to turn on your oven.

Plus the outside gets nice and brown from pan frying.

First, make the honey glaze for the ham. Whisk together honey, mustard, brown sugar, pineapple juice, and paprika then add to the hot pan.

Dip each side of the ham into the glaze then cook another minute or so. Stir in the pineapple pieces and dinner is ready.

You may be tempted to add some salt to the glaze, but don’t. The ham provides enough saltiness to balance out the sweet glaze.

However, if you’re adapting this glaze to use with another type of protein, you may want to add some kosher or sea salt to amplify the flavors.

How To Bake Ham Steak In The Oven

Baking your ham steak dinner is easy too!

First, line a pan big enough to hold your ham slice with foil. This makes clean up much easier.

Whisk together your ham steak glaze ingredients, add your ham to the pan, then pour the glaze on top, making sure the steak is completely covered.

How long to cook ham steak?

Cooking ham steak recipe on the stove takes about 10 minutes. Super quick and easy!

To cook your ham steak in the oven takes about 20-30 minutes, but you can work on your side dishes while you wait.

Why do you put pineapple on ham?

Of course it wouldn’t be a ham steak dinner for two without pineapple!

Pineapple balances the salty ham because it’s acidic yet sweet. I added some of the canned pineapple juice to the glaze as well as stirred in some of the pineapple tidbits.

I saw some recipes use maraschino cherries, but I thought that would be a little too sweet.

What To Serve With Ham Steak

If you’re looking to plan your full Easter or Christmas dinner menu, I highly recommend these recipes to pair with ham steak:

• Mashed Potatoes For Two
• Gravy Without Drippings
• Green Beans with Almonds
• Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup
• Easy Carrot Saute from NeighborFood
• Small Pecan Pie

Looking for more meat to serve with your ham? Check out my lamb chop dinner for two and pork chops with mushroom gravy.

Originally published on March 25, 2019