How to Calculate Ham Cooking Time — Step by Step

The six steps at a glance

Ham cooking time is the weight times the minutes per pound for the kind of ham, plus 15 minutes of rest. The six steps: weigh the ham, pick the type, pick the minutes per pound, multiply, add the rest, and check the temperature. The worked example is 160 minutes of cooking, 175 with the rest, for a 10 lb fully cooked, bone-in ham.

Step 1 — Weigh the ham

Weigh the ham in pounds before it goes in the oven. The weight is printed on the label: a whole bone-in ham is often 10 to 15 lb, and a spiral-cut ham is often 8 to 10 lb. Write it down — every later step uses it. The worked example uses 10 lb.

Step 2 — Pick the ham type

Pick the kind of ham, because the minutes per pound depend on it. There are five kinds: fully cooked, bone-in; fully cooked, boneless; spiral-cut; fresh (uncooked), bone-in; and fresh (uncooked), boneless. A fully cooked ham only needs reheating to 140 °F, so it takes fewer minutes a pound than a fresh ham, which has to reach 145 °F all the way through. The worked example uses a fully cooked, bone-in ham.

Step 3 — Pick the minutes per pound

Pick the minutes per pound for the ham type, from the middle of its range. A fully cooked bone-in ham runs 15–18 minutes a pound and the figure is 16, a fully cooked boneless ham runs 18–20 and the figure is 19, a spiral-cut ham runs 10–12 and the figure is 11, a fresh bone-in ham runs 20–25 and the figure is 22, and a fresh boneless ham runs 25–30 and the figure is 27, all at 325 °F.

Step 4 — Multiply

Multiply the weight by the minutes per pound: that is the cook time in minutes. For the worked example, 10 times 16 is 160 minutes. Divide by 60 to get hours and minutes: 160 divided by 60 is 2 hours with 40 minutes left over, so 2 h 40 min. That is the time in the oven, before the rest.

Step 5 — Add the rest

Add 15 minutes of rest to the cook time: that is the total. For the worked example, 160 plus 15 is 175 minutes total. The ham rests out of the oven, tented in foil, and the temperature keeps rising while it rests, so the rest is part of the cooking. Plan dinner 175 minutes after the ham goes in, not 160.

Step 6 — Check the temperature

Check the ham with a meat thermometer in the thickest part, away from the bone: a fully cooked ham is done at 140 °F, and a fresh ham is done at 145 °F. A meat thermometer decides doneness, not the clock: the minutes per pound are midpoints, and a real ham can run to either end of its range. If the thermometer reads low, put the ham back in for 15 minutes and check again. The oven stays at 325 °F for every kind of ham.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: 10 lb, fully cooked, bone-in. Line 1, the weight: 10 lb from the label. Line 2, the type: fully cooked, bone-in, 16 minutes a pound, done at 140 °F. Line 3, the rate: 16, from the middle of the 15–18 range. Line 4, the cook time: 10 times 16 is 160 minutes, or 2 h 40 min. Line 5, the rest: 160 plus 15 is 175 minutes total. Line 6, the temperature: 140 °F on a meat thermometer, in a 325 °F oven. The ham cooking time calculator runs the same six steps for any ham you enter.

Other hams, checked

The same steps cover the other hams: 15 lb fully cooked bone-in, 240 minutes (4 h 0 min); 10 lb spiral-cut, 110 (1 h 50 min); 8 lb fresh boneless, 216 (3 h 36 min) to 145 °F; 12 lb fresh bone-in, 264 (4 h 24 min) to 145 °F; 10 lb fully cooked boneless, 190 (3 h 10 min); 20 lb fully cooked bone-in, 320 (5 h 20 min). A 180-minute budget fits 11.25 lb fully cooked bone-in, 16.36 lb spiral-cut, or 6.67 lb fresh boneless.

What the six steps leave out

The six steps count minutes and leave out the oven: an oven that runs hot or cold moves the time, so check it with an oven thermometer if the ham keeps coming out early or late. They assume the ham starts at fridge temperature, the oven is 325 °F, and the rest is 15 minutes. The minutes per pound are midpoints of their ranges, and a real ham can run to either end, which is why the last step is the thermometer, not the clock. For the turkey on the same table, see the turkey cooking time calculator, and for the temperatures, the meat cooking temperatures chart.

Ham	Cook time	Total with rest	Target
10 lb fully cooked, bone-in (default)	160 min (2 h 40 min)	175 min	140 °F
15 lb fully cooked, bone-in	240 min (4 h 0 min)	255 min	140 °F
Spiral-cut 10 lb	110 min (1 h 50 min)	125 min	140 °F
Fresh boneless 8 lb	216 min (3 h 36 min)	231 min	145 °F
Fresh bone-in 12 lb	264 min (4 h 24 min)	279 min	145 °F
Fully cooked, boneless 10 lb	190 min (3 h 10 min)	205 min	140 °F
20 lb fully cooked, bone-in	320 min (5 h 20 min)	335 min	140 °F