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These 5-ingredient Slow Cooker ham steaks are sweet, savory, and tangy, with a glossy pineapple-brown sugar glaze that makes an easy dinner feel special. Just add everything to the Slow Cooker and let it work while you get on with the rest of your day. Serve them with mashed potatoes, Rice, or egg noodles to catch every drop of sauce.
Why You’ll Love It
- Only 5 ingredients — ham steaks, pineapple juice, brown sugar, Dijon, and apple cider vinegar are all you need.
- Hands-off Slow Cooker dinner — add everything, cover, and let the Slow Cooker do the work.
- Hearty ham steaks — thick bone-in steaks hold up well and stay satisfying in the sauce.
- Sweet-tangy glaze — pineapple juice, brown sugar, Dijon, and vinegar make a flavorful sauce for mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.
Ingredient Notes
Look for thick-cut, bone-in ham steaks if you can. Two steaks are usually around a pound to a pound and a half each. The bone adds good flavor, and the thicker pieces don’t dry out as quickly. You may have to overlap them a little in the slow cooker; that’s perfectly fine.
For the pineapple juice, plain canned pineapple juice is all you need. No fancy juice blend with mango, ginger, turmeric, and whatever else they’re putting in there these days. Just pineapple juice. The little six-ounce cans work well when that’s what is in the pantry; open a second one to make up the full cup.
Use packed brown sugar—light or dark works. Dark brown sugar gives a slightly deeper molasses flavor. Dijon mustard brings the sharpness here. Don’t skip it because mustard and pineapple sound peculiar. They do sound peculiar. They also work.
Apple cider vinegar keeps the glaze from becoming too sweet. Please don’t add salt. Ham has plenty of opinions all by itself.
Ingredients
- 2 thick bone-in ham steaks, about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds each
- 1 cup pineapple juice, plain old canned or bottled is fine
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, light or dark—I generally use light
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Place the two thick bone-in ham steaks in the bottom of your slow cooker, overlapping them slightly if that’s what it takes to make them fit. Dinner does not need to be symmetrical.
In a small bowl, whisk together the pineapple juice, packed brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar until the brown sugar is mostly dissolved and the sauce looks smooth. It may not dissolve completely, and that’s okay—it will sort itself out as it warms.
Pour the pineapple mixture evenly over the ham steaks. Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on Low for 4 to 5 hours or on High for 2 to 3 hours, until the ham is heated through and very tender. Since ham is already cured and cooked, you are not trying to cook it into oblivion. Much past that window and it can get firmer than you want, which is a real shame after such an easy start.
Carefully transfer the ham steaks to a serving platter, then spoon some of the cooking juices over the top. If you want a thicker sauce, pour the juices into a small saucepan, let them settle for a minute or two if needed, and simmer briefly before serving. The thinner juices over mashed potatoes are just fine.
Variations
If you’re in the mood for a little more of a maple flavor, replace the brown sugar with 1/3 cup maple syrup. Black pepper can be added for extra flavor, though it is not part of the usual version.
You can tuck a few pineapple rings around the ham while it cooks if you want that classic sweet-ham look. They’re pretty on a platter, though they are absolutely not necessary.
Cloves can taste aggressively strong in this recipe. Don’t add them unless you genuinely adore cloves and have no fear.
Storage & Reheating
Leftover ham steaks keep well in a covered container in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days, with some of the sauce spooned over them so they don’t dry out. Slicing the leftovers before storing makes lunch easier, but the steaks can be left whole if preferred.
For reheating, warm the ham gently in a covered skillet with a few spoonfuls of the sauce, or microwave it covered in short bursts. Don’t blast it until it turns rubbery. Slow and easy is better here.
The leftovers are very good chopped into scrambled eggs or tucked into a biscuit.
Final Notes
This is the kind of dinner that makes the table feel full without a lot of effort. The sauce is sweet but not candy-sweet, tangy enough to keep things interesting, and it makes the whole meal feel a little more dressed up than it really is.
Put out a bowl of mashed potatoes, maybe green beans with butter, warm biscuits if you’re feeling ambitious—or store-bought rolls if you are not. Both work just fine.
And when the ham is gone and there’s a little sauce left in the bottom of the slow cooker, don’t throw it out too fast. The remaining sauce is delicious dragged through with a biscuit.
5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Ham Steaks
Ingredients Â
- 2 thick bone-in ham steaks about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds each
- 1 cup pineapple juice plain canned or bottled
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar light or dark
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
InstructionsÂ
- Place the two thick bone-in ham steaks in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Overlap the ham steaks slightly if needed to make them fit in the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the pineapple juice, packed brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar until the brown sugar is mostly dissolved and the sauce looks smooth.
- Pour the pineapple mixture evenly over the ham steaks.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on Low for 4 to 5 hours or on High for 2 to 3 hours, until the ham is heated through and very tender.
- Carefully transfer the ham steaks to a serving platter and spoon some of the cooking juices over the top.
- For a thicker sauce, pour the juices into a small saucepan, let them settle for a minute or two if needed, and simmer briefly before serving.